Nokia unveils the new top-of-the-range N97 mobile

The world's top cellphone maker Nokia has launched the much awaited Nokia N97, its flagship mobile computer-cum-new top-of-the-range smartphone.

Nokia said that it would begin selling the N97 in more than 75 countries this month.

Along with a tilting 3.5" touch display, QWERTY keyboard and a fully customisable 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 personalised Internet experience," said Jonas Geust, vice president and head of Nokia N series.

"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," he said.

The Nokia N97 is Nokia's first device to feature a personalisable home screen, which can be customised 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 handset supports up to 48 GB of storage, including 32 GB of on-board memory, expandable with a 16 GB microSD card for music, media and more.

This is complemented by excellent music capabilities, full support for the Nokia Music Store and continuous playback time of up to 1.5 days.

The Nokia N97 also has a 5-Megapixel camera with high-quality Carl Zeiss optics, 16:9 and DVD quality video capture, and support for services like Share on Ovi for immediate sharing over HSDPA and WLAN.

It is the first handset 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, the Helsinki, Finland-based company said.

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.

The Nokia N97, as with any computer, can constantly improve and be refreshed with new features, functions and fixes so they can do even more with the device. The company plans to add an exciting roadmap of new features and functions in the second half of 2009.

Moreover, it 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.

Favourite music can be heard 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.