Nokia ships N97, shows BH905 headset
updated 08:35 am EDT, Tue June 2, 2009
Nokia Ships N97 and BH905
Nokia today finally set a launch window for its N97 flagship smartphone. The company's second-ever touchscreen device ships in June to 75 countries and should include a version with 3G support for North American carriers. It continues to have the same 3.5-inch 640x360 display, 32GB of built-in storage, 5-megapixel camera, GPS and Wi-Fi. The N97 is also Nokia's first device with a customizable home screen with widgets for Facebook, news and weather.
The US release will for now only involve selling an unlocked but unsubsidized N97 for $699 that supports AT&T's 3G services as well as 2G for both it and T-Mobile. In addition to the phone itself, Nokia has teased software updates in the second half of 2009 that should add new features to the N97.
Supporting the phone is the BH905, a new over-the-ear Bluetooth headphone set that Nokia promises has better sound quality than most. The cupped design is the first to use a 10-mic active noise cancellation system from Wolfson that both improves listening to music and also improves quality for the user's own voice during calls. The cups also have controls for managing calls as well as music tracks.
The headset also supports most wired headphone connections, ranging from 2.5mm cellphone connections up through more typical 3.5mm jacks and even 6.3mm full-size jacks for home stereos. It ships worldwide in August for 285 Euros ($405).
