In an attempt to regain a foothold in the low-cost smartphone sector, Finland-based handset maker Nokia unveiled its $99-priced touchscreen handset, the dual-SIM Nokia Asha 501, for India as well as other emerging markets last week.

Announcing the Asha 501 on Thursday, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said that the handset, which has been primarily developed to support data services on basic second-generation phone networks, will be "relevant to
80% of the world, particularly in the emerging markets."

The key features of the Asha 501 handset - which will hit India and other emerging markets in June - include a 3-inch display; a 3.2-megapixel camera; and 4GB onboard storage, which can be expanded up to 32GB. As per Nokia's claims, the battery of the handset is capable of delivering 17 hours of talk time.

The Asha 501 smartphone will run Nokia's Asha platform, which represents the company's latest move in the `smartphone operating system' arena. The Asha software has essentially been designed by Nokia to broaden access for application developers.

In a prepared statement about the new Asha operating system, Marco Argenti - Nokia's head of developer experiences - said: "With the new Asha platform, developers will be incentivized to deliver those quality apps, previously found only on high-end smartphones, thanks to unprecedented volumes, and reach opportunities through one distribution channel and a single platform."