Nokia Intros N97 Mini, X6 Smartphones

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Nokia N97 Mini

Nokia introduced Wednesday a pair of touch-screen smartphones that place a heavy emphasis on social networking and entertainment.

The N97 mini is the little brother of the N97 that was released a few months ago, and it has a smaller body and less internal storage. The mini smartphone measures in at 4.4 by 2 by 0.5 inches, compared to the N97 which is a bit bigger in each dimension. The mini version will also only come with 8 GB, which is a step down from the 32 GB that came with the N97.

The N97 mini is still a very powerful smartphone, as it runs Symbian S60 5th Edition, and it has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, 3G, an FM transmitter, and a 5-megapixel camera. The smartphone also has a 3.2-inch resistive touch screen and a slide-out, three-row QWERTY keyboard for composing messages.

The handset will come preloaded with the lifecasting with Ovi app, which is software that enables the phone to have deeper integration with Facebook. It will also come with Ovi Maps, and users can access Nokia's virtual app store to download new content over the air. The N97 mini is expected to ship in October, and it will cost about $640 before taxes and carrier subsidies.

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Nokia X6

"People want to bring their physical and online worlds together via the Internet," said Jonas Geust, VP of Nokia's N Series, in a statement. "The Nokia N97 mini is designed for this new social Internet and to help navigate people and places. With lifecasting, the Nokia N97 and Ovi usher in the next chapter of personal and location-aware Internet."

The world's largest handset maker also introduced the X6 smartphone, and the touch-screen device has a heavy emphasis on music. The handset will be Nokia's flagship music phone, and it has the company's Comes With Music service which enables users to have unlimited copy-protected music downloads. Powered by Symbian S60 5th Edition, the handset comes with 32 GB of built-in memory, Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, a 5-megapixel camera, and GPS.

The X6 will ship in the fourth quarter, and it is expected to cost about $650 before taxes or carrier subsidies.

Most companies are just starting the hard work of mobilizing workforces by bringing the software they use to smartphones. InformationWeek analyzed this issue in an independent report, and it can be downloaded here (registration required).