Nokia's Top Sellers As Of Q4 2012

I happened to visit a few mobilephone shops lately; one was a Nokia main supplier of Northern Mindanao, Philippines, another, a huge mobilephone shop in Misamis Occidental and lastly, Nokia's Flagship Store in Limketkai Mall, Cagayan De Oro City, so I throw to them the question at bar, which among the Nokia phones were selling well at the time being.

Coincidentally, they almost have the same answers, though they did not gave any information as to the number of units sold. Accordingly, the succeeding phones were the most inquired with a high rate of sales return.

On top of the lists is the Nokia 101, a dual SIM phone that costs around PhP1,500. The phone sports a memory card, a music player, and Nokia's compact design that could withstand any abuse. Main consideration here for buyers, the phone's price.

Nokia Asha 309 is close to second place, a full touch Asha device with a capacitive (soft touch) screen. The phone takes advantage of the popularity of touch interface, and among these breeds, the phone is the most affordable, stylish and game packed (40 Free EA Games), buyers can't say no to it.

Lastly, the Nokia Asha 302. As observed, people buy it because of its Wi-Fi feature aside from being an attractive QWERTY phone.

Aside from the top sellers, I also ask them about the Lumia line up. They say the Nokia Lumia 610 sold the fastest with affordability as the primary reason, and the Kris Aquino factor. Accordingly, people would often ask for the device that Kris used in the TV commercial.

Well, that's would be it for now, quite a short list I know but I tried my best to extract more information, its just that the sales personnel I've talked to where really tepid in sharing information's being restricted. Lets try this next time. ;)

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Top 5 Most Read Articles of 2012: Double, Righteous, Lights and Everything in Between!

2012 is coming to an end ladies and gentlemen and one of the best way to cheer the departing year is to feature the best of the its best, the blogs most read articles.

Just like the trend in 2011, all articles that made it to the list were related to mobilephones, quite reasonable enough, having wrote almost 80% about it. I should consider balancing my articles for next year, the blog is not just about mobilephones, its about everything that life has to offer.

My written posts also shrink this year, my schedules were really getting hectic day by day specially that my law school gets tougher, but even so, I still manage to post 326 out of 364 days, not bad but it may get worst in 2013.

So back to the topic, which articles were the most viewed this year? Lets begin!

5. Conversations with Nokia Lumia 800, First Take

I posted this article in March 27, 2012 detailing part one of my three parts review of the Lumia 800 which Nokia Conversations lend me for trial, few weeks before its official release in the Philippines. The device was quite popular that time which in turn channeled a lot of page views but perhaps the main reason why the article earned so much attention was because the review was featured by Nokia Philippines in their official website alongside other review articles from top tech blogs and websites in the country. It was frantic then, I never thought anybody would take my reviews seriously. Up to now I still believed that they just made a serious mistake in featuring my review, like really!

4. Confirmed! Nokia Lumia 920 and 820's Philippine Release Date

Immensely popular, the least two words I can bests describe the Nokia Lumia 920 and 820 since this article already made it as one of the the most read article of the year even if I only posted it 4 weeks ago! What more, the article even made it to #10 of the blog's all time view lists making the fastest climbing article of all racking down 3-4 year old ones in short span of time and breaking record views in unimaginable phase. The overwhelming page views came from search inquiries which would only mean that tens and hundreds of thousands were searching for the phones release date and maybe eagerly waiting to buy one. Its starling, very much unexpected.

3. Nokia Asha 200 Pep Talk Part 2, Software, Browser, eMail, Camera, Wrap Up

I brought this phone to serve as my business reloader device for teo of the country's leading telecom networks, but it gave me more than what I expected, a lot of blog visitors and page views via my review article on the phone. This also proves how popular the phone is besides the fact that its one of Nokia bestseller in 2012. As of the moment, I'm just glad that I bought the phone for myself.

2. Nokia 110, The Most Affordable Dual Sim Internet Device

I also brought this phone as my reloader device last June 2012 before the Nokia Asha 200 with the review article posted on the 29th of the same month. The phone was a fine one but it did not settled well enough for me as a perfect reloader device so I have to ditched it a week after. That was just me though, the phone rocks in popularity and the blog is riding along with it.

1. Nokia 101 Review, Basic and Staunch

The run away winner actually since the page view difference of this review post and that of  Nokia 110 was more than half. I posted the article February 2012 and since then, up to know the back links were still outrageous that it now scored #4 on the all time hit list and still growing. Who in the world wont be curious and attracted on this phone, its very affordable and well built and its the first Dual SIM running phone from Nokia. For the same reason as Nokia Asha 200 and Nokia 110, the phone serve as my reloader device but of the 3, I've used this the longest.

