Nokia Asha 305 Review
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The Nokia Asha 305 is a touch-screen dual-SIM phone selling for a very affordable price, but as affordable as it is, the question lingers whether there is still space for feature phones as Android has pushed the envelope in budget devices and is now dangerously close in price.
The Asha 305 tries to counter that with a big surprise in the form of a brand new Series 40 interface inspired by smartphones, a 3-inch display and the big benefit of dual-SIM support, but there are a couple of things that throw it off from being a true competitor to a smartphone. Is it any good on its own, though? Read on to find out.
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Box and contents | |
Design:
Design-wise, the handset is defined by its compact looks, curvy back, cheap glossy plastic and two physical buttons up front. It is a relatively thick device weighing 3.45 ounces (98 grams), but we wouldn’t hold this against such a compact gadget. Still, the phone comes with a huge bezel and lots of extra space in the casing that make it much bigger than what it could be.
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Design-wise, the Nokia Asha 305 is defined by its compact looks | ||
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You can compare the Nokia Asha 305 with many other phones using our Size Visualization Tool.
We found the big volume rocker and lock buttons to be practical, and the microSD and second SIM card slots are placed on the side so you can swap cards without rebooting the device. Neat. Interestingly, this device features both a microUSB port and the standard Nokia 2mm port for charging the device, so you can use your old Nokia charger as well. On the downside, though, the glossy front catches fingerprints very easily.
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microSD and second SIM card slots (left) | Volume and lock keys | |
The sides of the Nokia Asha 305 | ||
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Bottom | Top | |
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Back | Camera | Battery compartment |
Display:
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The Nokia Asha 305 is virtually all about the screen and that’s why we feel that despite the low price of the device it deserves some criticism. Colors were bleached, viewing angles were sub-par and reflections were in the way when looking at the display outdoors. In a device that gets rid of physical controls, those cons can certainly corrupt your experience. Weirdly, we found no way to adjust the screen brightness so we were left stuck with the default setting which is not too bright.
Drag the picture or use the keyboard arrows to rotate the phone. Double click or press keyboard Space to zoom in/out
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Nokia Asha 305
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- Review 4/10
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29 Comments
2. redmd posted on 09 Aug 2012, 07:15 1 1
Oh my. Its really time to move on. When you compare the user experience between this and low end Droids many would prefer the Droids as I would. The cons pointed out totally destroys the UX.
3. WinC76 posted on 09 Aug 2012, 07:16 3 0
"Device feels underpowered, lags"
So, what was the point of putting a 1 GHz processor in it?
4. Awaragardiyan posted on 09 Aug 2012, 07:24 3 0
It doesn't has a 1ghz processor. Asha 311 has a 1ghz processor and its quite smooth.
5. WinC76 posted on 09 Aug 2012, 07:30 1 0
You sure? I've read in many areas that the 305 does.
6. neutralguy posted on 09 Aug 2012, 08:00 4 0
4 is just too harsh for this one. maybe a 5 or a 6 will do.
23. jael206 posted on 14 Aug 2012, 22:25 2 0
agree.. 4 is downright discouraging, like PA already saying "DONT BUY!" poor phone..
7. -box- posted on 09 Aug 2012, 08:00 2 0
In fairness to the Asha series, these are feature phones, which, in the U.S., don't require a data plan, and would sell for under $100 on contract or $200-400 without. How does it compare to, say, an HTC Freestyle, or Samsung Solstice 2? Nokia's basic smartphones are the Lumia 610 and the remaining low-end Symbian S60, S^3, Anna, and Belle devices, the ones that have 3G (no 4G at these prices yet), WiFi, and better hardware. Let's see how it compares to devices actually in its own category: fancy smartphone-styled feature phones for people who want a decent, affordable phone from a known reliable manufacturer. What I've read on other sites, Euro- and Asian-centric ones, tend to be relatively favorable to it
8. hunted posted on 09 Aug 2012, 08:22 3 0
"but as affordable as it is, the question lingers whether there is still space for feature phones as Android has pushed the envelope in budget devices and is now dangerously close in price"
Now my question is, how many of the low end android phones support at least temple run games in it. my secondary phone is galaxy mini & it wont even show the temple run game in google play
9. -box- posted on 09 Aug 2012, 08:30 2 0
Some of the cheap ones don't even get Google Play access!
11. Victor.H posted on 09 Aug 2012, 09:00 1 4
Well, Temple Run is a pretty high bar for those extremely affordable devices, don't you think? The Galaxy mini despite being more than a year old is actually a pretty decent phone that can still run Angry Birds, and apps like Skype and other not so graphically intense games. Nokia's newest feature phones can't even manage Angry Birds without a terrible lag that renders it unplayable.
12. OptimusOne posted on 09 Aug 2012, 10:07 2 0
Temple run died not support armv6 processors
That's why temple run doesn't show up
However there's a hacked version of temple run that does support armv6 devices but it is pretty buggy
I run temple run on my optimus t
10. Awaragardiyan posted on 09 Aug 2012, 08:55 2 0
@WinC76 , i am talking about asha 311(it has a 1ghz processor n not 305). Ya , 305 does lag but 311 is smooth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dFsEV-zDLY
14. Raymond_htc posted on 09 Aug 2012, 10:42 2 0
It's a shame that Nokia don't want to make Android phones... if they made it, i could guarantee that it will be the most hardiest, most toughest and most best build android phones possibly made!
16. hunted posted on 09 Aug 2012, 11:08 2 0
Agree with you raymond. i read some article that nokia has a plan b if wp fails. Will that be android???? lets see what they have
17. steelicon posted on 10 Aug 2012, 00:56 1 0
This is the low end version of the Nokia N97. Overhyped while failing to deliver.
18. jackhammeR posted on 10 Aug 2012, 05:27 1 2
I'm sorry but I think that this asha is more powerful than most low end android phones. It can handle many applications easily where low end androids are usually choking or don't even work. Moreover it is supposed to be a DUAL SIM phone and dual sims are usually, unfortunatelly, a simple devices with no WOW effect. The target is completely different and I would like to buy this one than cheap-o samsung with strange res, quirky cpu and dull, egg-like design.
20. neutralguy posted on 10 Aug 2012, 11:22 0 0
if this phone is released 5 years ago, it would be called smartphone.
21. steelicon posted on 10 Aug 2012, 14:08 0 0
Not without proper freeze multitasking it won't, not a chance. For now I'll remain neutral about the voting thingy. :-)
24. vinaysingh1324 posted on 22 Aug 2012, 07:49 0 1
i like this cell so i want purchase ..but i want actual price of this set...
26. AppForNokia posted on 04 Oct 2012, 20:27 0 0
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27. uolcc posted on 15 Oct 2012, 23:58 0 0
can anyone tell me
Can i receive the incoming call by touch system in asha 305?
if it is possible then please tell me how can i do this.
thank you so much
28. alekhya posted on 03 Nov 2012, 22:28 0 0
WASTEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee nokia305 asha i bought yesterday and tday its not working...now i shud replace with other cell..but this time im gonna take sony erricsion...huhhhh waste nokia sony is d king.....
30. birendra posted on 04 Dec 2012, 01:52 0 0
Nokia asha 305 is not a wll phone please don't buy it it's harsh u mant typs problem in this phone
31. rohitchandaluri posted on 19 Dec 2012, 01:31 0 0
asha 305
1)low touch sensibility
2)automatically shut down
3)mp3 cutter is not available for message tones and contact tone
4)use video option is not working
5)alarm tone is low
soft ware should be developed properly
