Nokia ships N77 TV phone, Jaiku widget

Nokia this morning began shipping the N77, its inaugural mobile TV handset. The phone's 2.4-inch LCD plays host to regular media playback as well as DVB-H digital broadcasts, a first for any shipping N-series phone. The TV receiver supports both live broadcasts as well as a 30-second replay mode and programming guide support. Regular elements of Nokia's higher-powered phones are also present and include a 2-megapixel camera as well as AAC/MP3 playback. Availability will vary but is likely to be confined to Europe and parts of Asia in the N77's initial form, which sells for roughly $481 when unattached to a carrier plan.

The Finnish phone developer's WidSets group today also released the Jaiku widget, a mobile phone version of the popular microblogging tool. The portable version includes virtually all the features, including direct replies and photo sharing. As with most other widgets, the Jaiku utility is independent of Nokia hardware and works with over 300 individual handsets. No price is listed for the download.