Well, their you go folks, the blog's most popular articles of 2012. As you might noticed, most of which are entry level Dual SIM phones and by reason of finding the person reloader device, well I guess I need continue this madness because its good for the blog. I already had my eyes on the new breeds of Nokia Dual Sim phones at the moment, lets see if they'll invade the top lists again next year. I'm also looking forward to the Nokia Lumia 920, the phone would definitely bring a lot more visitors to the blog as it begins to roll out internationally. Lets see how everything plays, 2013 is in 2 days.

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Nokia 101 Review, Basic and Staunch

The Nokia 101 is one of the earliest Dual Sim and Dual Standby phone from Nokia. Released in October, 2011, the phone is currently the most popular and hottest selling entry level dual handset in the market. I personally call it the best...

...here are some of the reasons why:

1. There is no other phone in its market bracket that can challenge its usefulness and reliability. The phone has all basic features, but apart from that, you are guaranteed with a good signal strength on both SIM cards, clearness of voice calls and easy messaging features such as the predictive text input, all mastered and perfected by Nokia for decades, unlike the rest (Chinese clones, etc.) which falters in signal after a month used, prevalent hazy voice calls and worst, confusing SMS input mechanism.

2. Simple user interface. Just like what they've been known for the longest time, Nokia made it sure that users will have no problem using and familiarizing the phone's dual mechanisms and overall features.

3. The phone is built-stamped with quality. Its wrap in plastic, yet very solid that you wont care dropping it even on hard surfaces. I dropped my phone several times, yet the phone still works perfectly fine. Try that on Chinese clones and you'll will get either broken screens, microphone, earpiece, antenna or all of the above, and what more, these clones won't be fixed, so you'll need to buy another unit again. It just need a plastic outer case since its not scratch proof.

4. One of the best asset of the phone is its T9 keypad, its rubberized, well spaced, well defined, well lighted and had a very good tactile feedback. The rubberized key mat is pleasurable to press and its not slippery unlike the shiny plastic key mat of Nokia X1-01.

5. Battery life is outstanding on the phone. On the average, the phone lasts for 4 days covering all my communication need, music and games. I often forgot the last day I charge it, thats how long the phone lasts on me.

6. Having a loudspeaker with 103phon will never leave you alert-less when you have upcoming calls or SMS. Its considerably loud that you can hear the phone in your pocket on a busy street or fill a moderate size room with sounds when playing music files.

7. Screen is only 1.8 inch with 128 x 160 pixels, but its well fitted from the background themes, screen backlights, to the text characters that makes the display viewable enough.

8. It has a Micro SD card slot that could support up to 16GB. Most of the phones with the same price bracket doesn’t even have SD cards or if supported, can only handle 2GB the most. With a micro SD slot, you can attached memory cards and add or play mp3 files all you want.

9. And talking about mp3 and music, the phone had a 3.5mm audio jack which is very rare on budget phones specially that most of them have reduce size and dimension that the manufacturers would rather squeeze in smaller connectors just to complement. The standard size connector would allow users to connect their own headphones to play music or FM radio.

10. Bright flashlight. As simple as it may seems but in third world countries like the Philippines, this feature is more than helpful to be ridiculed with. We usually have power shortages here every now and then so this feature helps a lot.

11. Seven pre-installed games to choose upon; Beach Rally - a car racing game, Keyboard Master - a game were you can play several instruments, Music League, Tone Wizard, Suduko and the all time favorite Snakes Xenzia. So its basically a gaming device that users can play all day through.

12. Useful productivity features such as the calculator, reminders, converter, spreadsheet, countdown timers, calendar, stopwatch and ringtone composer.

13. Last but not the least, the phones price is very affordable. At the moment, I can be brought for PhP1,460-1,560 or even lower on direct retailers.

Disadvantages of the phone:

1. The music player is too simple. Users cannot create playlist on it, just favorites that cannot be manage or arrange to preference.

2. I find the Inbox mechanism peculiar. The phone combines the inbox of two SIM cards, though it has markers per SIM, the side scroll marker on the right most side is very thin that its almost impossible to see. Users wont be able to know how far they have scrolled up or down.

