I have used android for past 3 years so was looking for something different. Microsoft won’t promote this much as this is probably the last line of forkdroid phones by nokia. They would eventually kill all these(asha and X series) in favour of low end lumias. This is one of the best and last hybrid phones from nokia stable.
First thing, I updated my phone to 2.1.0.12(based on JB4.3 AOSP project) using nokia care suite through nokia data packet manager.It now supports some google services. It was 899Mb download. For some reason I was not getting the OTA update
The screen has clear black display not too large/small .so fits nicely in hand, feels and looks good, nice contrast.
Previously I faced several issues(hardware) even with sony xperia range-like screen stopped working or usb malfunctioning. It seems Nokia’s Build quality is much better than similarly priced droids with traditional nokia style back shell. My asha 501 still works fine after 1.5 years.
Two micro sim slots are there. I have also tested with fully filled 32gb class 10 card. works fine.
This is the only phone where I can run HERE maps(fully offline-whole country) and google maps side by side!
Nokia store has all the necessary apps we need. Also there is 1mobilemarket, Aptoide, Yandex stores where we get tons of android crap apps.along with ability to side load apps. Built in Email client is nice and easy to use. no problems with gmail.Google contacts can be synced up and arranged without any problems.
All the communication apps like hike, whatsapp, line, wechat, skype etc are supported.
Opera is the main browser, its fast but if need arises then we can also install chrome, uc browser, firefox etc.
Battery life is better than I expected. snapdragon 200 eats less juice it seems.
Fastlane interface is butter smooth doesn’t eat up ram and joy to use.It was introduced with asha lineup. Uptill now even lumia users dont have this interface!
Camera is nice in day light conditions it has flash along with autofocus.
I have played some casual games, adreno GPU does a fine job.