An undistinguished history – Nokia touchscreen mobile phones in the past

Many people are under the false assumption that the Nokia 5800 is the first ever touchscreen mobile phone to come from the Finnish manufacturer. It’s not. Quite the opposite, in fact, there have been a few touchy-feely phones to wear the Nokia badge. Starting with the 7700, there have been a couple of Nokia mobile phones that work by you prodding and poking the screen. They had a relatively big (for the time) touchscreen in common, but the other feature they had in common, unfortunately, was that they were irredeemably awful. Only one of these mobile phones, the 6708, showed any promise, but that was destined only for the Chinese market, and so, never saw the light of day in the UK. The mobile phones we got were, and I use this phrase with much feeling, utter, utter garbage.

However (and yes, it’s a big however), these bad, bad memories have all been exorcised by the launch of two new Nokia mobile phones, both of which have touchscreens, and both of which are much, MUCH nicer…

Nokia 5800 – touching music

First up is a new entrant into Nokia’s Xpress family of music mobile phones, the gorgeous Nokia 5800. This one’s very definitely designed for music and media, as it has a dedicated XpressMedia button that brings up a list of shortcuts to music, videos, the web, and so on. Oh, and a 3.2 inch touchscreen, to actually watch/play with/use those different media. Basically, the Nokia 5800 is designed as a little handheld entertainment centre, and as music mobile phones go, this is easily one of the sexiest. The Nokia 5800 also comes with a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA internet access and GPS, making it a brilliant all-round mobile phone, as well as a brilliant media player. Oh, and it has a lanyard to attach to imitation guitar plectrum. That rocks!

However, the Nokia 5800 is very definitely a mid-range mobile phone, it isn’t, nor was it ever meant to be, an absolute top-ender. That position falls to another…

Nokia N97 – the single best phone EVER made?

With the Nokia 5800 all set to bring touchscreen mobile phones to the mid-range market, that leaves a very big gap at the very top-end, and yes, there IS a touchscreen mobile phone on its way to fill that gap: the frankly awesome Nokia N97. This takes the same Symbian S60 Touch interface and crams it into the body of a proper, full on smartphone. So it has a bigger, 3.5 inch screen, a slide out QWERTY keyboard, and the camera’s been upgraded to 5 megapixels. The Nokia N97 is, in a very definite way, the new flagship Nseries mobile phone, and it really is as high-spec as the rumours had us believe, with HSDPA, GPS, digital compass, and built-in Flash, meaning you get an internet experience like no other mobile phones! Put simply the Nokia N97 is awesome. It gleefully relieves itself over other mobile phones and while the Nokia 5800 aims firmly for the mid-range, I am predicting that the Nokia N97 will DOMINATE the world next year!

Phones we’d rather forget – Nokia’s early attempts at a touchscreen phone

A lot of people seem to be under the incorrect impression that the Nokia 5800 is the first touchscreen mobile phone Nokia have ever made. It’s not. Actually, there have been a few touch-based phones released under the Nokia badge. Beginning with the 7700, the world has seen a few Nokia mobile phones that work by you prodding and poking the screen. They had a relatively big (for the time) touchscreen in common, but unfortunately, they shared something else: they were utterly rubbish.

Only one of these mobile phones, the 6708, displayed any promise, but it was made exclusively for China, and thus, it never saw the light of day in these sceptred isles. Unfortunately, that meant that the phones we got were a poor breed, indeed. However, those bad recollections have now been removed due to the debut of a new Nokia mobile phone, which comes with a touchscreen, and which is considerably more alluring…

Nokia 5800 – musical genius

The first phone on the roster is a completely new member of Nokia’s Xpress line of music mobile phones, the mouth-watering Nokia 5800. This one’s pretty obviously designed for music and media, as it has a dedicated XpressMusic touch-key that opens a list of shortcuts to music, videos, the web, and more. Then, of course, the Nokia 5800 has a 3.2 inch touch-sensitive display, to actually play with all your media content. Essentially, the Nokia 5800 was created as a little handheld entertainment centre, and as music phones go, this is just about the sweetest. The Nokia 5800 also comes with a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA internet connection and sat-nav, making it a wonderful all-round mobile phone, as well as a superb media gadget. Oh, and it has a lanyard to attach a fake guitar plectrum. Pointless, but brilliant.