3. No camera, it had become a basic feature nowadays even in entry level phones.

4. No PC connectivity

5. Limited customization, you can't add your own theme or wallpapers on it.

6. No Nokia store client, therefore users can't install additional apps on it.

Must Buy for:

1. New mobilephone users
2. Students
3. Business enthusiasts (Good phone for selling prepaid loads)
4. Professionals with tight budget (like me!)
5. Individuals who want a plain decent phone.
6. Individuals who don’t want to charge phones often.

To know the phones full specs, CLICK HERE!

Here are Part's 1 and 2 of my video walk-through with the phone. Enjoy!

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Easy Swap With Sun Cellular and Nokia Dual SIM Phones

Philippines premier Unlimited Service provider, Sun Cellular and the worlds biggest mobilephone manufacturer, Nokia, ties up to bring the grandest Dual SIM phone postpaid plan offer in the world to date!

Not one or two, but four of the most popular Dual SIM phones from Nokia is being offered FREE under the Easy Swap postpaid plan starting with the Nokia C2-03 Touch and Type at Sun Plan 350, the Nokia C2-00 on Sun Fixed Load Plan 350, the Nokia X1-01 on Sun Fixed Load Plan 250 and the Nokia 101 on Sun Add-on Plan 150. Awesome deal here, or should I say, a runaway postpaid plan win for people who wants to make more of the money spent.

Under the Sun Plan 350 with FREE Nokia C2-03 Touch and Type, users could choose from the following service profile:

1. Call & Text Unlimited
Get the following:
- Unlimited Calls & Texts to all Sun Cellular subscribers
- 250 FREE SMS to other networks

2. Text Unlimited
Get the following:
- Unlimited Texts to Sun Cellular subscribers
- P200 Consumable(except International/Domestic Operator-assisted calls)
- 250 FREE SMS to other networks

3. Fully Consumable
Get the following:
- P350 Consumable (except International/Domestic Operator-assisted calls)
- 250 FREE SMS to other networks


Sun Fixed Load Plan 350 with FREE Nokia C2-00 has the following service profile to offer:

1. Call & Text Unlimited
Get the following:
- Unlimited Calls & Texts to all Sun Cellular subscribers

2. Text Unlimited
Get the following:
- Unlimited Texts to all Sun Cellular subscribers
- P200 Consumable (except International/Domestic Operator-assisted calls)

3. Fully Consumable
Get the following:
- P350 Consumable (except International/Domestic Operator-assisted calls)


Sun Fixed Load Plan 250 with FREE Nokia X1-01 has the following service profile to offer:

1. Text Unlimited
Get the following:
- Unlimited Texts to Sun Cellular subscribers
- P100 Consumable (except International/Domestic Operator-assisted calls)

2. Fully Consumable
Get the following:
- P250 Consumable (except International/Domestic Operator-assisted calls)


While the Sun Add-on Plan 150 with FREE Nokia 101 has this service profile to offer:
- Unlimited Texts to Sun Cellular subscribers
- 4 hours calls to Sun Cellular subscribers


And there's one more! Only one SIM slot is locked to Sun Cellular, meaning, you can use the other one using Globe or Smarts, hows that for a treat?

So what are you waiting for? Go Grab your Easy Swap Plan from Sun Cellular now and enjoy the best Dual SIM phones from Nokia now before supplies lasts.

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The Nokia 101 Hands On Video Part 2

Some weekend video watching everyone, Part 2 of the Nokia 101 Dual SIM hands on.

The video covers the phones settings, music player, games pre-installed, clock and alarm, reminders and calendar, calculator, converter, spread sheet among the rest of the phones feature.

I did forgot to mention on the video that the D-Pad had shortcuts pre-assigned, Left button for the Write message, Right button for the Calendar, Bottom part to directly access the Contacts and double click on the Top button to turn the Flashlight on and single click to turn it off.

Enjoy!

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Mobilephone Price Watch, Pre-Christmas 2011

Most of you where probably planning to buy something for yourself, friends or love ones for Christmas, well, if mobilephones is part of the list, then set your eyes here to find their current market price.

Lets start with the highly regarded and no less than the best mobilephone in the market for 2011, the Nokia N9. The cheapest store price you can find will be around PhP23,500 for the 16GB variant and PhP27,500 for the 64GB variant. Nokia N9 is also currently offered FREE at All-in Plan 3,500 and Unlimited Data Plan PhP2,000 on Smart Telecom. Nokia Flagship stores and eBay power sellers offers it a thousand more than the store price.

