When Nokia launched Asha 502, 503 and 500, One thing was clear–they are pretty serious about the platform– not only they upgraded the overall hardware in terms of camera, design languages and quality, they also rolled out OTA update to platform, WhatsApp, Imaging Apps and so on. Nokia 502 was recently announced and we take a look on how the phone has really turned out keeping in mind the price of the phone.
Video Review:
Hardware & Design (9.5/10)
While I could not figure out the exact processor and memory on this phone, the overall hardware along with the platform gives you a smooth experience. I am detailing out all minute details as below.
Design
Nokia made sure that using the dual shot concept and crystal like design, Asha 502, 503 and 500 is super attractive. It feels like there is already a case on the phone and corners being completely transparent the look and feel gets premium treatment. IMO with this deign upgrade, Asha 502 is all set to kick out Asha 501 from the league.
Touch:
Asha 502 got a huge upgrade to the display and touch experience. Asha 501 had a big time issue with touch as the screen wasn’t really smooth and always felt of low quality. 502 touch is super smooth and it doesn’t catch lot of dust which makes sure the response to your swipe, tap and so on are lot better this time and they even respond to quick flicks.
Display
- The 7.62 cm screen which supports 320 X 240 Resolution (QVGA.)
- It’s an LCD screen and prone to scratches. Now the unit which you will buy will have a screen guard already and it will get lot of scratches. Only when you take that off, you will get to know. I have it off and it does have scratches from Keys and stuff in my bag like battery charger, other phones when kept together. So make sure to keep a screen guard always on.
- The colors look natural and not over toned.
- Supports Double Tap to wake up and Glance Screen. They can be disabled from the settings.
- When in sunlight, it will be hard to read them or watch a movie. Since the clear black technology which makes sure of readability in direct sunlight is missing, be prepared for that.
Battery Life (9.5/10)
Battery Backup of Asha 502 is just brilliant. The first thing you should know that it’s not a 3G phone and it’s only on 2G which is a major factor contributing towards it’s battery life.
- 1st run : 10 hours of continuous Music over headphones and speaker. I had the phone on standby for 3 days before draining it completely. This also included an hour of radio.
- 2nd run : Used with two SIM, on 2G with twitter, facebook and whatsapp usage all the time. Battery lasted for 2.5 days.
The phone charging time is very low. It takes maximum of 20 minutes to charge up it’s 1010 mAh battery and looking at the draining experience, expect 502 to last for 3-4 days on average use and 2 days on heavy
Performance (8/10)
The overall performance of 502 is decent. I did not find it lagging heavily everywhere except few places like switching to camera when listening to music and so on.
You should all know that Asha 502 is not a true multi-tasking phone. Most of the apps don’t run in background except few like Twitter, Facebook, Nokia XPress browser and so on. Others you will have to quit to get back to the app drawer. Also when you use Camera or any other heavy app, the other makes a quit. So when you are using camera, the music will stop.
If I have to compare it with Asha 501, it’s much smoother now even though there is no major bump in the hardware. The screen and improvement in the platform has improved the overall user experience.
Most of the hiccups show up when you are using web apps and it’s mostly because they depend on internet speed. Since 502 is only 2G, the speed is pretty slow and hence the experience.
Asha 1.1. Features of OS ( 7/10)
While we have covered on Asha Platform extensively in Nokia 501 Review which you can read here, below are features which are new:
WhatsApp:
I have all the details about WhatsApp for Asha 502 listed here. In a nutshell it works without any hiccups and slowness. New message get notified both on the notification center which is a slide away and over lock screen. You can tap and open it instantly. Though I am not 100% sure, most of the messages loaded up as soon as they arrive. This means when you tap to open, you don’t have to wait for them to load. Read More here.
Fast Lane:
Starting with 1.1, the Fast Lane, section which logs all your activities including tweets, pictures, music and so on, is now more personalized and gets better with tighter integration with them.
You can also control which apps appear on your fast lane. This lets you take control on your privacy and also de-clutter your Fastlane. So for example, the fast lane lists down all your tweets and since you know what you are tweeting it doesn’t make sense. You can go to Settings > Fastlane and remove apps which are not required.
Easy capture and share videos:
The camera functionality has been improved so you can quickly take a picture and share wherever you want. You can swipe up from lock screen to open camera, take picture, swipe left and then select and share picture over any social network. One swipe can take you to the recent image, one tap to the camera settings and so on. More details in camera section.
Imaging Apps:
As the camera has improved drastically from 3MP to 5MP and addition of flash, there are new apps which are introduced like Picfeed, Pictag and Photofunia. All these arrangements make sure that sharing pictures is fun on Asha.