So, is the new Nokia 5800 really the best touchscreen phone on the market? And how about it’s other life as a music phone (since it’s an XpressMusic handset, like its predecessor, the first phone to wear the Xpress badge, the Nokia 5310)? Well, there can be no doubt that the playback quality is simply exceptional on the Nokia 5800, with beautiful clear sound, and pumping bass. of course, the interface helps, too, since it makes accessing everything on the 5800 a breeze. All in all, then, the Nokia 5800 is one accomplished little mobile phones, and it’s very clear that Nokia have hit a home run with it!

Nokia and Symbian – long-time bedfellows

In truth, Nokia have a long history of using Symbian in their mobile phones, going all the way back, in fact, to their first camera phone, the 7650 (a huge beastie of a thing it was, too!). Some of the most powerful Nokia mobile phones ever made have run on Symbian, quite often using the patented Series 60 interface. In fact, it’s fair to say that Series 60 is the most important version of Symbian, since it’s the one that powers Nokia’s top of the range mobile phones: the prestigious, world-renowned Nseries. To this day, Nseries mobile phones have a reputation for being world-beaters, including probably the most well-known of them all, the N95.

Well, now, the Nokia N95 has evolved into a new form: the sleek, smart Nokia N96.

Nokia N96 – the ultimate Nseries phone

The Nokia N96 really is the next evolution of the N95, since you get the same high-end feature-set (but with loads more bits added on), but in a sleek new body. In fact, the body of the Nokia N96 is reminiscent of another one of the earlier Nseries mobile phones: the N81. The similarities are striking, so much so that you could put down the Nokia N96 and N81 next to each other, and not tell which one’s which. Not that that’s a bad thing, since the N81 looked nice, and so does the Nokia N96. Certainly one of the prettier mobile phones on the market, and the Nokia N96 backs all that up with raw power. A 5 megapixel camera… GPS… HSDPA… 16GB of memory… and the big feature, multimedia. You see, the Nokia N96 is the king of mobile phones when it comes to media, especially video. It even includes BBC iPlayer (can’t say that about many mobile phones!), and a little kickstand-type thing, to keep the Nokia N96 upright while you’re watching videos!

Nokia 5800 Xpress – the future of Symbian?

Meanwhile, another offshoot of Symbian has appeared on mobile phones. Well… on one mobile phone so far, the Nokia 5800 Xpress. It’s important for 1 reason: it’s made for touchscreen mobile phones, which is exactly what the Nokia 5800 is. Ok, granted, the Nokia 5800 Xpress might not be their first touchscreen phone, but it IS their best, with 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA, GPS and that all important touchscreen, with the brand new Symbian interface, not seen on any previous mobile phones. It’s fair to say Symbian is alive and well, and evolving still. With the Nokia N96 this Christmas, and the Nokia 5800 Xpress all set to wow us in the first months of next year, Symbian mobile phones are definitely on the up and up!

Phones we’d rather forget – Nokia touchscreen mobile phones in the past

A lot of people are under the incorrect impression that the Nokia 5800 is the first touchscreen phone to wear the Nokia label. It’s not. Actually, there’s been a few touchy-feely phones to wear the Nokia brand. Beginning with the 7700, the world has seen a few Nokia mobile phones that work by touch. They all had reasonably big (for their time) screens, but the other feature they had in common, unfortunately, was that they were unbearably hideous. Only one of these devices, the 6708, displayed any promise, but it was made only for the Chinese market, and so, it never saw the light of day in these sceptred isles. The mobile phones WE got were, and I use this phrase with much feeling, total, and complete toss.

However, those unpleasant mental images have all been removed by the announcement of two new Nokia mobile phones, both of which have touchscreens, and both of which are much, much nicer…

Nokia 5800 – touching music

The first phone on the list is a totally new member of Nokia’s Xpress family of music mobile phones, the mouth-watering Nokia 5800. This one’s pretty obviously built for music and video; you can tell by the dedicated XpressMedia touch-key which opens a list of shortcuts to music, videos, the web, and so on. Oh, and the Nokia 5800 has a 3.2 inch touchscreen, to let you muck about with those different media files. Basically, the Nokia 5800 was created as a teeny handheld jukebox and movie player, and as music phones go, this is easily one of the prettiest. The Nokia 5800 also comes with a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA internet connection and GPS, so that it’s a wonderful all-round mobile phone, on top of being a wonderful media gadget. Oh, and it has a strap to fasten on an imitation guitar pick. That rocks.

