Nokia releases navigation app, Transit, for full touch Asha devices

Nokia has announced that it is making a Nokia Transit app available for full-touch Asha series handsets. The app will make navigating through the city using public transport easy if you have Nokia’s mid-end and low end phones.

Using the Nokia Transit app you can search for public transport stations, stops, addresses and POIs. It is also possible for you to chalk out and choose from multiple routes with the Transit app. The app covers directions for buses, trams, undergrounds and trains.

You can check out timing for a particular mode of public transport and choose earlier or a later time to commence your journey. The app for S40 devices will also tell you what stations are the closest to you and even  types of transit lines that are available around you. If you’re on the train or bus, you can view detailed stops and times before you disembark.

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Nokia Transit for S40 could make life easier for lower and mid-end Asha handset users

Most importantly, Nokia Transit allows you to save your favourite destinations so that you can get to transit information quicker. The app also allows you to save favourite journeys offline so you do not waste time and data plan money on viewing the same information every single time.

The app is in beta stage and works on S40 devices like the Nokia Ashas 305, 306, 308, 309 and 311. Surprisingly, the newest Nokia Asha 310 doesn’t seem to have made the cut to be in the Nokia Transit entourage.

The Nokia Asha 310 was unveiled last month as a dual-SIM, Wi-Fi-enabled budget phone in the Asha line-up. Nokia had said that the Asha 310 “has Dual SIM on steroids” during the launch. The handset features the Easy Swap Dual SIM technology present in other dual-SIM phones in the Asha line-up. As usual, the main SIM card sits behind the battery, but the second SIM card slot is on the side of the phone, which allows for easy swapping of SIM cards. You can offer unique profiles for up to five SIM cards and define which SIM card you want to use for calling, sending text messages, or for using Internet data through the SIM manager.

It was revealed in January that Nokia’s Asha line-up sells twice as much as the company’s higher-end Lumia line-up. While the Lumia series has been selling well, it is worth noting that Asha smartphones have hit 9.3 million units in the fourth quarter. This is more than double the number of units of the Lumia series that the company has shipped. This could be attributed to the popularity of low-end smartphones, as opposed to the considerably pricier higher-end Lumia phones.

“Some countries, like China, appear to be “game, set, match” for Android, while others like Indonesia are heavily BlackBerry,” Raymond James analyst Tavis McCourt told AllThingsD. “Asha is interesting for Nokia because in many of these markets Nokia’s brand is very strong and Symbian devices used to sell very well. India, Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America are examples of regions and countries where Nokia likely has a strong opportunity with Asha, but even in these markets android phones are growing rapidly as well.”

Nokia may be relying on the Asha series to sustain itself while it still tries to push its higher end Lumia out. Even now, the popularity of the Asha series can be seen by simply going into a Mumbai train and scanning the devices in the commuter’s hands and the Nokia Transit app could prove to be a boon to such users.

If you own any of the touch enabled Nokia Asha handsets, you can download Nokia Transit for S40 here.