Nokia finally unveiled its touchscreen 5800 XpressMusic.
Dubbed the “Tube” during its development the 5800 is the first device to run the Symbian S60 5th Edition platform – S60 Touch.
Aimed at a mainstream market, the Finnish phone giant is hoping to attract users put off by the price of Apple’s iPhone.
To coincide with the announcement of its the mid-range music-focussed phone Nokia launched its’ free music package Comes with Music.
This is being seen as a challenge to Apple’s dominance of the digital music market.
The 5800 comes with a 3.2-inch, 640 x 360 touchscreen to go along with its 3.2-megapixel autofocus cam, Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash, GPS, WiFi, 3.5mm jack, and a microSD slot with support for 16GB cards.
Nokia said it will be available in three versions – European HSDPA, North American HSDPA, and GSM only.
The first version will be priced at just under €279 (around USD $400) and it will be followed early next year by a slightly more expensive version bundled with Comes with Music.
The battle for mobile music is increasingly crowded, with Sony Ericsson launching its music package this month in Sweden, while South Korea’s LG Electronics plans a service similar to Nokia’s.
Nokia’s package differs from others on the market as users can keep all the music they have downloaded during a 12- month subscription period.
There are no charges for tracks downloaded, since the cost is bundled to the phone price.
The music package is being heralded as a genuine tool for fighting file-sharing as research has shown most consumers would be willing to pay for a service like Comes with Music.
It is the prospect of users accessing millions of tracks for free that poses the biggest threat to Apple.
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