Despite all those features, the Nokia 5800 is very definitely a mid-range phone; it’s not, nor will it ever be, an absolute top-ender. That position goes to a different mobile…

Nokia N97 – the single best phone EVER made?

With the Nokia 5800 all set to bring touchscreen mobile phones to the mid-range market, that leaves a huge, yawning gap at the very top-end, and yes, there IS a touchscreen mobile phone on its way to take its place as the top-end powerhouse: the genuinely mind-blowing Nokia N97. This uses the same Symbian S60 Touch interface and crams it into the body of a proper, full-on smartphone. So it’s got an even more huge, 3.5 inch screen, a slide out QWERTY keypad, and the camera’s been upgraded to 5 megapixels. The Nokia N97 is, as should be glaringly obvious, destined to be the new flagship Nseries mobile phone, and it’s genuinely as hyper-powered as the rumours had us believe, with HSDPA, GPS, digital compass, and built-in Flash, so that you get an internet experience that tops any other mobile phones! Put it like this: the Nokia N97 is awesome. It easily outdoes other mobile phones and as the Nokia 5800 angles firmly for the mid-range, I reckon that the Nokia N97 will totally DOMINATE the world in 2009!

Nokia and touchscreens – lessons from history

Believe it or not, the Nokia 5800 isn’t the first of their mobile phones to feature a touchscreen. That accolade goes all the way back to the Nokia 7700, a mobile phone that, well, never actually got released. But it was still the first, nevertheless. It’s just a shame, really, that Nokia’s first attempt at a touchscreen mobile phone was, frankly, rubbish, since it had a bit of a dodgy interface, the looks… well, the looks were described as anything from ‘a bit misjudged’, to ‘looks like a taco’, all the way up to ‘bad prop from Star Trek’. The follow-up, the Nokia 7710 wasn’t much better, being a bit buggy, still huge, and it lacked the features that other mobile phones were rapidly starting to have (cameras, 3G and so on). After that, the only Nokia devices to have touchscreens were not actually mobile phones, as the concept was shifted over to their range of internet tablets.

But now, touchscreen mobile phones are all set to make a triumphant return to the Nokia range, with their newest and bestest touchscreen mobile phone ever: the Nokia 5800.

Nokia 5800 – touchscreen mobile phones for the masses

Soon to be released, the Nokia 5800 is sure to have a very big effect on their portfolio of mobile phones. And the inspiration of it can be traced back to the release of the iPhone, so you can be absolutely sure they’ve made the Nokia 5800 as slick and as user-friendly as possible. The new S60 Touch interface in the Nokia 5800 is tremendously elegant, as well as being really rather powerful. Put simply, it’s a joy to navigate round, and so much nicer than many other mobile phones on the market. Combine with a list of top-notch features, like 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA and so on, and you get a really cool smartphone. But it’s with music that the Nokia 5800 really shines, as it’s music that this beautiful mobile phone lives for, with a music player that really is second to none. In conclusion, I can sincerely say that the Nokia 5800 is one of the most impressive mobile phones I’ve seen in a long time.

But the surprising thing is… the Nokia 5800 is a mid-range mobile phone, not a top-ender. So what will happen, when the Nokia 5800 magically morphs into the first touchscreen Nseries mobile phone.

Captain N – the future is Nseries

There’s no doubt that the Nokia 5800 is a really cool mobile phone. It’s slick, pretty and clever. but what will the new S60 Touch interface be like when it gets put into Nseries mobile phones? Are we going to see something akin to the Nokia N96 that you control by prodding the screen? Well, the answer, unsurprisingly, is yes, as confirmed by Nokia themselves. The Nokia 5800 is merely the first toe in the water, as it were, and there WILL be Nseries mobile phones released with the new touch interface. That’s when we’re going to see the big, uber-top-end, ultra-powerful mobile phones, with cameras probably in the tens of megapixels, massive amounts of storage, and frighteningly fast internet access. They won’t be the Nokia N96 with a touchscreen, though, for the simple reason that they’ll blow everything away, the Nokia N96 included!

