Nokia Sells 1.5 Billion Series 40 Mobile Phones

Nokia has announced the sale of its 1.5 billionth Series 40 mobile phone. The device was sold to a female consumer in the Brazilian city of São Paulo, as Nokia continues its strategy of connecting the next billion.

The 1.5 billionth phone was a Nokia Asha 303, a touch-screen handset with QWERTY keypad designed for web browsing, social networking and gaming, that features pre-installed entertainment and applications such as Angry Birds Lite.

The device was purchased from a Magazine Luiza store in São Paulo by Mayara Rodrigues, a 21-year-old who loves staying in touch with friends and family through social networks. It was announced Wednesday, Jan. 25.

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The first Series 40 phone was the Nokia 7110 developed in 1999. Since then this family of phones has evolved to such an extent that they are considered ‘Smartphone Lite’ thanks to the innovations of the new Nokia Asha range, says the company.

Series 40 phones now blur the line between Nokia’s feature phones and smartphones.  With recent introductions including Nokia Maps for Series 40, Nokia Browser and Web Apps, Nokia Money and Nokia Life Tools consumers have access to the Internet and information, with localized apps and content.

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Mary McDowell, executive VP for Mobile Phones at Nokia, said: “We are incredibly proud to reach this milestone. Having 1.5 billion Series 40 devices sold is a hard-to-reach mark, let alone one attainable in a single line of products. At a time when we are maintaining our commitment to connecting the next billion customers around the world – it is gratifying to consider how Series 40 devices have made mobile technology accessible and help continue to change people’s lives for the better.”

In the picture above: Nokia Brazil VP, Almir Luiz Narcizo, and retail network president, Luiza Helena Trajano hand the phone to Mayara Rodrigues