Others:
The platform also supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and VoIP. Developers can actually make use of these API’s i.e. Share API and VOIP API to integrate their apps into sharing feature. As an example, you can configure your social accounts like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and so on and the apps can hook with this API to share them over social network. This is exactly how Windows Phone Share API works.
Overview of Asha Platform:
Camera (8.5/10)
Asha 502 comes with camera which most of the people expected in Asha 501 and it comes with Flash. Not only there is a huge improvement in quality of the picture. Asha 501 was 3MP while Asha 502 comes with 5 MP camera and the LED flash makes all the difference, especially in low light.
Asha 1.1 bought new features to camera which you will not find on phones at similar pricing.
- You can use your camera from the long screen but swiping it up.
- Long press on the camera view and you have access to all settings.
- Apply filter as you take pictures.
- Swipe left and it becomes a video recorder.
The camera has fixed focus like point and shoot. It uses the LED flash thrice for improving the picture quality where it’s bit dark. The images captured appear in your Fastlane and can be accessed quickly instead of taking multiple steps to open from gallery.
Below are some camera samples:
Music + Nokia Music (9/10)
The latest Asha Platform update has integrated Nokia Music in the Music App. So when you launch it, the music store is right upfront along with option to see songs based on Albums, Artist and Song Names. You also have the playlist at the end which you can see by scrolling a bit. The best part of the store is that you don’t even need to signup using some Nokia account which is a perfect scenario for pickup and play
Nokia Music Store: It beautifully lists down the thumbnails of the latest and popular movies when you open it. The top three are listed right there which you can expand by tapping on the category head. So you have
- Featured albums
- Tops songs
- Top Albums
- Genres
- Playlist
The Playlist section is what I loved the most which is like recommendation for best of artists section. The songs are available for instant download and since they aren’t very high quality format, it download much faster.
What I really liked about the player is that it doesn’t differentiate separately between music files in SD card and on Phone Memory. It just picks up all the songs and lets you play them seamlessly. So you can have music from store or from your PC, it works together.
Once you have played a couple of songs, the player’s top section has three recently played songs which you tap to start listening instantly. You can also access your recently played song from Fastlane, Over the lock screen with option to pause it or skip to next song.
Audio (Level of Volume): When used over speakers, it’s loud but it’s not that loud that you can listen clearly in crowd while the phone stays in the pocket. I travelled in bus and all crowded place to figure this out. When you play it in less crowded or rather in your room and office, it’s brilliant. When used over earphones, the quality is decent enough. Better audio files you have in your phone, better the sound will be.
Song Quality: Like I said above they aren’t very high quality, as a matter of fact they are +eACC format but the hardware and software work together to deliver the best experience. The speaker of 502 is loud to enough to turn some necks around or wake your partner if you set it as alarm tone.
When used over earphones that come along with 502, it delivers good experience. By no means its a low quality earphone. The only thing which you may not like is that they are not ergonomic. It hurts a bit when used for long time.
Available to your PC: All the songs which you download from Nokia Music store are available on your PC when you connected as Removable Storage or Mass Storage mode. You can copy them from the Music Store Downloads folder.
Gaming (6/10)
Most of the games that come on Asha 502 are web based games or Java games and it’s mostly because the platform is yet to support anything major yet. In one line, this phone is not for hard-core gaming, it’s for casual gaming.
The list of games which come preinstalled are Bejeweled, Fifa 13, GT Racing, Kingdom & Lords, Pacman, Ridge Racing, Real Football, The Sims, Wonder Zoo and so on. Most of them are from Gameloft. They are ok in quality and you can play them with hiccups.
Value for Money (8.5/10)
The phone is priced at Rs 5750 in India and looks a bit costly but the real question is who are the target users. Keeping in mind the price of the phone which is set to Rs 5750 in retail market, you can always find Android phones in this price with touch screen. However the biggest problem with Android phones at that price is stability and updates.
Asha 502 is not only extremely stable phone but the recent update to Asha 1.1. made sure that users can also trust them on future updates. One of the major game changer in 1.1 is the whatsapp support on dual sim which was missing in it’s previous and on any dual SIM phone from Nokia.
The target users are those who are looking to upgrade from Type or feature phone to a smartphone which can include all social integration, whatsapp, a camera, smooth touch experience and brilliant support for Music. Asha 502 is able to deliver all of them well.
Conclusion:
The long battle is yet to be won but Asha has started making it’s place in the segment of users who need touch phones along with simplicity, social integration, a decent camera and design and give users an option to have a beautiful phone at the same price they been paying for not so looking great phones. Asha 502 has marked the beginning of a different segment of phone with a new platform. The phone is good to buy and worth the price.