An undistinguished history – Nokia’s early attempts at a touchscreen phone

A lot of people seem to be under the false impression that the Nokia 5800 is the first touchscreen phone to wear the Nokia label. It isn’t. Actually, there’s been several touchy-feely phones to wear the Nokia name. Starting at the 7700, there have been a few Nokia mobile phones which are controlled by touch. They had a relatively big (for the time) touchscreen in common, but the other feature they had in common, unfortunately, was that they were irredeemably awful. Just one of those devices, the 6708, showed a modicum promise, but it was destined only for the Chinese market, and thus, we never got to play with them in the UK. So, we were relegated to handsets that were total, utter toss.

However, those bad recollections have all been exorcised due to the debut of two new Nokia mobile phones, both of which have touch-sensitive displays, and both of which are so much nicer…

Nokia 5800 – if music be the food of love…

First up is a completely new member of Nokia’s Xpress family of music mobile phones, the mouth-watering Nokia 5800. This one’s quite obviously built for music and media, as it has a dedicated XpressMedia touch-key that brings up a list of shortcuts to music, videos, the web, and more. Oh, and the Nokia 5800 has a 3.2 inch touch-sensitive display, to actually play with those different media files. Basically, the Nokia 5800 was created as a little handheld jukebox and movie player, and as music devices go, this is just about the prettiest. The Nokia 5800 also comes with a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA data access and sat-nav, so that it’s a wonderful all-round mobile phone, on top of being a wonderful media player. Oh, and it’s got a lanyard to attach a fake guitar plectrum. That rocks.

However, the Nokia 5800 is very definitely a mid-range handset; it isn’t, nor will it ever be, an absolute top-ender. That role falls to a separate handset…

Nokia N97 – the single best phone EVER made?

With the Nokia 5800 on track to bring touchscreen mobile phones to the mid-range market, that leaves a very big gap at the absolute top-end, and yes, there IS a touch-based mobile phone waiting to be unleashed to fill that gap: the genuinely jaw-dropping Nokia N97. This uses the same Symbian S60 Touch operating system and packages it into the body of a proper, full-tilt smartphone. So it has a bigger, 3.5 inch screen, a kick out QWERTY keyboard, and the camera now weighs in at a meaty 5 megapixels. The Nokia N97 is, in a very definite way, destined to be the new flagship Nseries mobile phone, and it’s truly as high-spec as the rumours said, with HSDPA, GPS, digital compass, and integrated Flash, so that you have an internet experience like no other mobile phones! Put simply the Nokia N97 is simple incredible. It easily outdoes other mobile phones and while the Nokia 5800 aims to take over the mid-range, I reckon that the Nokia N97 will utterly DESTROY the competition next year!

Nokia N96 – the Nseries reaches new heights

When the Nokia N96 was first announced, a lot of people proclaimed it as the best thing to happen to mobile phones. However, a lot of people also moaned that it was just an upgrade N95 in a sexier body, forgetting the fundamental question: what, exactly, is so wrong with that? Yes, it may be very obvious just from reading the specs that the Nokia N96 is a direct evolution of the N95, but… well, what an evolution it is! It keeps all the best bits (like the 5 megapixel camera, the GPS, the HSDPA internet access), and adds in more features that you don’t find on many other mobile phones. For instance, the Nokia N96 has got 16Gb of memory, on a par with the top-end mobile phones in the market.

And what does the Nokia N96 have that 16Gb of memory for? Is it so you can fill it with music, turning your mobile phone into your music player? Well… partly. The main reason the Nokia N96 has so much memory is the big, big addition over earlier versions: its devotion to the best quality multimedia and video ever seen on a mobile phone. Whether it’s Youtube vids, or clips you caught yourself, with the camera on the Nokia N96, it plays back video smoothly and beautifully. And then, there’s its party-piece.

You see, the Nokia N96 comes fully loaded with BBC iPlayer, making it the first in the world of mobile phones that lets you watch AND download BBC videos, right on the phone! That, right there, is one of the main reasons why I strongly suspect the people shouting that the Nokia N96 was the best thing to happen to mobile phones weren’t far wrong!

But is it just a last gasp? Is the future of mobile phones really destined to be with touchscreen beauties like the amazing Nokia 5800 XpressMusic?

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – touch me I’m famous

It’s only just been announced, and it isn’t due out for a while, but the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is making a name for itself as a superstar, already, after starring in the last Batman film, and the new Britney Spears video (in which it was the best thing). As if that wasn’t good enough, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is also one of the most exciting mobile phones to come from the Finnish manufacturer for quite a while! Key to that is the fact that the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is the first mainstream touchscreen mobile phone Nokia have ever made. They’ve made others before, but this one is the first one to really catch the public’s eye, possibly because it’s the first touchscreen mobile phone Nokia have brought to the UK market that isn’t rubbish. In fact, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is about as far from ‘rubbish’ as it’s possible to be, with a stunning, sleek new interface, massive touchscreen, 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA and GPS. Basically, between this and the gorgeous Nokia N96, Nokia’s portfolio is getting very exciting!