Of the Nokia phones currently sold in the market, the one year old Nokia N8, the current camera king comes next in the Nokia price hierarchy. The cheapest store price you can find will be around PhP17,500, merely the same to that of eBay.ph's power sellers. It is also currently offered FREE at All-in Plan 2,500 and Unlimited Data Plan PhP1,500 on Smart Telecom, Sun Cellular offers this FREE on Elite Plan 2,500, forget about Globe, they suck for not offering this phone in their line-up. Nokia Flagship stores offers it a thousand more than the store price.

Then came the E-series flagship, the Nokia E7. Even if it has a better specs and feature than that of the Nokia N8, the phone is currently being offered less, the cheapest store price is currently offered for PhP17,000, very much similar again to eBay.ph power sellers. The phone is FREE at All-in Plan 2500 and Unlimited Data Plan 3000 at Smart Telecom, Globe and Sun doesn't offer the phone. Nokia Flagship stores offers it a thousand more than the store price. I will flag this as the best buy among the phones, you will get more than what you pay for.

My dream form factor, QWERTY Capacitative Candy Bar, Nokia E6 is now being offered with the cheapest store price of PhP13,500. Globe Telecom offers this for FREE on Plan 2,499, this time around Smart and Sun sucks

Nokia 700, the most affordable Symbian Belle with 1Ghz processor is being sold in retail store the cheapest at around PhP13,700. No telecom offers yet for the phone. Well, if you want to experience a better and faster user interface in a pocket friendly pitch, then this is the perfect phone for you.

Then we have the Nokia Asha 303, another QWERTY Capacitative touch candybar phone, my dream phone factor, its currently being offered at around PhP6,450. If you want a fast, powerful yet affordable phone to satisfy your socially connected lifestyle, look no further.

Then the Dual SIM line ups that highly recommend, the Nokia 101, X1-01 and C2-01. All three with different market targets, C2-03 for the young and fashionable, price at PhP4,300, the Nokia X1-01 for the music oriented individuals, price at PhP1,870, then last but the least, my business phone, the Nokia 101 which cost at around PhP1430 on retail stores.

So there you go folks, pick one that best fits your lifestyle. Have a merry Nokia Christmas to all. Enjoy shopping!

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Nokia 101 Dual Sim Hands On

Some weekend watching for everyone whose curious and interested in buying the most affordable dual SIM phone from Nokia, the Nokia 101.


I've used this phone for more than a week now and so far, I'm very happy with it as the phone very much satisfy its main purpose. I actually had a hard time finding one since its sold out in most stores I've been to. Word of advice, call retail stores first and ask if they have one to spare you from the hassle of jumping from one store to another like what happen to me.

Anyways, without further a do, the hands on video of the hottest phone in town.

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Nokia 101, My New Business Phone

I've mentioned in my posts few days back about getting a Dual Sim phone to replace my signal stricken Cherry Mobile T9, well I finally got one, my very first Nokia Dual Sim as a reloader device, the Nokia 101.

If you may ask what this reloader device all about, well, we have here in the Philippines a Sim card that is capable of loading prepaid credits of another, we call it here a retailer Sim and being a retailer, you get to earn a percentage of the amount loaded earning you extra income. My Nokia 101 carries two retailer Sim cards of two of the biggest telecom network, Smart and Globe.

I'm suppose to be buying the Nokia X1-01, also a Dual Sim phone, but my sister already owns one so I thought of getting this instead to prevent possible mixed up or confusion in the future. Nokia 101 is also cheaper among other Nokia Dual SIM phones so it was the most preferable.

My first impression on the phone; its very handy, lightweight and feels solid to hold. I actually like its minimal and simplistic design, just adept to its basic mobilephone notion. The phone is covered with cheap plastic, scratch prone I would say so it needs a protective cover. The T9 keypad is rubberize plastic making it soft and pleasurable to click with a good tactile feedback. Its also well spaced making it perfect for texting.

But what I like the most so far is its signal strength, it catches signal more than any of my previous phones. There were areas in the house were I don't get signal, now its being covered by Nokia 101. The phone also had a good loudspeaker, I hardly miss any text or call with it.

Well, this will be it for now folks, catch my full review of the phone in a few days time. I will also be posting a hands on video of the phone, for the moment, enjoy this first few images of my new business phone.

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Nokia 101, The Budget Dual Sim Full Specs

Be entertained with the stereo FM radio and MP3 music player in the Nokia 101, and manage your costs and optimize the network coverage with the dual SIM.

