If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it’s probably a duck. But if it has a touch screen, an intuitive user interface and an extensive application library, it might not be an iPhone. It could be the Nokia N97.

The N97 has a 3.5-inch screen and a qwerty keyboard. It runs Symbian S60, a popular mobile operating system, and it allows you to browse the Internet, send e-mail and view maps using Wi-Fi or cellular networks.

Most important, the device will hold up to 32 gigabytes of media and applications, meaning it could replace a media player and a laptop. It also has a five-megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth and a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack.

Although you can make and receive calls on it, the N97’s storage capacity and programs make it considerably more powerful than a standard cellphone. The GPS, for example, lets you hold the camera up to a scene in front of you and identify buildings in real time.

Sadly, the $600 phone will not be available until early 2009 and may be sold only online and in Nokia stores. Power, it seems, comes at a price.

Source:http://www.nytimes.com