Nokia has unveiled its new smartphone, the N97. Engadget has the details.
The N97 packs a 3.5-inch, 640 x 360 pixel (that's a 16:9 aspect ratio) resistive touchscreen display with tactile feedback and QWERTY keyboard into this sliding communicator with an "always open" window to favorite internet or social networking sites. Nokia calls it the "world's most advanced mobile computer." To back up the claim they've dropped in HSDPA, WiFi, and Bluetooth radios, A-GPS, a 3.5-mm headjack, 32GB of onboard memory with microSD expansion (for up to 48GB total capacity), and a battery capable of up to 1.5 days of continuous audio playback or 4.5-hours video. 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss glass and "DVD quality" video capture at 30fps, too.
There are more details in the press release here. The N97 is expected to retail for around $700. It's expected to be available sometime during the first half on 2009. Some technology journalists are calling the Nokia N97 an "iPhone killer." It certainly looks sleek and powerful enough but it might need a cooler named than N97 before it can slay giants. The $700 price tag may also be a bit too steep for the N97 to outsell the iPhone in this economy. A Forbes article says its more of a threat to Netbooks. CNet says, "we think that the Nokia N97 looks like a pretty sweet device." PC World writes, "With a 3.5" touchscreen, 5-megapixel camera and 32GB of memory, the N97 is one phone worth waiting for in the New Year."
Nokia also released this video about the N97. Take a look.
