Nokia Asha 302 Review

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Review: March 2012

Last updated Sep 2012.

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The Nokia Asha 302 is a budget phone designed for messaging and social networking. Its key features are its QWERTY keyboard, facebook and whatsapp (instant messaging) apps, Wi-Fi and 3G HSPA connectivity. A fast processor and premium styling make it a great phone all round.

Best buy: *Free* from BuyMobilePhones (Black); or £59.99 on Pay as you Go from O2.

The Asha 302 is a budget BlackBerry-style phone with a full QWERTY keyboard. Similar in size and style to other phones of this type - the BlackBerry Curve 8520, Samsung Chat 335 and Orange Rio II - the Nokia is lightweight but looks premium with its smart metallic strip design.

It's a great phone for social media and messaging, with the obvious advantage of the physical QWERTY keyboard, plus easy texting, email and instant messaging. A facebook app is provided and the Asha also comes with the WhatsApp instant messaging app pre-installed.

The screen isn't huge, but it's standard for this type of phone. Similarly the camera is rather basic, at just 3.2 megapixels and no fancy features. Video recording is at a pixel-challenging 176x144 resolution, so don't expect to be shooting many movies on this thing.

The Asha is very well equipped for connectivity, with both Wi-Fi and fast 3G HSPA connectivity available for downloading data and messages.

This is not a smart phone - it runs Nokia's Series 40 operating system, but there are some handy apps pre-installed. The facebook app is well integrated, so you can check on updates live. You can download a small range of apps from the Nokia Store too.

The processor is very fast, running at 1GHz, which is faster than many smartphones, and makes everything respond instantly. On the other hand, the built-in memory is limited to 100MB, which isn't a lot by today's standards. You can add a microSD card for extra storage though.

It's useful to compare the Asha with its competitors. The BlackBerry 8520 costs about the same, and does everything the same, except it lacks the Asha's 3G connection. The Samsung Chat costs less, but again is missing 3G. The Orange Rio II does have 3G (but not Wi-Fi) and also costs less than the Nokia. On the other hand, the Nokia is a very good phone in its own right, with an excellent array of features in a smart and reasonably-priced package.

Features of the Nokia Asha 302 include:

3.2 megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom
Video camera, 176x144 pixels, 30 frames per second
Display: TFT, 240 x 320 pixels (2.4 inches)
Music Player
FM radio with RDS support
Music ringtones / video ringtones
Speakerphone
Messaging: SMS, MMS, email (POP3, IMAP4 and SMTP protocols), Instant messaging
Internet: Web browser, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, micro-USB 2.0, 3.5mm audio jack
Memory: 100MB plus microSD card slot (up to 32GB supported)
Processor: 1GHz
Vibration alert
Dual-band GSM plus quadband 3G HSPA
Size: 117 x 56 x 14 mm
Weight: 99g
Battery: 1320mAh
Talktime: 5.9 hours (3G)
Battery standby: 830 hours

Nokia Asha 302 User Reviews

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Average rating from 13 reviews:

Reviewed by Hitler Meinam from India on 2nd Oct 2012
I like nokia Asha 302.
It's very handy and its 1gh processor makes me to chat,message instantly.
But when i tried to connect it to my pc using nokia pc suite it does't work.
By the way i like it.
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by Cam from UK on 12th Sep 2012
If your stuck in a contract and hate your phone this could be the one for you.

I really disliked my touch screen phone (HTC) I don't think im the only one. So i was looking for a phone with physical buttons. This phone is ideal for that purpose. it doesn't have many apps etc. but if like me? i never really use them anyway.

So if you just call, text and occasionally check the football scores on 3G, then this is the phone for you.
(and then upgrade to a blackberry when you want a bit more)
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by Darcy from UK on 5th Sep 2012
Have had 2 Nokia C300 and thought I would have a change and bought an HTC Salsa. What a big mistake that was. Gave it to hubby. Bought the Asha 302 today. Give me Nokia QWERTY keyboards anytime and as for the phone - its brilliant.
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by J from UK on 24th Jun 2012
the video camera is actually 640x480, phone is very fast and efficient.
switch from android phone to this, much better ^^
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by Extra T from Nigeria on 8th May 2012
I'm writing from Nigeria, and so you guys don't just think "oh, Third World," I've lived in England for years too. Asha 302 is a basic phone alright but it does all a modern phone is supposed to and it does it well. An ok camera, Qwerty keyboard, 3.5G connectivity, quick access to social networks (we do this to over here too!). It's good, very good. A for such a low price? It's a steal.
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by Heyyupp from Cornwall on 21st Apr 2012
Ya know something, all these top dosh top phones we all know are amazing, proper wow technology star trekky stuff an all thst, when they work, which lot of the time they do, and it seems some of the time they dont which yeh is like tough, bit like broken down ferrari, bmw, audi, me own f.....g daewoo ;-) and we all know any phone, even the ten quideroonee ones can sometimes not work but hey,a tenner,payg.. Just recycled my 3 1/2 year old E71(brilliant) for £42 which I had to do by the way, and through online discountings :-) getting another £5 offings bought the £69.99 Asha 302 on 02 payg. So whats that, err £22.99.. And of course I have my 4gb card with over 15 hours of top tunes, proper mad mixes an allsorts, loads photos, and about 1 1/2 gig free space, still!! Well quess what, this phone for me is sale of the century, YehYehYeh it doesn't have the top top premium quality feel of the E71 or bits and pieces but the Asha 302 for me is way way way improved from the E71 and I should know shouldn't I. See, the camera on the E71 is rubbish, we all know that, but the camera on the Asha 302 is a little bit better, screen is better, music player is loads better even with cheap headphones, and for speed, well different generation for a mobile, E71 was it 237mhz processor?? Asha 302 1ghz processor and 32gig card handling, wireless and reet fast internet. Yeh I love it, but only because it works, I've only had it two weeks but while it works, it is amazing for the money, isn't it? Anyway, toodlepip and stuff xxx
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by The1beard from London uk on 13th Apr 2012
I hate touch screen phones which have short battery life and poor response rate

This Nokia is fast and has reasonable battery life.