[wp-review]
I found this review to be very useful. Especially, that the touch responsiveness is much improved over the 501.
I only just realised it doesn’t have 3G, after reading this. This has made me reconsider a purchase.
I guess You need Asha 503. That should be out next year.
Under Whatsapp topic, the link to the video is missing..
Thanks Hari, Updating it right away.
Is there any app on this platform which can read .pdf and .doc files? Old Nokia devices used to have it, not sure with Asha platform.
go for 503 ….it has 3g
Why following features of 502 are missing from would-be launch of asha 503:
-Landscape orientation,
-Auto and manual white balance,
-Still image editor,
-Full screen viewfinder,
Also camera digital zoom is 3x in asha 503 whereas it is 4x in asha 502. Why these variations are kept in upbeat model and in what way these are going to affect performance of the device (asha 503) in comparison to 502.
Thanks
I am assuming all your questions are around camera section.
1. Both Portrait and landscape are available.
2. If you long press when the camera is open, you can see the White Balance Option available.
3. Tap on any image and you will see a icon which lets you edit your image. You can Rotate, Flip, Crop, Add effects and change light and contrast.
4. What do you mean by full image view finder ?
Regarding Zoom, I will let you know when I test 503.
I WAS USING LUMIA 520, BUT NOW I WILL HAVE TO GET IT REPAIRED IT WILL COST 4500. IS IT GOOD REPAIR. OR IF I WILL PURCHASE NOKIA ASHA 503. NOKIA ASHA CAMERA WILL BE ABLE TO COMPETE WITH LUMIA 520 OR NOT. I USED 520. ACCORDING TO ME IT IS AWESOME ?
Better stick with Lumia 520. How much is the price for new one on your side?
How to save an email attachment on asha 502?
Thaks Sir. Great review. Very helpful.
Any email with attachment will have the attachment sign on the left. When you open the email, you should see the attached document exactly from where the email starts
This phone run youtube ?
Is there any app to open word/pdf files in ASHA 502 ?
My Pocket for Office Docs and Portable PDF Reader for PDF files
how can we connect to asha 502 with nokia suite it is not connecting I tall to nokia call center they are saying that we are going to launch a new replacement of that any body have any idea
Asha 502 is not supported by Nokia Suite.
can you tell me if its possible to connect Asha 502 to the PC and utilise PC’s internet connection to browse net on the phone? it has a “Modem” option but it didn’t work
which one should i buy asha 501 or 502
502 all the way. It has good design if that matters to you
how to uninstall the game apps from asha ,503
Long press, click the cross icon and you are done
but there is no cross icon on the app
it forms on WhatsApp icon only all other apps are stable without cross
Hello sir read your article on nokia asha 502 which made me to purchase today but one thing clear me wheather flash of the nokia asha 502 can be used as torch like in e63
HI, That’s not possible. We have confirmed from some Nokia guys also and they say that support for torch is not there
I will check on this deeply, What you say is correct because for preinstalled apps, it is not possible to remove it. Will be back in a day or two.
THANKU FOR YOUR VALUABLE REPLY
Does this phone support Googlemap with my locaion feature?
No Google maps on Windows Phone. You may use Gmaps Pro
Does that support My location feature?
hello sir confused in between nokia asha 502 vs samaung galaxy sduos 2, im not a heavy browser,not interested in games.just want dual sim,browser.torch.good battery back up.3g pls suggest me right handset
asha 502 pdf & word format can not open.
Search for PDF and My Pocket Office in the store. You will get a link to download for free.
Splendid, since Android phone took over the market it’s very hard to find such decent review for Nokia phones. I enjoyed my Android phones but since the battery backup has always been an issue to me. Most of the time I am away from home, travelling so in that case non Android phone satisfied me in terms of battery backup. I really missed old days when I had to have fun with my Nokia 5230. I use to listen Music, watching Video, taking picture and easily make it home at night without experiencing switch off.
Anyways, I’m planning to buy Nokia phone, but also concern with battery backup. So, please can u advice which one should I buy? Is it Asha 502 and 503?
Asha 502 has better battery life than Asha 503. Mostly because of 3G, which drains more battery.
I bought my asha 503 here in the philipines. My problem is that, it doesn’t have music store. How can i download music directly to my phone?
Sir, i turned off my asha 502 unit and when i press start, it wud begin with loading and upto the menu but wud not respond to touch and the screen wud turn white and all will disappera, it will happen again and again and in fact has been happening for two days now… what to do please? thank you
How To Save A Photo In Fb Application in Asha 502 ?
Can Any Say Plsss …. ?
