Nokia previews N97 touchscreen; Vodafone NZ unleashes BlackBerry Storm

Nokia has taken the wraps off a new superphone that combines an iPhone-style, 3.5-inch touchscreen with a full Qwerty keyboard.

Previewed at an expo in Barcelona today, the new handset is dubbed the N97, but its design is much more closely related to Nokia's all-in-one Communicator series than its N95 (or N96, due for NZ release this month).

The N97 was previewed with a new version of Nokia Maps that displays 3D views of buildings and landmarks. The handset itself is 30% thicker than an iPhone, largely due to the fold-out keyboard, but packs in higher-end hardware, including a 5 megapixel camera, 32GB of built-in memory (expandable to 48GB) and support for DVD-quality video playback, and video capture at 30fps (see demo clip below).

A one-year subscription to Nokia's all-you-can-eat Comes With Music download service will be bundled with the N97, which is due for release during the second half of 2009. Indicative pricing is around $1200.

Meanwhile, Vodafone has formally released the much-hyped BlackBerry Storm in New Zealand today, for $999. Read NBR's round-up reviews for RIM's first touchscreen here.