Nokia’s Asha line of less-expensive smartphones, not developed on Microsoft’s Windows Phone but Nokia’s own proprietary OS, is getting a new boost of attention today. The company is unveiling a new (and free) premium developer program for Asha developers. Modelled on a premium program started for Lumia developers last year, those participating will get extra developer resources, credits towards promoting finished apps in Nokia’s app storefront or via advertising in other apps, and a free device.

Not only will this help to boost the number of apps in the Nokia store, but it furthers the idea of Asha as the “other” smartphone line being pushed by Nokia — and not just another high-end feature phone. As IHS analyst Ian Fogg noted after seeing the news: “Nokia builds the case for Asha to be considered a smartphone.”

Nokia says that for developers to be considered, there are some criteria to be met. For “stage-one productivity membership” (this includes extra developer support, the free device and expanded remote access), a developer need to have at least two apps built for any mobile platform and currently in any mobile store (not just those run by Nokia itself). For “stage-two” membership (this includes the promotional options of either app store placements or $500 worth of advertising), the developers need to agree to develop and publish at least one app for the Nokia Store to work on an Asha device.

Zopo Mobile, which has announced three quad core phones for the Indian market-Zopo 810, Zopo 910 and Zopo 950+ in the price range of Rs 13,000 to Rs 16,000. The company has also announced plans of launching a quad core phone with a 4.5 inch display priced at Rs 7,000.

Zopo Mobile's spokesperson said to The Mobile Indian "Zopo Mobile will launch a quad core phone for Rs 7,000 in the Indian market in March. The phone will be based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean which will be upgradable to Android 4.2."

The spokesperson did not share other details of the phone. However, going by what Zopo has done with the other three quad core phones, simply upgrading the core processor to a new MediaTek chipset based quad core, this phone too is expected to be an upgraded version of Zopo ZP300. Zopo ZP300 has a 4.5 inch (720p) HD display and a 5 megapixel camera at the back, 2 megapixel camera in the front, 1 GB RAM and 4 GB ROM. It has 3G, WiFi and GPS etc.

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LG has announced Optimus F series of devices. LG has earlier teased new Optimus series of mobiles for Mobile World Congress 2013. These mobiles are provided with LTE or 4G connectivity support. They would be able to offer premium user experience to the market. Two mobiles released recently by LG are LG Optimus F5 and Optimus F7 mobiles. Both of these mobiles are provided with good range of specifications and hence are expected to witness success in the market.

LG Optimus F5 mobile phone has been provided with 4.3 inches screen size and comes with 960 x 540 pixels resolution. It has got IPS type of display and hence its pixels density has been mentioned as 256 ppi.

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It seems the move paid off handsomely, as the company is continuing the push at the start of this year. The Xperia E dual, like its name suggests, is the dual-SIM half of the wallet-friendly and reasonably feature-packed Xperia E duo.

The Xperia E and Xperia E dual have identical internals, with the extra SIM slot the only notable hardware difference. However, that same SIM slot is probably what prevented Sony from shipping the Xperia E dual with Jelly Bean, like its single-SIM twin. Ice Cream Sandwich is still an extremely competent platform full of nice features, but it already has two successors, so it does come as a slight disappointment for us.

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Nokia has announced 2 new Dual SIM phones, Asha 205 and 206 in India. These phones come with a 2.4-inch (240 x 320 pixels) 65k color display, but the Asha 205 has A QWERTY keyboard with Island keyboard that increases readability, tactility and typing. Both these phones have Slam feature to share multimedia content like photos, music and videos with nearby friends instantly. It works on Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones without the need to pair devices, and without the recipient needing to also have Slam (iOS and Windows Phone not supported currently).

The Nokia Asha 205 come with a VGA camera and 1020 mAh battery, while the 206 comes with a 1.3MP camera and 1100 mAh battery. Other features include, GPRS/EDGE, 2.0 mm Charger Connector, Bluetooth v2.1 with EDR, 3.5 mm audio jack and expandable memory up to 32GB with microSD. The 206 has Loud and clear inbuilt speaker that offers audio output up to 103 phons and has dedicated Facebook key. It is 12.4mm thick and weighs 91 grams, while the Asha 205 is 13mm thick and weighs 94 grams.