Nokia reveals Tube's UK launch date

After denying British punters a touch screen Tube in their Christmas stockings, Nokia has announced that the much-hyped phone will launch in Blighty this month.

Also known as the 5800, Tube goes on sale on 23 January from 10am at Nokia stores in Regent Street in London and Heathrow’s Terminal 5. It costs £249 ($371/€272) when sold SIM free.

You can pre-order the phone online, but Nokia’s website warns that online shoppers will receive the phone in February.

From the end of January, the handset will appear in Carphone Warehouse, Phones 4U and network operators’ stores.

Nokia's Tube, aka the 5800, arrives here this month

Tube is Nokia’s first fully touch screen-operated phone and has been hotly anticipated since a blurred photograph was published online last year.

Aside from the choice of fingertip, stylus or “exclusive plectrum touch” operation, you’ll also get the option of an on-screen keyboard or handwriting recognition for data entry.

The screen measures 3.2in and the device can be used with a single hand, thanks to a drop-down music bar that gives access to the phone’s audio catalogue. Nokia’s Music Store can also be thumbed through, literally.

Music is a big feature on Tube and your favourite tracks can be played back through headphones connected into the 3.5mm jack, or blasted out from the integrated surround sound speakers.

Tube is Nokia's first fully touchscreen phone

Content is stored onto Micro SD memory cards of up to 16GB, while the phone can connect to the web over both HSDPA 3G and Wi-Fi.

You get around nine hours of talk time from the 5800, or it’ll just sit awaiting orders for up to 17 days. The 5800 will play tunes continuously for 35 hours.

The camera is a 3.2-megapixel snapper that’s also able to capture 30f/s video. Assisted GPS is incorporated for navigation and geo-tagging of your snaps and videos. ®