Nokia Roadmap Leak

Nokia's tentative step into touchscreen phones this year with the 5800 XpressMusic is going to be matched up by as many as three devices in coming months, a leaked roadmap supplied to BGR shows. Aside from mentioning devices that are already complete inside the company, including the budget E63 QWERTY phone, the schedule also shows a trio of touchscreen devices, including two which should be finished on a basic level before the end of the year.

The first of these, nicknamed the IP08, is described as a widescreen device with a "Naviscroll" interface, a five-megapixel camera, assisted GPS and Wi-Fi. A second model codenamed the Ivalo will allegedly be finished at the very end of the year and serve as Nokia's true flagship: a larger 3.5-inch touchscreen and 32GB of built-in flash memory will add to the IP08's features. One final device known as the Eitri should be largely done by early 2009 and will carry a 3.5-inch screen, at least 8GB of storage and a new pressure-sensitive, haptic feedback control system as well as a compass for finding the phone's orientation independent of GPS.

Other notable, non-touch additions include the rumored E75 slider and a variant (Stella and Terra), the Corolla with a "half-QWERTY" design, eight-megapixel camera and a three-inch display, and the AT&T-specific Jig, a lateral slider using the hardware of the 6650 with the addition of HSPA-based 3G.

Internal release dates don't correspond to announcement or ship dates, and so most of these devices are unlikely to become available until later into 2009. Nokia typically reserves its largest introductions for Mobile World Congress, which next year starts on February 16th.

The roadmap if unchanged suggests a significant reversal of Nokia's cautious attitude towards touchscreen phones, which resulted in the company unveiling the 5800 XpressMusic nearly two years after Apple had publicly unveiled the first iPhone.

By Electronista Staff