Nokia today said it has started shipping the N86 8MP worldwide. As promised, the 8-megapixel slider claims a number of firsts for camera phones with a variable aperture that better controls the amount of light let in, a true mechanical shutter that speeds up photography and produces cleaner shots, and built-in image stabilization to cut back on blurring. It also has twin LED flashes, dedicated camera controls and an OLED display that more accurately renders the colors of the final shot.

As a phone, the Symbian S60 device has 3G over HSPA, GPS and Wi-Fi, with storage handled both by 8GB of built-in flash as well as microSDHC. Its current form supports GSM calling and EDGE data in North America but, for now, excludes the continent for 3G access. In Europe, it costs 375 Euros ($528) before carrier discounts; Nokia ships many of its Europe-first phones to the US as unlocked devices. View our CTIA hands-on for initial impressions of the phone.