Nokia, one of the top mobile manufacturer in the world and most favored handset makers in India today announced a significant milestones in its history with the sale of its 1.5 billionth Series 40 mobile phone. The 1.5 billionth phone was a Nokia Asha 303, and its been sold to a female consumer in the Brazilian city of São Paulo and represents a historic moment as Nokia continues its strategy of connecting the next billion.

The mobile 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. Nokia Asha 303, a stunning 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.

Nokia 1.5billion mobile sales

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.” said Mary McDowell, Executive Vice President for Mobile Phones at Nokia

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. Series 40 phones now blur the line between feature phones and smartphones.  With recent innovations including Nokia Maps for Series 40, Nokia Browser and Web Apps, Nokia Money and Nokia Life Tools, millions of consumers have enjoyed easy and affordable access to the Internet and information for the first time, with locally relevant apps and content.

Image credit to Nokia blog