Key Features:

• Nokia dual SIM: Minimize your costs, manage your calls and optimize network coverage.
• Personalize your phone and save up to 5 SIM cards with unique information such as different icons and MP3 ring tones.
• Enjoy the 65k 1.8” color screen with the grid based menu and the fun and easy to read icons.
• Listen to your favorite music with the stereo FM radio and MP3 player (with headset included in the sales package). Store thousands of songs on memory cards up to 16 GB.
• Manage your contacts by creating different phone books with a total support up to 500 entries.
• Keep youself informed with Nokia Life Tools and be on top of your daily finances with Nokia Money (available in selected markets).

Technical Profile

• System: GSM/EDGE Dual Band 900/1800
• User Interface: Series 30
• Dimensions: 110 mm x 45.5 mm x 14.9 mm (L x W x H)
• Weight: 69.6 g (including battery)
• Display: 128 x160 up to 65k color TFT display
• Memory card: Support for up to 16 GB microSD memory cards
• Connectivity: 2.0 mm Charger Connector, 3.5 mm AV Connector

Other features:

• Integrated flashlight
• 3.5 mm AV connector
• Time tracker and pre-paid tracker (network based function)
• Preloaded games

Operating Times:

BL-5C
• Standby time: Up to 32 days
• Talk time: Up to 8.5 hours
• Music playback time up to 33 hours

BL-5CB
• Standby time: Up to 25 days
• Talk time: Up to 6.7 hours
• Music playback time up to 26 hours

The Nokia 101 standard sales package includes:

• Nokia 101 handset
• Nokia Battery:
• BL-5C 1020 mAh (India, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lank and Nepal)
• BL-5CB 850 mAh (for the rest of the world)
• Nokia Compact Charger:
• AC-3, AC-11X or AC-11N (will vary from market to market)
• Nokia Stereo Headset WH-102
• Compact Visual User Guide

Colors

• Phantom Black, Coral Red
* Color availability will vary from market to market

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Nokia 700 and 701 Shipping, Nokia 100 and 101 In Stores

Nokia announced several devices few weeks ago from high end Symbian Belle to entry level Dual SIM's, and as planned, phones will be release as soon as possible and they did, Nokia tweeted that 700 and 701 is now shipping with expected availability in retails stores in a weeks time while the Nokia 100 and 101 is now sold in retail stores.

This is a huge step forward for the company since most of there release dates before were 6 months to 1 year from announcement and that they're fun of postponing release dates, well, they were on schedule this time making a positive impression that Nokia is dead serious in wanting to make a comeback in the smartphone war. Time is gold in business and Nokia learned this attitude the hard way, by losing top slot in the smartphone market.

The Nokia 101 is now being sold locally for PhP1,560.00 ($36.02), good value for the money for a basic phone with dual SIM capability and tough hardware. I'm actually planning to buy either this phone or Nokia X1-01 for my Reloading business. Find more info of the Nokia 101 here.

Find the complete specs of the Nokia 700 here and Nokia 701 here.

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Nokia 101 and 100, Bargain Dual SIM Phones

Nokia launched its most affordable phones to date, the Nokia 101 and Nokia 100 phones, offering modern, attractive designs, a range of practical and fun features, and services that extend the value of the phone with access to information and entertainment. The dual SIM functionality enables users to connect to two different networks to receive calls and messages.

Nokia 101

The Nokia SIM manager allows users to select which SIM card to use to make a call or send a text message helping them manage costs and maintain network coverage without needing several phones. In addition, the SIM manager allows users to store the settings of up to five SIM cards on the phone, and to personalize them by assigning names and logos for each SIM setting.

In addition to an FM radio, the Nokia 101 features an integrated MP3 player and a 103 phon loudspeaker, and provides support for up to 16 GB microSD memory cards, allowing users to carry their entire music collection with them.

Nokia 100

The Nokia 100 is perfect for people looking for durability and simplicity as well as affordability when making calls and sending text messages. The Nokia 100 is Nokia's most affordable color display phone, and people can enjoy its new attractive grid-based menu system with fun and easy-to-read icons. Furthermore, the Nokia 100 features an FM radio, enabling users to tune into their favorite music stations, whether on-the-go or at home.

Both the Nokia 101 and Nokia 100 offer Nokia Life Tools (selected markets) and Nokia Money (in India), providing instant access to locally-relevant information on healthcare, education, agriculture and entertainment.

Pricing and Availability

The Nokia 101 will be available in the third quarter of 2011 for about $35 (Php1500) and comes in Phantom Black and Coral Red.

The Nokia 100 will be available in the fourth quarter of 2011 for about $30 (PhP1300) and comes in a range of vibrant colors including Legion Blue, Festival Pink, Ocean Blue, Phantom Black and Coral Red.

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