Nokia Asha 210 Boasts QWERTY Keyboard And WhatsApp Button

Nokia has expanded its range of feature phones with the addition of the QWERTY keyboard-based Nokia Asha 210, the first phone to feature a dedicated WhatsApp button.

The Finnish manufacturer says that the Asha 210 has been designed so that users are never more than a few clicks away from their friends and family and will also include support for social networks like Facebook and Twitter as well as popular email services.

“The Nokia Asha 210 really stands out giving super-social consumers new ways to express their personalities through design, colour and innovations like the world’s first WhatsApp button,” said Timo Toikkanen, executive vice president, Mobile Phones, Nokia. “It has been designed to allow people to easily update their social networks, stay in touch with friends and share user created content.”

Let’s be social

The WhatsApp button is the product of a partnership between the cross-platform messaging service and Nokia, which will also allow users to start conversations directly from within contact cards.

“We are focused on delivering the best WhatsApp experience to as many people as possible,” said Brian Acton, Co-Founder of WhatsApp Inc. “We are very excited about our partnership with Nokia Asha complementing our strategy of giving people around the world an easy experience when keeping in touch with their friends.”

The phone is targeted at emerging markets and will include many of the features associated with the Asha range, including easySwap dual-SIM technology that lets users change SIM cards without turning off the device and the Nokia Xpress Browser, which compresses data in the cloud by up to 90 percent, reducing the cost of mobile browsing.

The Asha 210’s modest specs include Wi-Fi, a two megapixel camera and just 64 MB of storage, although this can be topped up to 32GB through a MicroSD card. The phone does however boast impressive battery life, promising to last for up to 46 days using a single SIM and 23 with two SIMs.

The handset will be available in five colours for an estimated $72 (£47) in the second quarter of 2013.

The last Asha phone to be released was the Nokia Asha 310, which was unveiled in February, promising to be the first Nokia handset to offer both Dual-SIM capability and Wi-Fi.

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