When Nokia first announced the Nokia N95 last year, the company looked poised to get serious about multimedia handsets. Now, almost a year later, the company was due to unveil some serious multimedia innovation again. Nokia obviously didn't agree with us there, today at least. On the other hand, kudos to Nokia for introducing the N-Gage gaming service, which could lead to a break-through for more advanced mobile gaming down the road. We're slightly skeptical to follow Nokia on the N81 being a true gaming phone just because it has dedicated gaming keys though, as we've seen plenty of phones with dedicated music buttons that were lousy as music phones.
Nokia N95 with 8GB built-in memory, 2.8" display
As a multimedia smartphone, the Nokia N95 is no longer the star when it comes to the multimedia aspect. What keeps it on the top is its great calling and messaging performance. Nokia tries to do something about that by introducing an upgraded version, offering 8GB of built-in memory and a 2.8" QVGA display. In our opinion, these minor upgrades aren't enough to keep players such as HTC and Apple on a distance moving forward. For those looking to buy the upgraded N95, it'll retail for approximately $550 in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Nokia N81, Nokia N81 8GB combine music and gaming
With dedicated music and gaming keys, 3.5 mm headphone connector and 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, the Nokia N81 multimedia phone (image gallery) is the closest we get to innovation in Nokia's new multimedia phone lineup. With a sleek surface and keys that light up when you activate them, we wonder if the exterior is also truly optimized for gaming, which it will have to be to succeed as a gaming phone. We'll definitely need to perform a few serious gaming sessions on the N81 before judging its capabilities as a gaming phone. Anyway, the N81 also offers a fancy menu with 3D icons, as well as music and game downloads from Nokia's Music Store and N-Gage games service. The Nokia N81 will retail for approximately $450 and should hit shelves late this year.
Nokia 5310, 5610 music phones go on diet
The Nokia 5310 (image gallery) weighs less than 71 grams and measures only 9.9 mm thick. Offering up to 18 hours of music playback and memory for up to 3000 songs (on an optional 4GB microSD card), the mid-range music phone with a 2-inch QVGA screen and 2-megapixel camera will cost you approximately $225 when it becomes available later this year.
The Nokia 5610 (image gallery) offers slightly more impressive features, including music playback of up to 22 hours, a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus, 3G technology and a 2.2-inch QVGA display. Still, also this mid-range music phone will need an optional 4GB microSD card to get the music flowing. Selling for approximately $300, the Nokia 5610 will ship in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Music accessories from Altec Lansing, JBL and Philips
Recognizing the increasing role of mobile phones in music consumption, Nokia has teamed up with Altec Lansing, JBL and Philips to offer a range of accessories such as headphones, docking stations and speakers. Also introduced today were two Nokia branded accessories, including the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-503 and the Nokia Pocket Speakers MD-6 (both compatible with XpressMusic handsets).
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