Nokia to announce new phone next week

By Andrew Lim on 27 November 2008, 1:07pm

A while ago we got a mysterious phone call from someone claiming that they had inside knowledge of an exciting new Nokia handset coming out at the end of this year. At first we didn't take them very seriously but days later a roadmap of Nokia's future handsets was leaked online and we started to pay attention.

Last night at a Nokia press event we heard further whispers that next week a N-series handset is indeed going to launch, so we revisited the leaked Nokia handset roadmap. From what we can see it could be an N85 refresh with 16GB on-board memory and an analogue joystick.

Codenamed Athlon this 'N85 refresh' also packs GPS, HSPDA, Wi-Fi, stereo speakers and a 5-megapixel camera with xenon flash. Of course we can't guarantee that the Athlon is a real product let alone about to come out, but from the 'leaked' specs it's reasonable to think that such a handset exists.

If by some sort of magic we were in the Nokia driving seat and were about to launch a new phone then we'd opt for an N-series handset with a standard keypad on top and slide-out Qwerty underneath like the LG KS360. It would also boast a sharp screen, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, GPS and a solid metal casing -- here's to hoping. Make sure to keep your eye on Crave next week as we'll be ready to write up Nokia's new handset.