Nokia to launch first Symbian^3 smartphone later this year

Paul Nesbitt

Nokia will launch the first Symbian^3 smartphone later this year in the shape of the N8. The launch of a Symbian^3 phone is an important reminder that Nokia still sees a future for its venerable phone OS, following its announcement of the MeeGo OS.

The Nokia N8 is a high end smartphone complete with a 12 megapixel camera (capable of rcording 720p HD video) and Nokia expects to ship the handset sometime in the 'third quarter'. Other new features are a face recognition feature feature to help users take super sharp snaps. Video footage can be output to an external display via a built-in HDMI port.

The N8 will also feature a 3.5in, 640 by 360, AMOLED multitouch screen and include 16GB of storage, along with a microSD slot to expand storage.

Samsung has also promised to ship a Symbian^3 smartphone around the same time period. Ironically this launch will come as Samsung ramps up promotion of Bada, its own self-developed smartphone OS.