Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) has released a smartphone that costs the consumer less than $100 — the Nokia Asha 501. The cellular phone firm has made this decision for what could be only one reason: the emergence of wireless devices in emerging markets. Many of these places have never had consumer landlines, which have become legacy businesses in the United States and Europe as people have moved to products that run over wireless broadband.

Nokia announced:

The new Nokia Asha 501 was purpose-built to give people the best possible mobile experiences at an affordable price. It is highly efficient, with an industry-leading standby time of up to 48 days*. The Asha 501 is the first smartphone built on the new Asha platform, which leverages Nokia’s investments in Smarterphone, a company which Nokia acquired in 2012.

The new Asha platform provides developers with an open, standards-based environment for creating quality apps for consumers. Developers can create apps for the Nokia Asha 501 that will be compatible with future Asha platform-based devices. Nokia gives developers the chance to make more money through the global reach of Nokia Store and tools like Nokia In-App Payment and Nokia Advertising Exchange (NAX), as well as Nokia’s unparalleled operator billing network.

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