As expected, Nokia finally entered the touchscreen phone market today by announcing the Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic. According to Jo Harlow, Vice President, Nokia:
“As Nokia’s first mass-market device with a touch screen, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic turns a ‘user interface’ into a ‘human interface’ by truly putting people first.”
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is powered by a touchscreen version of the S60 user interface. It comes with a 3.2-inch widescreen (16 by 9 aspect ratio) touchscreen display, 8GB of memory, a 3.2MP camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack and built-in surround stereo speakers. It features a virtual alphanumeric keypad and a virtual QWERTY keyboard as well as a pen stylus and a plectrum for the true music enthusiasts.
The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will also support Nokia’s Comes with Music service which offers one year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue.
Customers who buy a Comes With Music device will be able to explore and enjoy a diverse catalog of music of international and local artists with unlimited access to millions of tracks for a year, keeping the music once the year is over and revolutionizing their digital music experience.
The service will also be available on a range of Nokia devices, including the Nokia N95 8GB and Nokia 5310 XpressMusic.
Comes with Music will first be offered in the UK, starting on October 16, 2008. The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Comes With Music edition will be available from Carphone Warehouse and is expected to cost £129.95.
The 5800 XpressMusic will be available worldwide starting in the fourth quarter of 2008 and will sell for €279 (about USD$385) before carrier subsidies and taxes. Except in the UK, a version with the Comes with Music service will not be available until early next year though. With such a low price, it is likely that many carriers will offer it for much less than the announced price.