Nokia today stepped up its competition with the iPhone in the US by releasing the North American Model (NAM) of the N95 8GB already available in Europe. The device contains as much as its Apple rival but adds support for 3G Internet over the 850MHz and 1900MHz HSDPA bands needed to provide access through AT&T as well as Canadian providers Fido and Rogers. Its built-in GPS also comes with some preloaded US maps, Nokia says. The N95 8GB also expands on the original N95 NAM with a larger 2.8-inch LCD, more RAM, a better battery, and assisted GPS out of the box that uses data to fix a position more quickly than possible with GPS alone.

Support for the N-Gage gaming service will also come to North American shores with the launch of the phone, according to the company.

Following its tradition with most earlier Nseries phones, Nokia will sell the N95 8GB NAM in the US as an unlocked device rather than pair it with AT&T or another service. This raises the price to $749 when it goes on sale before the end of March but will allow users to switch providers when travel outside of North America to avoid costly roaming charges.