Nokia N97: Back once again with the messaging master

The wait is over: today Nokia announced an N-series touchscreen phone that boasts some truly mouth-watering features. An 89mm (3.5-inch) tiltable touchscreen sits in an elegant white casing that hides a full Qwerty keypad underneath -- think Nokia E90 with a little more style.

Inside this messaging master lies 32GB of on-board storage, with the option to expand via microSD up to 48GB, plus assisted GPS, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a 5-megapixel camera with dual LED photo lights.

But it's not just another N-series phone crammed with features -- the N97 also boasts integration with messaging clients such as Windows Live and Yahoo, and gives you fast access to Facebook and MySpace, among others, with just a few clicks.

The Nokia N97 displays feeds and messages from your social networks on the homepage, meaning you don't have to stumble around accessing apps. Via GPS you can let friends know where you are or send them geo-tagged pictures.

Unlike the iPhone 3G, which doesn't feature a Qwerty keypad, tapping out long messages, browsing the Web or chatting to friends over IM should be easy.

Nokia is hardly going overboard with the hype on this one: "The N97 isn't a device that will trigger knee-jerk hysteria," it modestly promises, and it's right, but it's a solid phone that will hopefully deliver a great messaging and social experience.

The Nokia N97 will be made available in the first half of 2009. Pricing has been quoted at around €550 SIM-free, but it will almost certainly be free on a monthly contract. Watch Nokia's promo video below for more information.