Launch: Nokia C2-03 – Dual SIM and Touch and Type, together

GLOBAL – Today we see the launch of a new Series 40-powered feature phone, the Nokia C2-03. Combining Dual-SIM functionality with Touch and Type technology, this new phone is perfect for people who want to combine their separate needs into one single device.

The Nokia C2-03 is Nokia’s third Touch and Type phone and first such form factor to feature Dual-SIM. Up until now, Dual-SIM phones needed to be switched off and the battery removed, so that the SIM card could be inserted. Not now. The Easy Swap feature allows you to open the slot on the side of the phone and simply insert your new SIM, with no need to reboot.

Should you have more than two SIM cards, the Nokia C2-03 is capable of remembering the settings for up to five separate cards. So once you’ve personalised your SIM by giving it its own name and calling settings, you’ll never have to do it again.

Measuring 103 x 51.4 x 17mm (L x W x H) and weighing 118g, it fits perfectly in your pocket, or hand. The standby time is quoted as lasting up to 400 hours, with a talk time of up to five hours, while the music playback time last up to 35 hours. The screen is measured at 240 x 320 with up to 65K colours.

For people waiting for a low-cost feature phone with Nokia Maps, the wait is over. The Nokia C2-03 comes preloaded with the brand new Nokia Maps for Series 40, making this great service accessible to a much wider range of phone users. As you’d expect from Nokia Maps for Series 40, you can search for a location and plan a route while completely offline, costing you absolutely nothing.

As for Internet browsing, the newly released Nokia Browser for Series 40 is now installed as standard on all future Series 40 devices. This compresses all the data before it reaches your phone in order to give you a much faster, richer and more cost-efficient web experience.

Mary McDowell, the head of Nokia’s Mobile Phones business unit, explains why all these features have been included in the Nokia C2-03:

The Nokia C2-03 makes managing multiple SIMs simpler, without compromising on any other features. Why should consumers have to choose between touch and keypad, or forego a great web, map, entertainment or email experience? With the Nokia C2-03 we have made it all available on one affordable device.

If it’s storage you’re after, then this phone has 10MB in memory which is expandable up to huge 32GB. Plenty of room for all those photos, videos and music files you might have. If you’ve not yet got thousands of photos, you can always get snapping with the 2-megapixel camera.

The Nokia C2-03 sees the return of the slide phone, with the touchscreen covering the keypad. Because this phone is a Touch and Type device, you can perform certain actions on the screen then slide the screen up to reveal the keypad underneath, all with one hand.

Liu Hang, Industrial Designer at Nokia explains some of the thinking behind the design:

The upper and lower parts of the phone create harmony with each other due to their smooth, rounded edges. We’ve kept the design as simple and as clean as possible while still producing an elegant look.

The Nokia C2-03 will be available in Q3 2011 in India, China, SEAP, Eurasia and MEA, costing €77 (the price may vary from market to market) – excluding taxes and subsidies.