Overview

Nokia Asha 311: Features Rich and Affordable

Overview of Nokia Asha 311

Nokia Asha 311 is a new dual SIM phone announced in June, 2012 and to be released in near future. It has a dimension of 106 x 52 x 12.9 mm and weighs 95 g. It features a 3 inches TFT capacitive touchscreen, 56K colors having Corning Gorilla Glass for protection. This model possesses a 3.2 megapixel camera with 2048x1536 pixels and a video recording option. It has an internal memory of 140 MB and can be expanded upto 32 GB using micro SD cards. The Nokia Asha 311 is powered via its 1110 mAh Li-ion battery and has standby time of 696 hours for 2G and 768 hours for 3G a talk time of 14 hours for 2G and 6 hours for 3G, music play of 40 hours.

User Interface and Comfort to Use Nokia Asha 311

Powered on Series 40, the UI has a blend of other platforms such as a drop down menu available on Android and icon notifications like iOS. While the software is easy to use, the OS is buggy and you will encounter a lot of error messages. Another drawback is the sluggish touchscreen that responds slowly to your inputs.

Messaging and Emails

Curiously, the virtual keyboard on the Asha 311 offers up a keypad-style messaging experience. This is inconvenient for typing messages. You can connect your emails to your 311 as well, though the setup process is marked with error messages.

Gallery, Photo Viewer, and Video Quality

You are able to play back videos in MPEG-4, AVI, and 3GP clips with up to a 640 x 480 resolution. As for recording video on the 311, it uses 480p in .3GP format. Videos turn out jittery when you record fast moving objects as the frame rate is only 25fps.

Music Player and FM Radio of Nokia Asha 311

The 311 is well equipped with support for many codecs and a clear loudspeaker. Music will play nicely on the device and you can also organize your music into artist, album, song, and genre options. There is also an equalizer. There is also a stereo FM radio with RDS that performs well

Still Camera and Image Quality

You will produce low quality shots on the Asha 311's 3.2 MP camera. Options for the camera are very few and far between. It lacks flash, though it does have some useful tools like 4x Digital zoom image editor, fixed focus, self-timer, and auto exposure.

Connectivity Options

Equipped with Wi-Fi, 3G with HSDPA and Bluetooth 2.1 are all available. You will also be able to gain access to 2G networks like GPRS and EDGE technology.

Nokia Asha 311 Web Browser and Applications

The Nokia Browser looks small on the 3 inch screen. The browser also lacks actions like pinch-to-zoom. The browser is quick but its low-fi makes the graphics appear blurry. In addition the screen is relatively small so you will have to hap to zoom in for reading text.

Google Maps and GPS

Preloaded with Nokia Maps, the 311 does not have a GPS chip installed in the hardware. This means that you will have to rely on the triangulation from your wireless network to position it.

Distinctive Features of Nokia Asha 311

As a phone, the Asha 311 performs much better than a media and internet device. Call quality is clear even in loud environments. Battery life is also good as it packs a 1110mAh battery that nets 6 hours of 3G talk time and 14 hours of 2G talk time.

Value for Money

Priced at ?6430 (approx., may vary), the Asha 311 is meant to attract entry level smartphone users and not take a toll on their wallets.

Verdict

While the Asha 311 is one of the more easy to use devices in the Series 40 platform, the constant error messages make the device troublesome to use. For the same amount of money, you are able to pick up a more powerful and error free Android handset.