Nokia plans debut of ASHA 310 to gain Nigeria market share

By Ibrahim Olukotun

Lagos. February 12, 2013: Nokia says it will its new Asha 310 into its line of low-end smartphones to gain market share in Nigeria and other developing economies. 

Dual-SIM and Wi-Fi access are features found in Nokia’s latest range of fast selling Asha series. 

The phone is expected to hit stores in Nigeria as well as other countries in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Brazil Q1 2013.

Nokia says the new Asha 310 will come with a full-touch 3-inch display and 2 megapixel camera. 

Nokia Asha 310 allows users to switch between SIM cards and Wi-Fi to keep down costs.

Market observers believe Nokia is flooding the market with low-end Asha series to make it competitive in the smartphone segment. 

The company in recent times has been losing huge shares in the high-end smartphone market dominated by brands like Samsung, Apple and Blackberry. 

Also, in the low-end segment where it once ruled in Nigeria, it is becoming a difficult terrain as Chinese phone makers are relenting in pushing for total dominance of the sector.

Nokia, a Finland based  phone company is a global player in telecoms providing phones for over 1.3 billion people the world over.