Phones we’d rather forget – Nokia’s early attempts at a touchscreen phone

Most people are under the false impression that the Nokia 5800 is the first touchscreen mobile phone Nokia have ever made. It’s not. Quite the opposite, in fact, there’s been several touchy-feely phones released under the Nokia brand. Starting with the 7700, there have been a few Nokia mobile phones which work by you pressing directly on the screen. They had a relatively big (for the time) touchscreen in common, but the other feature they had in common, unfortunately, was that they were unbearably rubbish. Just one of those handsets, the 6708, displayed a modicum promise, but it was made solely to be sold in China, and thus, it wasn’t meant for us in the UK. Unfortunately, that meant that the phones we got were total, and complete toss.

However, those bad mental images have now been exorcised because of the debut of two new Nokia mobile phones, both of which come with touchscreens, and both of which are much, much nicer…

Nokia 5800 – if music be the food of love…

The first phone up is a totally new member of Nokia’s Xpress range of music mobile phones, the mouth-watering Nokia 5800. This phone is quite obviously built for music and media, as it has a dedicated XpressMedia touch-key which opens a list of shortcuts to music, videos, the web, and so on. Then, of course, the Nokia 5800 has a 3.2 inch touch-sensitive display, to let you use those different media files. Essentially, the Nokia 5800 was created as a teeny portable entertainment centre, and as music phones go, this is easily one of the prettiest. The Nokia 5800 also has, built-in, a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA internet access and sat-nav, making it a superb all-round mobile phone, as well as a brilliant media player. Oh, and it’s got a lanyard to fasten on a fake guitar plectrum. That’s pretty cool, that.

However, the Nokia 5800 is very definitely a mid-range device; it isn’t, nor was it ever meant to be, an absolute top-ender. That role belongs to a different mobile…

Nokia N97 – the single best phone EVER made?

With the Nokia 5800 on course to bring touchscreen mobile phones to the mid-range market, that leaves a huge, yawning gap at the absolute top-end, and yes, there IS a touchscreen mobile phone waiting to be unleashed to fill that gap: the frankly mind-blowing Nokia N97. This uses the same Symbian S60 Touch interface and packs it into the frame of a proper, full-on smartphone. Which means it has a bigger, 3.5 inch screen, a flip out QWERTY keypad, and the camera now weighs in at a meaty 5 megapixels. The Nokia N97 is, as should be glaringly obvious, destined to be the new flagship Nseries mobile phone, and it’s truly as powerful as the rumours had us believe, with HSDPA, GPS, digital compass, and integrated Flash, so that you get an internet experience like no other mobile phones! Put it like this: the Nokia N97 is simple incredible. It easily outdoes other mobile phones and while the Nokia 5800 aims firmly for the mid-range, I’m predicting that the Nokia N97 will completely DESTROY the competition next year!

Phones we’d rather forget – Nokia touchscreen mobile phones in the past

A lot of people are under the false assumption that the Nokia 5800 is the first touchscreen phone to wear the Nokia label. It isn’t. The opposite’s true, because there have been a few touch-based phones to wear the Nokia name. Starting with the 7700, we’ve seen a couple of Nokia mobile phones which are controlled by you prodding and poking the screen. They all had reasonably big (for their time) screens, but the other feature they had in common, unfortunately, was that they were utterly rubbish. Only one of those handsets, the 6708, displayed any promise, but that was destined exclusively to be sold in China, and thus, it never saw the light of day in Britain. So, we were relegated to handsets that were utter, and complete bobbins.

However, these unpleasant memories have now been exorcised by the debut of two new Nokia mobile phones, both of which come with touchscreens, and both of which are much, much nicer…

Nokia 5800 – if music be the food of love…

First up is a whole new member of Nokia’s Xpress line of music mobile phones, the mouth-watering Nokia 5800. This one’s quite obviously made for music and video; you can tell by the separate XpressMedia touch-key that opens a list of shortcuts to music, videos, the web, and so on. Oh, and the Nokia 5800 has a 3.2 inch touchscreen, to let you muck about with those different media content. Basically, the Nokia 5800 was created to be a little handheld jukebox and movie player, and as music handsets go, this is just about the sweetest. The Nokia 5800 has also got a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA internet connection and sat-nav, so that it’s a wonderful all-rounder, on top of being a superb media player. Oh, and it has a strap to clip on a fake guitar pick. That’s pretty cool, that.

