Nokia has today announced that the Nokia Asha 205 Dual SIM is now available for purchase in East Africa at estimated retail prices:

• KES 5,499 in Kenya,
• UGX 215,000 in Uganda
• TSH 120,000 in Tanzania.

The Nokia Asha 205 is the newest addition to the Asha range that has a QWERTY keypad and is the only Nokia device to feature a dedicated Facebook button, making it perfect for highly social consumers who want the fastest access to their Facebook profile.

Combined with eBuddy Chat, Twitter and support for popular email accounts such as Gmail, the Nokia Asha 205 Dual SIM is designed to ensure that people are never more than a few clicks away from their social networks.

The Nokia Asha 205 is also the first device to feature Nokia’s exclusive Slam feature. Slam allows consumers to share multimedia content like photos and videos with nearby friends almost instantly. Slam also works with most Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones without the need to pair devices, and without the recipient needing to also have Slam.

Nokia East Africa General Manager, Bruce Howe said that the Nokia Asha 205 with QWERTY keyboard and dedicated Facebook button is perfect for the vibrant youth market in East Africa.

“Recent reports from Social Bakers indicate that there are now almost 3.3 million Facebook users in Kenya, Ugnada and Tanzania, and the majority of these are between the age of 18 to 24. In Kenya alone, Facebook users grew by over 30 percent in the last six months, highlighting the importance of making Facebook access seamless.” Said Howe.

Other key features packed in the phone include:

• eBuddy screen notifications that keep users up-to-the-minute on new conversations
• A comprehensive mobile entertainment package, including 40 free EA Games available for download, along with tens of thousands of other apps available from Nokia Store
• Nokia’s exclusive Easy Swap technology that enables consumers to change SIM cards without having to turn off the device
• It can remember the settings of up to five SIM cards making it easy to switch between making calls or using the internet.
• Standby time of up to 25 days

The Nokia Asha 205 Dual SIM takes advantage of the Nokia Xpress Internet platform, which uses Nokia’s cloud technology to reduce data consumption by up to 90 percent, helping consumers enjoy more affordable internet access. It also features Nokia Nearby, a web app that helps consumers discover points of interest such as restaurants, shopping and ATM close to their location.