I am big Nokia fan and have always loved playing around with the best smartphones on the market. I personally own the N95 and really love the features it has and the handy applications (Part I | Part II) I am able to use on it.

The only thing that disappointed many Nokia lovers is the lack of a touch screen phone. However that disappointment will soon vanish with the launch of Nokia N97, the first touchscreen smartphone from the Nokia stables that will directly compete with the iPhone.

Nokia N97 which will most likely begin shipping in 2nd quarter of 2009, has some pretty exciting features, some of which leave the iPhone far behind when you compare both of these smarphones. Here are some photos and specifications of the latest Nokia phone.

Nokia N97 will run on Symbian OS S60 Release 5 and feature a 3.5 inch TFT touchscreen with a screen resolution of 360 x 640 pixels and will weigh only 150gms. The phone also come built-in with a Proximity sensor for auto turn-off, accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, full QWERTY keyboard and handwriting recognition.

Nokia N97 will have ample connectivity options like its predecessors and include options for high speed 3G networks (HSDPA), EDGE, GPRS and HSCSD. In addition to that Nokia N97 will also have Wi-Fi capability and Bluetooth connectivity.

The storage space in Nokia N97 has definitely taken a huge leap and will have a storage capacity of whooping 48GB with 32GB internal memory and additional 16GB supported through a additional microSD (TransFlash) card.

For people who love to to take pictures or shoot videos, the N97 comes with a 5MP Carl Zeiss optics camera which can take pictures up-to 2584×1938 pixels in resolution and also has support for DVD quality video capture, the phone also has support for TV out, so you can easily connect it to the TV to view the captured photos and videos.

The Nokia N97 also makes use of widgets that will help you access your favorite web services and social networking sites with ease, along with providing a much better interface for browsing websites and streaming flash videos.

Overall the Nokia N97 is a phone worth waiting for, and I would definitely be one of the people to get my hands on this beauty.

Nokia N97 Specifications

• 3.5 inch TFT touchscreen with 360 x 640 screen resolution.
• Weighs only 150 grams.
• Symbian OS v9.4, Series 60 rel. 5.
• Proximity sensor for auto turn-off.
• Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate.
• Full QWERTY keyboard.
• Handwriting recognition
• Supports high speed 3G networks (HSDPA), EDGE, GPRS and HSCSD.
• Wi-Fi capability and Bluetooth connectivity.
• Built-in GPS support, Nokia Maps 2.0 Touch and Digital compass.
• Stereo GM radio and TV out support.
• Voice Command and Voice dial.
• Document Viewer.
• Battery standby up-to 430 hours and 6 hours 4 mins talk time.

Image Credit: GSM Arena