Nokia's Asha 230 for the cost-conscious and the dual-SIMed (pictures)
Nokia's Asha 230 has a rock bottom price, a simple design, and very few features. See it here in all its minimalist glory.
Kent German
Kent was a senior managing editor at CNET News. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he reviewed the first iPhone and worked in both the London and San Francisco offices. When not working, he's planning his next vacation, walking his dog or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
BARCELONA, Spain -- The Nokia Asha 230, shown off at Mobile World Congress here, has the latest Asha 1.4 software update. It integrates Twitter messages and other social notifications into the "Fastlane" stream.
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The Asha has a tiny 2.8-inch screen. As you can imagine, display resolution is low -- a meagre 320x240 pixels.
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It's a sturdy plastic fellow.
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Nokia's added its Mix Radio service for Pandora-like music complications.
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This is the apps home screen. The Asha system isn't as well served for apps as Android, but most big brands are represented.
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Around the back is the lens for the 1.3-megapixel camera. Yes, I said 1.3-megapixel.
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For some markets Nokia will sell a version that takes two SIM cards, but its design is the same.
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The Asha 230 will set you back €45 ($60, £37). It comes in a variety of bright colors. The smooth, almost square shape sort of looks like a skipping stone.
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Because of its squatter dimensions and lower-end specs, it's not our favourite Asha.
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Onboard storage is 4GB, but you can expand it by up to 32GB more via the microSD card slot.
