Nokia C2-03: Everything you need to know

“Of the 3.7bn people who don’t have a smartphone, 1.2bn have only SMS and they don’t have a data plan, and 1.5bn people don’t use the web,” said Stephen Elop, CEO Nokia at the Nokia Connection 2011 today. With the aim to connect the "next billion" to the internet, Nokia is releasing Symbian S40, lower-end, feature rich handsets to tap on this market.

Nokia unveiled its third dual SIM, touch type phone today to cater to this unconnected billion users market. Dubbed as Nokia C2-03, this Series 40-powered device sports a 240 x 320 screen with up to 65K colours. Weighing just 118g, Nokia C2-03 measures 103 x 51.4 x 17mm and fits perfectly in the palm of your hands. The device offers talk time of up to five hours, and standby time up to 400 hours, with the music playback time up to 35 hours. Nokia C2-03 is ideal for mobile users who want to combine fun and functionality into one device.

So, what do Nokia fans need to know about the new debutant Nokia C2-03:

Easy Swap

Now enjoy painless swapping of SIM cards with Nokia C2-03. The device comes packed with a Easy Swap feature that allows you to open the slot on the side of the phone and simply insert your new SIM. Now no more removing phone cover or battery to replace the SIM.

Multiple SIM support

If you find yourself with more than two SIM's, no worries, the Nokia C2-03 is capable of remembering the settings for up to five separate cards. So, when you are personalizing your SIM by adding a name and call settings, you will not have to repeat this step ever again.

Nokia Browser for Series 40

The Nokia C2-03 promises to offer a unique Internet browsing experience to the mobile users thanks to the newly released Nokia Browser for Series 40. According to Mary McDowell, the head of Nokia’s Mobile Phones business unit, "this browser makes it easier, faster and more affordable than ever before to access internet and use popular services like search and Facebook. It uses cloud technology to lighten the load on the network compressing the data upto to 90% before it reaches the phone - so you experience faster internet and affordable internet." This is good news for operators too, who save on the bandwidth thanks to compressed data.

This Nokia browser will be a standard feature from now on on all future Series 40 devices. McDowell believes that, "why should consumers have to choose between touch and keypad, or forego a great web, map, entertainment or email experience?"


Nokia Maps & location capabilities

The Nokia C2-03 comes preloaded with the new Nokia Maps for Series 40.  Now you can search for a location, check out places of interest and plan a route in an offline mode. Also since the maps are preloaded you don't have to pay a dime. Nokia maps also use cell tower positioning and not a GPS so there is no data connection required. This new service will give a big boost to the Series 40 phones.

The Nokia C2-03 will be priced for Rs. 5000 approximately and will hit the market in the later part of this year.