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Nokia Asha 302 Review

Price
Euro80

Nokia Asha 302 Review

Nokia Asha 302 Review

Introduction

The Nokia Asha 302 is one of Nokia's newest feature phones. It is a new entry-level smartphone that runs on S40 operating system. It comes with Nokia looks and feels nice to use. The Nokia Asha 302 features a modest camera, QWERTY keyboard and a chunky shape. Although, it is not the lightest or the thinnest set in the market but it offers a solid build with a sturdy metal and plastic casing. Furthermore, due to its curving sides, the handset fits quite comfortably in the hand. The phone brings better connectivity and reasonable processing power without needlessly confusing the interface.

The Nokia Asha 302 features a decent 2.4-inch QVGA TFT display with approximately 262,000 colors. It comes with a bright screen with the 320 x 240 resolution. The screen of the Asha 302 does not consume much energy which is suitable for this type of mobile phone. In addition, the navigation keys and the QWERTY keyboard are also

Illuminated and it is very easy to use them even in the dark.

What Is In The Box?

While unboxing the handset, you will find the following items in the box:

  • Nokia Asha 302
  • Wall Charger
  • Nokia Stereo Headset WH-102
  • User Guide

Design And Build Quality

Nokia is known for creating beautiful and stylish handsets. The new Asha 302 also impresses you with its pleasant appearance. The phone comes with a 2.4” display with 320 x 240 pixel resolution which is not that appealing, however, you can open web pages and browse them easily with fast access as well via Wi-Fi or 3G. The QWERTY keyboard is a compact marvel with 37 keys that are fairly spaced that you can use them with two thumbs quite easily.

Advantages

  • The Nokia Asha 302 comes with a standard design and build quality that match the handset to its more advanced feature set.
  • The metal battery cover of the Asha 302 puts in some additional strength without increasing the weight of the handset.
  • The phone is available in a variety of different colors. You can choose between Dark Grey, Mid Blue, Plum Red, White and Golden Light.
  • The matte finish of the plastic used on the body is a welcome change over the cheap gloss of the Nokia Asha 200.
  • The display and the QWERTY keyboard are separated by a navigation deck that is built around the usual D-pad.
  • The screen resolution is not very impressive but it is as good as you would expect in this price range.
  • The QWERTY keyboard is fairly spaced and comes with different finish that makes the Asha 302 keyboard stand out against the surrounding dark grey surface. The soft keys and the four directions of the D-pad are user-configurable too.

Disadvantages

  • The buttons in the keyboard are very tactile but they are not as solid to press as you would expect. Furthermore, all the keys have a very low stroke but the keys that are present at the sides are worst affected.
  • There is no volume rocker or dedicated camera key and you have to use D-pad in its place.
  • The QWERTY keyboard is the only thing we're not so impressed with. The keys are rather soft and a little short of the precise press of some of Nokia's other messengers, feature phones included.

User Interface & Functionality

The Nokia Asha 302 works on the S40 platform, although there is nothing to talk about it. The worth mentioning thing in the Nokia Asha 302 is a home screen social widget that allows you do stuff such as updating Facebook status. Furthermore, a customizable row of shortcuts is also present at the bottom.

Advantages

  • The Nokia Asha 302 is running Series 40 and the icons resemble those of Symbian Belle which is good. The keyboard and the soft keys input are quite basic.
  • Active standby mode is also available that divides the screen into three different sections, each of which is effectively a widget. The top row of the screen is reserved for the status indicators.
  • You can also rearrange the icons in the menu in whichever order you like, in both grid and list view.
  • The phonebook of the Nokia Asha 302 can store up to 2000 contacts, and adding a contact is very simple and straightforward.
  • Talking about the telephony, you will have no issues with signal reception and the in-call sound is loud and clear. The Nokia Asha 302 supports Voice clarity, which enhances the quality of in-call sound.

Disadvantages

  • The biggest omission typically is multitasking that is missing in the Nokia Asha 302.
  • There is no smart dialing in the Nokia Asha 302.

Camera & Music Player

The Nokia Asha 302 comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom that can produce photos with the maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536. The interface has been updated and it looks like that of the Symbian. Videos can also be recorded in VGA format with 640 x 480 resolution. The music player app of the Asha 302 is quite satisfactory and allows you to choose an equalizer preset in addition to the standard stuff.

Advantages

  • The Nokia Asha 302 comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom that can produce photos with the maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536.
  • The camera interface is updated and looks more like that of the Symbian. A left or right click on the D-pad on the screen reveals two shortcuts for video camera mode and gallery. Up and down on the D-pad control the digital zoom.
  • The Nokia Asha 302 is also capable of VGA@15fps and QVGA@30fps video capture.
  • The camcorder interface is the same as that of camera interface with the options including setting the video length from MMS to maximum available. You can also use effects or record videos without sound.
  • Music player of the Asha 302 is very simple with no more great visuals and the now playing screen is as simple as it can get. There are several basic equalizer presets hidden deeper in the Music player menus, two of which you can customize.
  • FM Radio interface is quite basic with some basic functions that can play in the background as well. RDS support is also available.

Disadvantages

  • The yellowish fringing is present in the images showing that colors in the photos are a little bit dull though moderately accurate.
  • VGA videos feature good details but they are quite choppy. On the other hand, QVGA videos are comparatively smooth but the low resolution frames are compressed way too much.
  • Talking about the audio output of the Nokia Asha 302, it is very difficult to describe because it varies quite drastically.
  • When you connect the headphones, you will experience the severe degradation. The frequency response gets severely distorted and loads of intermodulation distortion creeps in.
  • There is no fixed focus camera and no video call camera.

Should I Buy The Nokia Asha 302?

The Nokia Asha 302 is a standard S40 mobile phone that does have a touchscreen with a physical QWERTY keyboard. It is the best option for those users who want such kind of input option. Talking about the operating system and the hardware, the handset does a pretty good job. It offers a solid build with a decent design.

However, the phone disappoints you when it comes to software that is somewhat unintuitive and buggy. The phone costs as much as some low-end Android phones. But here the Series 40 platform is actually standing in the way of using the basic abilities of the phone.

The Nokia Asha 302 is not at the cutting edge of mobile tech, however, it is a solidly built and a reliable mobile phone that is available at a very reasonable price, and therefore gives the Blackberry mid-rangers a run for their money. It is a reliable phone that is aimed at social networkers with a great little keyboard for such a reasonable rate.