Please carry it to the Nokia Care!!!
I think Nokia Music is not available in your country and hence the problem.
It does not support pdf and can’t access the mail attachment. Is it possible to read pdf files here?
is 502 support music player equalizer? if yes how to activate it.
First of all thanks for your valuable review. It was extremely beneficial.
I don’t want to use Internet on Nokia Asha 502. Is there any method to stop using net on this phone like we have in android phones ?
Sorry, there is no support for equalizer.
You can download attachment by tapping on them. They should appear right under the subject. To open PDF files, you need PDF reader. Check out the this link
It does support HERE Maps. That has My Location feature.
thank you very much…can you please provide me a link to download Gmaps pro…i downloaded from google app but it stops at terms and condition page. can not accept or decline the terms page…is there any application for viewing map and routes…
Hello Ashish, how to upgrade the video player in it. or which format are compatible for already existed player. I cannot watch movies, when dvd format played, it stuck a lot. guide.
Hi Ashish,am using 502 but when i am opening music store it says something wrong and its not opening.Any help.
Nokia Asha 502 does not have an option to change wifi settings.
I use a static private Wifi with DNS WEP security, 54 MBPS. However when I connect it to my phone network via tethering it connects immediately. I do not seem to find any wifi settings. Am I missing something?
i just wanted to install an english dictionary……but i am unable to find such app which works offline i.e by not using Data. Is it possible for this model?
i cannot open the music store
What’s the Error?
it shows something went wrong
I can’t use ”double tap” to wake-up from sleep mode even though option in settings is on. Tried other way around too. Why?
Forget about that question, I figured it out. But now I’m lost at how to connect Asha phone to my PC internet running on Linux? DO I need PC suite?
i have nokia 500 , When ever i open Music Store it shows ” Something went wrong ”
Its a new phone , like 2 weeks old, what is the solution for that ?
Mr ashish, i have copied some songs from another smart phone through bluethooth. when starts playing audio only coming, video display not there. pl clarify
Hi, What is the format of those video files?
How can I copy the pictures on fb to my Nokia 502 fone?or does it even have a screen shot?
Hi, I just Bought Nokia Asha 502, but when i attached headphone it shows headphone not supported.. Am i missing some settings? Please guide….
I can’t change wifi settings.:-‘(
Hello Sir,
i want to download “Free English Dictionary (Full Version)” from PC and install it in my phone….and want to access it without internet support… Does it possible?? if so how could i do so???? please help me out in this.
Dear Ashish sir, I need to put my IRCTC ticket confirmation message into archive, but I am unable to find any options in messaging, can you please help …
Is Document viewer and FM record optio available in asha 502? What is the highest video capturing quality?
Did asha 502 supports offline games? for all games it asks internet connection.
Please inform Nokia to build some good apps (some of which must work offline), so that the phone can be used like a “smartphone !”. The Pdf reader, My pocket office are horrible apps. The reviews are also suggesting the same. Moreover, WPA2 enterprise connection is not available. It feels really bad when someone with a Samsung phone, which costs around Rs. 3500 connects to WPA2 enterprise network, while Asha 502 can’t….There is not even an offline torch app….so if its dark, first you have to connect your phone to wifi and then only you can turn on torch….isn’t it a joke in the name of an app…
Sir, I got to hear from some of my friends that Nokia Asha 502 does not notify us when the battery is fully charged. Is it true??
I’ve a Problem in My Nokia Asha 502 Mobile, i.e., “Something went Wrong” whenever I tried to capture a picture, so Please tell me how to fix it.
Have you tried a reset
sir but portable pdf reader satisfies is limited up to only 10mb e books and moreover it requires net to open so is there any other app which could open pdf files offline
HOW CAN i OPEN pdf AND wORD FILES ON MY ASHA 502?
How to remove preinstalled apps. Its taking my phone memory
Insert the earphone into the jack completely till you hear a click sound.Then u will see it working.
Hey hi, i have bought asha 500, upgraded to version 1.4, but now i cant backup my stuff… it shows “something went wrong in creating backup”. Please tell me fast how should i do, i even tried with nokia pc suite but it always stops working!!
i want to factory reset my phone, it is giving me a lot of trouble, the phone starts dj when listening to music.. it get randomly touched anywhere while using, sometimes a song which is played many times by me, phone sometimes shows this type of file cannot be played!!
500 goes and makes me go nuts!
Please help me fast!
how to share photos directly from gallery to whatsapp, is there any setting?
how to take screen capture in nokia asha 502??/
i’ve taken it somany times when i first bought the phone…but i don’t know how i did it…there were screen captures of my whatsapp chat in my gallery
..please help me figure out