Williamo’s Blog.

Talk about a lack of fanfare! I had to go digging (relatively speaking) for any news or pics of the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic (previously known as the Nokia Tube) which was released today. Not even the Nokia USA website shows any reference to it. Where is your marketing department, Nokia?

This looks like it could be a great little device, and hopefully the lack of marketing means that it’ll be cheaper than I expect (looks like it’s expected to be $385).

Here are the specs from Wikipedia:

• 3.2-inch 16M touchscreen.
• 640 x 360 pixels resolution (16:9 display ratio).
• Symbian S60 5th edition OS with touch input
• Accelerometer for auto screen rotation.
• 3.2 MP AF Carl Zeiss lens, dual LED flash and geo-tagging support
• GPS with A-GPS function
• 3.5mm headphone/video-out jack
• microSDHC card slot (up to 32 GB)
• 8GB microSDHC card included

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_5800)

And here’s a quote from Nokia’s own press release (which is really dry…):

Nokia amps up music offering with new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
October 02, 2008

Innovative ‘Media Bar’ and ‘Contacts Bar’ add human touch to music experience

Nokia Remix, London, United Kingdom and Singapore - Nokia turned up the volume on its music offering today by unveiling the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, a mobile device for music that brings innovative new features to the mass market.  Delivering on Nokia’s vision to provide the best total music experience possible, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be among the first devices to support Comes With Music, Nokia’s groundbreaking service which offers one year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue.

…

Media Bar, Contacts Bar - putting people first

Taking advantage of touch screen technology, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic introduces the ‘Media Bar’, a handy drop down menu that provides direct access to music and entertainment, including favourite tracks, videos and photos. The Media Bar also offers a direct link to the web and to online sharing. Because the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic supports Flash content, individuals can surf the entire web, not just pieces of it.  In addition, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers all the music essentials, including a graphic equalizer, 8GB memory for up to 6000 tracks and support for all main digital music formats, and a 3.5mm jack. Built-in surround sound stereo speakers offer the industry’s most powerful sound.

(http://www.nokia.com/A4136001?newsid=1256590)

At least it’s got a real 3.5mm headphone jack instead of that laughable USB dongle that’s not even included for the T-Mobile G1.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see what effect (if any) this has on the phone industry.

For more info, check out the following links:

• http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/02/the-nokia-5800-xpressmusic/
• http://nokia5800.net/2008/10/02/nokia-5800-is-official/
• http://technokia.com/nokia-tube-5800-specifications/11/04/2008/
• http://dvice.com/archives/2008/10/nokia_5800_xpre.php
• http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/9811.html
• http://www.betanews.com/article/The_Nokia_Tube_5800_comes_as_they_say_with_music/1222971632