Finally, Nokia N97 Launching This Month

Nokia have announced that N97 will go on sale worldwide this month. No word on pricing yet for the 3.5-inch touchscreen handset, nor specific availability dates, but UK will apparently get it unlocked and SIM-free from Nokia in June 19.



SIM-free, the N97 is priced at around £500; that will be followed by a June 26th launch on the various carriers in the UK, with no word on pricing but a clear possibility of picking up the N97 free with a sufficiently expensive tariff. The N97 is already available to preorder in the US, priced at around $455 after discounts.

Your money gets you a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, S60 5th Edition OS, WiFi, GPS, HSPA and of course that 3.5-inch resistive touchscreen. However we’re also wary of the potentially low-powered CPU Nokia have fitted the N97 with; we’ll have to wait for the final model to see if that undermines the smartphone.

Official Nokia Press Release:

Nokia N97 mobile computer to begin selling worldwide in June

Espoo, Finland - The highly anticipated Nokia N97, Nokia’s flagship mobile computer, will begin selling in June in more than 75 countries. Along with a tilting 3.5″ touch display, QWERTY keyboard and a fully customizable home screen, the Nokia N97 will offer instant access to the full range of Ovi services.

“The Nokia N97 is an important step towards our vision of delivering a highly personalized Internet experience,” said Jonas Geust, Vice President and head of Nokia Nseries. “Fuelled by a multitude of music, maps, games, media and applications via Ovi, the Nokia N97 transforms the Internet into an experience that’s completely tailored to the tastes and interests of its owner.”

The Nokia N97 is Nokia’s first device to feature a personalizable home screen, which can be customized with a range of widgets which bring live information directly to the device. These widgets include key social networking destinations like Facebook and Hi5, news services like the Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters, as well as shopping and weather information. The Nokia N97 is the first device to ship with the Ovi Store, which offers easy access to applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services, and much more. Ovi Store has paid and free content from a range of global and local content providers and developers, including Paramount Pictures, Facebook and Qik, as well as a selection of Twitter applications.

Enjoy your upgrades
The beauty of this Nokia device is that taking it out of the box is just the beginning. As with any computer, people can constantly improve and refresh their Nokia N97 with new features, functions and fixes so they can do even more with the device. An exciting roadmap of new features and functions is planned to roll out in the second half of 2009.

Entertainment ensured
The Nokia N97 also has direct access to the huge catalogue of music in the Nokia Music Store. With multiple high-speed connectivity options and 32GB of storage (up to 48GB using a microSD card) it is possible to directly download and store tens of thousands of songs on the handset. And you can listen to your favourite music on the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-905, which Nokia also launched today. This headset brings crystal clear sound, eliminates background noise, and is the ideal accessory for listening to music and making calls on the Nokia N97, as well as being compatible with a diverse range of other mobile and music devices.

High-quality images and video clips at 30 frames per second (fps) can be captured using the 5 megapixel camera with integrated Carl Zeiss optics. Images can also be geo-tagged to specific locations and shared instantly with friends or uploaded online via Ovi Share, Twitter or Flickr.

About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways - fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

Nokia and Vodafone launch the new and exclusive Nokia 6730 classic

Nokia and Vodafone today announced the exclusive launch of the new Nokia 6730 classic. This mid-level S60 3rd edition handset features quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, dual-band UMTS/HSPA, 2.2-inch QVGA screen display, 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera, GPS/aGPS, FM radio, Bluetooth 2.0, 48MB of internal memory and microSD expansion. Vodafone will be the exclusive carrier and will start offering the 6730 classic across all markets this June. Pricing is yet to be determined but we're pretty sure this handset will not break anybody’s piggy bank — this little guy is destined to be a freebie on most contracts.



Official Nokia Press Release:

Nokia and Vodafone launch the new and exclusive Nokia 6730 classic giving access to full range of Vodafone services
May 29, 2009

Espoo, Finland - Consumers wanting a feature packed mobile only have to look as far as the new Nokia 6730 classic, which begins shipping in June and will be available exclusively across Vodafone's global footprint. Mobile internet, Vodafone Music Client and personal and business email access along with mobile navigation capabilities are all included in the Nokia 6730 classic. The device utilises S60 software which means customers can easily download their choice of additional applications from the web.

Peter Becker-Pennrich, Director of Terminals Marketing at Vodafone says "The Nokia 6730 is a great all-round handset - just as perfect for mobile internet users as for music fans who want to take their tracks with them. This product follows a successful line-up of Vodafone exclusive devices from Nokia and is another great example of our collaboration. "

With the Nokia 6730 classic, getting lost and being out of touch with your friends could be a thing of the past thanks to the mobile navigation capabilities on the handset. The services offer accurate turn by turn instructions helping both drivers and pedestrians to find their way. It also provides access to comprehensive point of interest databases and both white and yellow pages information making it easy for the user to find their destination, whether that is an address, a company or even a person.

