HMD just trademarked “Asha” with the EU Intellectual Property Office. Nokia Asha phones, for those who don’t remember them, were a lineup of feature phones that often featured a touchscreen and a focus on online services – Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.
Asha phones offered smartphone-like functionality at a time when actual smartphones were too pricey. That made them a key element of Nokia’s “next billion” plan. We don’t think that HMD will go the feature phone route, however. For one, the new application specifically mentions that “Asha” can be used for smartphones.
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