Nokia smartphone maker acquires ‘Asha’ trademark, may revive the series

everyone knows HMD, the Finnish brand is responsible for manufacturing and marketing ‘Nokia’ smartphones. Last year Nokia made a ‘comeback’ in the Indian market with as many as six smartphones. It has already introduced its Nokia 6 (2018) earlier this month. Now a new report is hinting at a completely new series coming from the firm under the Nokia brand.

As spotted by a website LoveNokia, HMD has filed a trademark for ‘Asha’, strongly hinting the imminent revival of the Nokia Asha smartphones. The trademark can be seen on the EUIPO website and was filed back in 2011. However, the trademark filing was transferred to HMD on January 9 this year.

The new trademark will let HMD build “computer software platform used in mobile telephones and smartphones; mobile phones and smart phones” in addition to “wireless communication services namely for computer software used in mobile telephones and smartphones”.

Nokia Asha series made a debut in the smartphone industry back in 2011 but was shuttered in 2014 as Nokia came under the ‘Microsoft’ umbrella.

The Nokia Asha series included a range of budget handsets; most of them support dual SIM cards. Nokia Asha 230 was the last smartphone to launch in the line up. The handset came in February 2014, was the first to feature a hardware WhatsApp key and featured a 2MP rear camera. All the Asha handsets ran Series 40 OS.

It is not for sure when HMD plans to officially bring Nokia ‘Asha’ smartphones in the market. There is a possibility that the company will keep the series placed in the budget price bracket. There might also be a chance that the series could be dedicated to Android Go platform.

For now, HMD’s focus seems to be on building a smartphone army in every price segment. The company has Nokia 6, Nokia 1, Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 7 and Nokia 8 catering to slightly different price tags. We are yet to see the global pricing of the Nokia 6 (2018). The smartphone is currently limited to China users.

For those unaware, the 32GB storage version will come at CNY 1,499 (approximately Rs. 14,600), while the 64GB model will cost users CNY 1,699 (roughly Rs. 16,600).