14 DAY TRIAL // The faith of Nokia's Asha series hasn't been decided yet. The last smartphone launched by Microsoft with this brand dates from last year and we don't have any information that would point to a new release in the near future.
Still, Microsoft may be working on a new UI that would appeal more to customers and make the Asha series popular once again.
Until then though, we have found an interesting concept of a Microsoft Asha 240 XT, which is powered by Windows 10 for Phones.
Obviously, Microsoft hasn't released Windows 10 yet and won't be doing so until later this summer, but the good news is the new OS will come with lots of new features and improvements.
The Asha 240 XT is not just a simple Windows Phone handset. Unlike any other smartphone launched by Microsoft, this one is supposed to pack a full QWERTY keyboard.
A cheap smartphone that could resurrect the Asha series
The physical keyboard takes half the size of the smartphone, while the remaining half is occupied by the display. Microsoft Asha 240 XT concept was made with affordability in mind, so don't expect high-end features from this one.
According to the specs sheet attached to the concept pictures, the Asha 240 XT should be equipped with a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor and 1GB of RAM.
There's no mention of internal memory, but it should probably have no more than 8GB of storage, with the option to expand it up to 128GB via microSD card slot.
Also, the smartphone should also sport a small 3-inch display capacitive touchscreen display that supports 480 x 800 pixels resolution, but also touch-sensitive keys: Back, Home and Search.
Last but not least, the Asha 240 XT has a 3.2-megapixel camera on the back that doesn't seem to feature LED flash. There's no secondary camera in the front either.
