Nokia N97 Starts Shipping, Pre-Order Now

Its official now! Nokia has announced that the highly anticipated Nokia N97 smartphone will be on sale from June 19th in more than 75 countries. Nokia hasn’t detailed exactly which countries will start seeing N97 shipments roll in, but it’s safe to say they will most likely include most of the European markets, as well as North America.

The Nokia N97 marks the Finns’ first high end touchscreen device and packs in top specs. Most notably you’ll find HSDPA, WiFi, aGPS, a 5MP camera with Carl Zeiss lens, physical sliding Qwerty keyboard, 32GB storage, etc. The official price announced for Nokia N97 is $699 for US and £499 for UK.

“The Nokia N97 is an important step towards our vision of delivering a highly personalized Internet experience,” said Jonas Geust, Vice President and head of Nokia Nseries. “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 further adds, “As with any computer, people can constantly improve and refresh their Nokia N97 with new features, functions and fixes so they can do even more with the device. An exciting roadmap of new features and functions is planned to roll out in the second half of 2009.”

European markets can look out for ‘with-contract’ version of the phone. Infact, UK’s online retailers have started pre-booking the phone on contracts with Orange and O2. The contracts are as cheap as £15 a month and the phone is even available for FREE with a £35 contract. Check out the best deals for N97 here if you are in UK.

Nokia N97 NAM - Amazon, one of the biggest online superstore lists Nokia N97 NAM in stock from June 25. The price on Amazon is just $603.99 with US warranty, far cheaper than the official US price ($699). Check out N97 on Amazon here.

The Nokia N97 is a big step up from the Finns’ previous N-Series and smartphone offerings. It packs customisable Homescreen, tons of new widgets, social networking tools and news feeds. You’ll be able to add even more via the newly launched Ovi Store that comes pre-installed with it.

The handset will likely be popular around the world, but it may have a tough time gaining traction in the U.S. market because of its price tag and the competition. No U.S. carrier will be subsidizing the N97, which means customers can only buy it unlocked for about $699, unlike UK where they have some good ‘with contract’ Nokia N97 deals.

Video: The Nokia N97 being made at the factory-

Check out:

Nokia N97 Best Deals in UK
Nokia N97 Best Deals on Amazon
Nokia N97 Official Press Release