At a major press event today, Nokia unveiled a number of new devices and services. On the device side, it announced the Nokia N81 and Nokia N81 8GB, the Nokia N95 8GB and the Nokia 5310 and 5610 XpressMusic handsets.
The Nokia N81 and N81 8GB version support the relaunched N-Gage gaming platform and pack quad-band GSM and single-band HSDPA (no US band support). They come with dedicated music and gaming keys, a 2.4-inch display, 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a 2MP camera, and a microSD slot. As the name implies, the N81 8GB comes with 8GB of Flash memory.
The N95 8GB is very similar to the already available N95 but adds 8GB of Flash memory and a larger 2.8-inch display.
Both the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic and S610 XpressMusic are focused on music playing. The S310 is a thin (9.9mm) candybar that packs a 2-inch QVGA display, a 2MP camera, and a microSD slot (up to 4GB supported). The S610 is a slider featuring a 2.2-inch display, 3G support, a 3.2MP camera, and a microSD slot (up to 4GB supported).
All phones should start shipping in the fourth quarter.
Nokia also announced the launch of its Nokia Music Store which will offer music from major artists, independent labels and local hits. Offering both download and streaming service, a single user account promises to let users access the store from both computers and optimized Nokia devices (like the new N81 or N95 8GB). It will support features like over-the-air purchases, music browsing and searching, recommendations and wishlists. Songs purchased will be transferable to a PC or from a PC to compatible Nokia devices like the 5310 and 5610 XpressMusic devices.
Music tracks will be offered in 192Kbps audio in Windows Media Audio (WMA) format and will cost €1 each (€10 for albums).
The Nokia Music Store will launch across Europe and Asia over the next few months.