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Aug. 27, 2008

Nokia says that it is now offering 3 new smartphones for the U.S. market, including the release of its flagship video handset, the N-96.

All 3 devices will be sold unlocked through Nokia’s flagship stores, retail outlets or online, so none of the three will be subsidized by any wireless carrier.

The N-96 has a 2.8-inch display and can store up to forty hours of video on its 16 MB of memory.

It also has a Micro-SD card slot. The handset, announced at this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, also has stereo speakers, a kickstand for video viewing and quad band GSM as well as HSDPA in U.S. frequencies.

Besides the N-96, Nokia unveiled the N-85 and the N-79. All three handsets use the Symbian S60 version 3 operating system, have support for HSDPA and Wi-Fi connectivity, come with integrated access to Nokia’s Ovi services platform, including Nokia Maps, and N-Gage games. All three also have 5 megapixel cameras, FM radios and assisted GPS.

The N-79 is a candy-bar style with changeable covers, support for geotagging of photos that are captured and shared on Ovi and on the Internet. Changing the handset cover also changes the color themes on the handset screen.

The Nokia N-85 has a 2.6-inch OLED screen, is a dual slider form factor, has multimedia keys for gaming and other functions and will support TV-out so video shot on the phone can be viewed on a larger screen.

All 3 new handsets are expected to launch in October in the U.S. although Nokia officially has said they will be available sometime in the fourth quarter. The N-96 is expected to sell for $750-800, the N-85 for $600-650 and the N-798 for $500-550.

A Nokia spokesperson said the company decided to launch its 3 phones through direct sales initially because it wanted to get the handsets to consumers faster than by going through wireless carriers.

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Source: Intuit.