"'Feature packed' describes Nokia 6730 classic really well. With its iconic design - available in sleek black or white - the device is a perfect upgrade for Nokia 6500c or 6300 users or anyone seeking an elegant device, optimized for mobile internet and navigation. What's more, this mobile comes with industry-leading power-saving features and accessories" says Gustavo Eichelmann, Head of Vodafone Global Account Team, Nokia.

About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world's leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways - fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

About Vodafone
Vodafone is the world's leading international mobile telecommunications company, with equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Markets in more than 40 countries. As of 31 March 2009, Vodafone had approximately 303 million proportionate customers worldwide. For further information, please visit www.vodafone.com

Latest Nokia, Motorola and Samsung Handsets Heading AT&T this Year

Leakfest galore for a number of cool handsets heading AT&T this year. Leading the pack are four handsets from Nokia, followed by two from Motorola and a budget touchscreen from Samsung.

Nokia Mako, Thresher, Grouper and Snapper

The Symbian OS won’t be left out of the fray this year with AT&T. The Nokia Mako is a Symbian S60 3.2-powered device unlike anything we’ve seen from Nokia thus far. This side slider will feature a 2.6-inch QVGA screen, four row QWERTY keyboard, quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900MHz), dual-band HSDPA (850/1900MHz), 2 megapixel camera, aGPS, Bluetooth 2.0, 128MB of on-board memory, microSD expansion and a 2.5mm headset jack. That is apparently all the love S60 will be getting at AT&T this year but hit the jump for details on three mid and entry-level offerings from Nokia headed our way.

The remaining three handsets, the Thresher, Grouper and Snapper, share the same S40-based UI. They also share designs that were seemingly recycled from Motorolas of old. The Thresher is a standard slider with quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA, 3.2 megapixel camera, aGPS, Bluetooth 2.1, built-in compass, 140MB of on-board memory, microSD expansion and a 2.5mm headset jack. The Grouper is a flip phone that shares the tri-band HSDPA, aGPS and Bluetooth of the Thresher but drops the camera down to 2.0 megapixels, loses the compass, and lowers the on-board memory to 70MB. For those die hard PTTer’s out there, the Grouper also includes Kodiak PTT 5.2 support. Lastly, is Nokia’s more entry-level offering the Snapper. The Snapper is a flip phone with quad-band GSM, tri-band HSDPA, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.1, AGPS, up to 70MB of on-board memory, microSD expansion, 2 megapixel camera and Kodiak PTT.








Motorola Heron and Sawgrass

Next in line are two Motorola nature inspired offerings. First up is the Android-based Heron which was first scooped back in April as the Motorola IRONMAN. From the slide, it appears as if the handset was meant to be a Windows Mobile device that was switched over to Android. The specs, which are subject to change of course, give the phone quad-band GSM, dual-band HSDPA/HSUPA, 2.6 inch QVGA screen, 3 megapixel fixed focus camera with auto-flash and aGPS. So the IRONMAN is also known as the Heron — pretty straight forward there.




Next up is the Motorola Sawgrass which apparently is the QA1 “Karma” and showed itself on the recent AT&T rebate form. The Sawgrass will sport quad-band GSM, dual-band HSDPA, 2 megapixel camera, A2DP Bluetooth, aGPS, microSD expansion up to 32GB and a full HTML browser. This handset bears a rather striking resemblance to the Motorola Somerset, which of course was formerly known as the Alexander. Even the little known specs from the Somerset/Alexander (3.5mm stereo jack, A2DP, MMC support, and a camera) line up nicely with what we know about the Sawgrass/QA1 Karma. The only piece of the puzzle that doesn’t quite fit is the camera — Alexander was supposed to sport a killer shooter but this little guy is only packing 2 megapixels.



Samsung Infinity

Last on our the deck is the Samsung Infinity. Hardly as exciting as some of the other handsets we’ve seen from this deck, the Infinity is presumably set to replace the Samsung Eternity — whose name, by the way, now looks to be a blatant lie. Spec highlights for the Infinity include quad-band GSM/EDGE and dual-band UMTS, a low-grade 3-inch touchscreen display that’s hardly on par with Sammy’s recent AMOLEDs, 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, aGPS and a 1,000 mAh battery. The Infinity will definitely make a decent affordable phone when it drops sometime in 2H.



Via: Engadget