However, the Nokia 5800 is very definitely a mid-range device; it isn’t, nor was it ever meant to be, an absolute top-ender. That position goes to another handset…

Nokia N97 – the single best phone EVER made?

With the Nokia 5800 all set to bring touchscreen mobile phones to the mid-range market, that leaves a very big gap at the very top-end, and yes, there IS a touchscreen mobile phone waiting to be unleashed to fill that gap: the utterly awesome Nokia N97. This uses the same Symbian S60 Touch operating system and crams it inside the body of a proper, full-tilt smartphone. Which means it has an even more huge, 3.5 inch screen, a slide out QWERTY keyboard, and the camera now weighs in at a meaty 5 megapixels. The Nokia N97 is, obviously, destined to be the new flagship Nseries mobile phone, and it really is as high-spec as we’d heard from rumours, with HSDPA, sat-nav, digital compass, and integrated Flash, meaning you get an internet experience that tops any other mobile phones! Put simply the Nokia N97 is simple incredible. It gleefully relieves itself over other mobile phones and as the Nokia 5800 angles firmly for the mid-range, I’m predicting that the Nokia N97 will totally DESTROY the competition in 2009!

Black sheep – touchscreen mobile phones we’d all rather forget

A lot of people are under the incorrect assumption that the Nokia 5800 is the first touchscreen mobile phone Nokia have ever made. It isn’t. The opposite’s true, because there have been several touch-based phones released under the Nokia badge. Beginning at the 7700, the world has seen a couple of Nokia mobile phones that work by touch. They had a relatively big (for the time) touchscreen in common, but the other feature they had in common, unfortunately, was that they were unbearably awful. Just one of those handsets, the 6708, displayed a modicum potential, but it was made exclusively to be sold in China, and thus, it never saw the light of day in the UK. So, we were relegated to handsets that were utter, utter rubbish.

However, these bad memories have now been exorcised by the debut of two new Nokia mobile phones, both of which have touchscreens, and both of which are much, much sexier…

Nokia 5800 – touch it, hear it, feel it

The first phone on the list is a whole new entrant into Nokia’s Xpress family of music mobile phones, the mouth-watering Nokia 5800. This one’s pretty obviously made for music and video; you can tell by the dedicated XpressMedia button that opens a list of links to music, videos, the web, and more. Then, of course, the Nokia 5800 has a 3.2 inch touchscreen, to let you play with those different media content. Basically, the Nokia 5800 was designed to be a teeny portable entertainment centre, and as music phones go, this is just about the prettiest. The Nokia 5800 also has, built-in, a 3 megapixel camera, HSDPA data access and GPS, making it a wonderful all-rounder, on top of being a superb media player. Oh, and it’s got a strap to clip on an imitation guitar pick. That’s pretty cool, that.

Despite all those features, the Nokia 5800 is very definitely a mid-range handset; it isn’t, nor will it ever be, a full-fat top-ender. That job falls to a separate phone…

Nokia N97 – touch it, feel it, LIVE it…

With the Nokia 5800 on track to bring touchscreen mobile phones to the mid-range market, that opens up a great big gap at the very top-endof the product range; well, there IS a touchscreen mobile phone coming soon to fill that gap: the utterly jaw-dropping Nokia N97. This uses the same Symbian S60 Touch interface and packs it inside the frame of a proper, full-on smartphone. Which means it has a massive, 3.5 inch screen, a kick out QWERTY keyboard, and the camera’s been upgraded to 5 megapixels. The Nokia N97 is, in a very definite way, destined to be the new flagship Nseries mobile phone, and it’s genuinely as high-spec as the rumours said, with HSDPA, GPS, digital compass, and integrated Flash, so that you have an internet experience that tops any other mobile phones! Put simply the Nokia N97 is simple incredible. It gleefully relieves itself over other mobile phones and while the Nokia 5800 angles to take over the mid-range, I reckon that the Nokia N97 will completely DOMINATE the world next year!