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Nokia confirms 'iPhone killer' handset in pipeline

Codename 'Tube'

Nokia has confirmed that it’s developing a touchscreen-equipped handset to take on the Apple iPhone, and has shown off pictures of the upcoming phone to drooling onlookers.

The Finnish giant’s handset is codenamed 'Tube', and Tom Libretto, VP of Forum Nokia, said the device will be the company’s “first touch device”.

Libretto remained unsurprisingly coy about the full array of features the Tube will offer. Aside from confirming that the Nokia handset will be entirely touch operated, he added that it will also support Java – something which the iPhone doesn’t yet officially support - and will allow photos to be uploaded to the web.

Nokia_tube_screenshot

Nokia's 'Tube': iPhone-alike

Given the codename, it's fair to suggest Nokia sees it as a mobile video platform. And with the DVB-H mobile digital TV standard now starting to gain momentum, Tube will probably be a handheld telly too.

Several pictures of the handset have already appeared online, which were taken from a Nokia presentation given at a recent Evans Data developer conference held in California. The device looks like the iPhone’s long lost twin, except for a Nokia logo stuck underneath the handset’s earpiece. The Tube’s display doesn’t look as wide as the iPhone’s, but appearances can be deceptive. Nokia's design also lacks the iPhone's 'home' button.

Unconfirmed reports suggest Nokia's would-be iPhone killer will run on the Symbian S60 platform.

Nokia hasn't said when the Tube will be available, or how much it will cost.

Latest Comments

The iPhone has Broke all Sales Records...

Anonymous Coward, you are neglecting the fact that the iPhone has become the most popular Smartphone of all time, garnering over 18% of the entire Smartphone market in less than 9 months.

When you get your first iPhone you'll understand why everyone is so excited, but until then, please learn about the cell phone market.

Thanks!

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iPhone is second largest Hi-End Phone

Only Blackberry had more marketshare in Q3 of 2007, now the iPhone is number one of all Hi-End Phones.

http://www.intomobile.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/iphone-market-share.jpg

That's pretty impressive considering it had 0% share this time last year, now it has 27% of the High-End market. It's the biggest peanut because it sells the best and has the most functionality.

You'll get one soon, don't worry!

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iPhone has not sold any better than other hi-end mobiles

>Apple now controls the entire high end of the Cell Market.

That is bollocks. I don't know where people get the idea that iPhone dominates the market. It's just peanuts compared to many other hi-end mobiles, and yes I do mean individual product sales. Maybe people in the US just look at their market and not the global figures.

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@Rolf

>supposedly "supported" MMS, email and web browsing.

Well, you must have picked the duffers. I've had working email on all my phones for the past 8 years, similar for Web, and MMS for the last 5. OK, so sometimes the configuration was a bit of a dark art, but that has certainly improved over the years. But it worked.

Most new phones come with the correct settings for most of the big operators. Getting the configuration right is trivial if you are targeting just one operator every couple of months. Trying to get it correct for 50, in 20 different countries, first time. That's a challenge.

>In all that entire time I sent precisely one MMS message, received two, visited one web site, and sent and received not a single email!

And? All previous phones were rubbish because you never used the features they had?

>(Not counting the half dozen or so times I visited my operator's home page trying to sell me games and ringtones I didn't want and lumbering me with data charges because I accidentally hit the one touch internet button they oh so helpfully insist on adding to the keypad)

So... Nokia sux because your operator is rubbish? Here's a hint; change operator. Better still, buy unsubsidised handsets that don't have any operator config added on. Better still, buy a handset that allows you to tailor the entire SW stack to suit your needs.

>And have you noticed that when the iPhone commercials are on TV, all they do is show you the device actually being used? The user interface really does speak for itself.

Hmm, that's because it's looks are it's only selling point. It's a shiny video iPod, that does some stuff phones have been doing for years. Meh.

>Handwriting recognition is even more of a joke. It's years since I last had a device with a stylus and that claimed to do handwriting. I've had a few of those in my time too, sounds like a great idea in theory but completely pointless in practice. If I used the device at all I usually lost the stylus, but that's ok 'cos it didn't work even when I had it.

Well, I found that the handwriting on the SEMC P series was pretty good, it took a while to learn the correct glyphs, but with a bit of practice soon became second nature. They used to say the same thing about Palm's handwriting.

As for handwriting being pointless, it was certainly much quicker and more comfortable to write emails with handwriting than with either T9, multi-tap, virtual keyboard, or those cramped little keyboards on the crackberries and clones. Of course, Jobs will be able to invent something revolutionary, perhaps a slide-out keyboard?

@Ted

ROFLMAO

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my old phone

was an n93, what a load of crap it was too, I certainly wouldn't subject myself to S60, not even for free, hence why I ended up just buying an iphone since I knew it would do what it says it does, and not claim every feature under the sun and deliver barely any of them

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