Nokia Asha 501 Launching In June For $99

The Nokia Asha 501 smartphone will launch in June. The phone was leaked on Thursday and offers a three-inch 320×240 pixels of resolution. The $99 smartphone offers a touchscreen setup alongside a brand new mobile operating system aimed at the entry-level smartphone market.

Nokia is launching the new device with its Series 50 software and Smartphone technology. Nokia is calling the new mobile OS the Asha platform.

Nokia says its new OS is an open, standards-based option which will allow for apps to be downloaded via the Nokia Store in the future. Nokia plans to offer the new OS on numerous Asha smarterphones in the near future.

Nokia will allow developers to port Series 50 apps to the new Asha OS with several changes. Features on the OS are pre-installed versions of Facebook and Twitter. Nokia is also offering the ability to download forty free games from EA via the Nokia Store.

After booting up the Nokia Asha 501 smartphone, users are given the option to use two different home screens. The first screen features an app grid known as “Home,” which provides normal phone functionality. The second option is known as “Fastlane,” and it tracks and logs apps so users can launch them quickly and efficiently.

The Nokia Asha as an entry level device offers baseline features including a rear 3.2-megapixel camera. The Asha 501 also offers a small amount of internal storage and a microSD card with 4GB added memory.

While the Asha 501 will come with single and dual SIM card functions, it will only connect over 2G and Wi-Fi networks.

Buyers looking for a long-lasting battery won’t be disappointed. The Nokia Asha 501 can survive for up to 48 days in standby. The dual-SIM variant offers 26 days of standby and 17 hours of talk time.

The Nokia Asha 501 smarterphone will first launch in India, Africa, and Latin America. Eventually the smartphone will release in 90 countries.

Check out the gallery below to see the smartphone in the wild alongside six different color variations.