Nokia on a roll

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Will its refreshed line-up hit Sony Ericsson?

The first impression of Nokia N95 was 'it's just another powerhouse' or rather a combination of High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) with a GPS receiver. However, with the coming of the Nokia N95 that has a 5 megapixel camera (20X zoom), it's time to be surprised yet again. Nokia N95 'multimedia computer' (that's what Nokia calls its N-series) is the first 3.5G smartphone in the N-series, that allows download speeds up to 1.4 megabits. An integrated GPS receiver, which claims anticipated accuracy of around 10 metres (satellite signal permitting), N95 tries to ensure you never get lost. Nokia has also decided to offer free city maps.

The innovative two-way slide keypad helps switching between different modes like reading maps to watching a video. A numeric keypad slides out from one end of the device while dedicated media keys slide out from the opposite, converting the display into full screen landscape mode. With 160 MB of internal memory and microSD slots that can support up to 2GB, memory hassles are taken care of. Features such as stereo FM radio and Music Recommenders will be a standard package.

The battery, more or less, is the same posing a question mark over the device's longevity. The N95 will be available in EMEA markets by Q1 2007 and the approximate price is 550 euros.

Nokia 5300 & 5200 Music has become a high priority task for Nokia, as the company now aims at taking over the leading spot in this field by overcoming Sony Ericsson's Walkman series. The Nokia claims that 5300 XpressMusic can hold over 100 albums worth of music (that amounts to almost 1500 tracks) on a 2GB microSD card. With dedicated music keys, controlling the music while texting, browsing or taking pictures is made easy.

Those who like their music with a groove can plug in their headphones or external speakers with a 3.5 mm headset jack by connecting to the Nokia 5300 XpressMusic using the inbox adapter. The Nokia 5300 XpressMusic makes transferring music albums and collections to a PC look like a breeze. If travelling, users can strem music wirelessly via Nokia Wireless Audio Gateway AD-42W to any stereo from their Nokia 5300 XpressMusic. Now, that's cool.

Nokia 5300 XpressMusic phone comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera. Nokia is also bullish on the 5200 XpressMusic. Featuring its predecessor's lifestyle-inspired slide design, the Nokia 5200 is marketed as a budget-friendly handset for young and sociable consumers. The Nokia 5200 is expected to retail for around 200-250 euros.