Nokia unveils N96 to take on iPhone

Ahead of the launch of Apple’s iconic brand iPhone here, world’s largest mobile phone maker Nokia today unveiled its new converged device N96 under its ‘N Series’ stable.

Apple and Nokia have not yet announced the prices of their models, but according to industry sources, both phones having 3G enabled features, which allow high quality net surfing, video and music download etc, would be priced in the same range.

The price of iPhones would also have an Indian component as it would be offered by the service providers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar.

While iPhone is likely to cost about Rs 31,000 for the 8 GB version; N96, which is expected to hit the Indian market by September, is likely to be priced above Rs 30,000.

Though Nokia is quiet confident that the company’s sales would not be impacted by the launch of the iPhone in the country, experts tracking the sector feel Nokia is hurrying the launch of N96 in India to counter the hype associated with the iPhone.

“Our sales will not be affected by the launch of iPhone in the country...There are different segments of consumers whose needs are different,” Nokia India Director-Marketing Devinder Kishore told reporters here.

With a large 2.8-inch screen display, the phone packs 16 GB of internal memory, expandable up to 24GB.

“The memory of N96 can store up to 18,000 songs, up to 20,000 images and up to 60 hours of video or 20 full length movies,” Kishore said.