Nokia has unveiled its latest flagship handset: the N97, which it claims is the “world’s most advanced mobile computer”.

Nokia's N97: flagship

It may look like the old Communicator series, but the N97 is no clamshell. It sports a 3.5in, 16:9 widescreen touch-sensitive display with a slide-out Qwerty keyboard underneath, giving you the advantage of both forms of data entry.

The home screen can be personalised, so if you don’t like Nokia’s selection of on-screen widgets, you can pick your own.

Easy access to Facebook and MySpace

As Nokia’s flagship, the device incorporates HSDPA 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity. It’s nice to see that Nokia’s also thought about web use thoroughly and installed Flash onto the N97.

The Finnish handset manufacturer appears to be pitching the N97 as something of a social networking phone and so has equipped it with an “always open” window for sites like Facebook and MySpace. These are essentially mini windows that give you a quick visual update of what all your ‘friends’ are up to.

You'll get a massive 32GB of on-board storage

Assisted GPS is built into the talker, so you’ll be able to navigate your way around town with Nokia’s own Maps app. An electronic compass is also displayed, which should appeal to Ray Mears fans.

Pictures can be snapped with the phone’s five-megapixel camera, which Nokia claimed also captures “DVD quality videos”. A massive 32GB of on-board storage is installed onto the phone, but if you still need more capacity then the talker also accepts Micro SD cards of up to 16GB.

Nokia’s N97 will be available at some point during the first half of 2009, which could mean any time between January and June. It’ll cost roughly €550 (£469/$696).