It just annoys me that Nokia haven't made it just a little better there is no gps and the screen could have been of a higher resolution and it could have even better battery life.
But Nokia have again fallen just short of what could have been a great phone.

I just don't get nokias thought process they appear to always leave something out on every phone it's about time nokia got their act together and made an effort to make a high end numerical keypad and qwerty keypad phone to dominate these areas rather than waste time and effort on chasing the iPhone which is just a toy...
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by FionaT from United Kingdom on 2nd Apr 2012
Just got the Nokia Asha 302 last week after finally giving up on the abysmal HTC Wildfire S and the too many to mention probs I had with it for 7 months.
I was delighted with this phone the second I got it and that only seems to increase as time goes on.

A smart handset with understated style, charm and elegance to match any more expensive model out there.

The price absolutely stunned me at £100. I was concerned after spending nearly double that on the HTC Wildfire but to be honest, I needn't have worried at all.

I did not want an all singing all dancing app-saturated phone that would let me do amusing things with a funny mimicking monkey or age myself prematurely (god knows why I'd want to see that anyway!) so this is by far proving to be the best phone I have ever owned bar none.

The keyboard is reassuringly easy to use and within 2 texts, I was handling it like a pro. The layout is logical on the home screen, can be changed and amended as you please so will adapt to fit you rather pleasingly.

Texts - spot on, reliable, never misses a letter and same for calls. In fact, I am now enjoying less frustration and call drops than I did with the HTC by far and have clear, confident and COMPLETED calls now! Woo hoo! :)

I adore the one button email touch - marvellous and have all my email accounts listed so I simply pick one. Clear, easy to read and easily switched between email accounts make working on the go a doddle.

Social networking couldn't be easier either. All set up and within a couple of buttons you can be tweeting, fb'ing or whatever your poison is within seconds.

And I am thrilled to bits to find the music player is actually awesome!! :D
Volume is ace and the quality is crystal clear. I uploaded some music, ok a LOT of music from my cds and wow..did it within seconds, it didn't even break into a sweat!

I really cannot fault this phone in any way shape or form...even browsing the internet is fast, fuss-free and just gets on with it.

Absolutely bravo and well done Nokia! You really have played a blinder with this little gem!
Keep your iphones, your bb's and your samsungs...THIS phone is where it's at!

The revolution has begun and affordable outstanding phones are here!

off to adore my phone some more now. :)
Rating: Reply

Reply by nicki from uk on 19th Jun 2012
Atleast im not the only one to change from the htc wildfire s to this nokia =) hadit for 5 days, and no probsyet, i agree with everything your saying, its10x easier to text, one small moan i do have,its probs mewith the settingsis my texs i recieve the timeis an hour behind even though the texts are in order,but thats not an issue tomoan about, not going to rate he phone anyless becaue of that small problem, just let it be. This is my 3rdnokia, and so far the best.

Reviewed by robert from uk on 30th Mar 2012
Who needs a smart phone when you have a tablet? I dumped my HTC Mozart for this asha 302_ its a all you need for a phone... future trends will be a move away from smart phones back to dumb phones that work fast and are practical with a physical keyboard. Tablets will replace laptops and smartphones will be redundant. Nokia know what they are doing, this phone is way better than an overpriced blackberry and build quality is superior well done Nokia.
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by jon from UK on 26th Mar 2012
The phone is a budget phone which does not run android. What it does do however is run the Nokia OS very quickly - Opera web browser opens in an instant and the WLAN searches and connects to suitable connections very quickly.

Built in push e-mail for hotmail, gmail etc works perfectly and is really easy to setup as is the built in facebook app.

Yes it may not have the flexibility that a phone running android has but what it does have is a rock solid OS that never freezes and a battery that lasts well over one day.

Plus - Fast stable OS, Ok build, Push e-mail, QWERTY keypad
Cons - Not an android phone.
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by Bill from UK on 25th Mar 2012
I have had this mobile for a week now and can not fault it in anyway. Easy to use, excellent qwerty keyboard, fast internet connections, and very helpful prompts. This is not a touch screen phone and i am happy it isn't as my previous Nokia c02 touch screen was absolutely hopeless and am glad i exchanged for the Nokia 302 asha which i find very good for voice calls, texts, web surfing, e.mails, Facebook etc. Well done Nokia for producing this budget phone.
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by viral from England on 22nd Mar 2012
I think this excellent budget handset, just like the Blackberry Curve, will be a bestseller for Nokia with even more for the price. I think the wifi and 3g is an extra boost to this phone and will advance more from the Nokia Asha 202
Rating: Reply

Reviewed by samunder singh from india on 22nd Mar 2012
very good phone
Rating: Reply

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