In what has to be one of the sloppiest undertakings we’ve seen in recent history, Nokia has officially announced the N86 8MP today at Mobile World Congress. First it was presumed to be a leak, then it was revealed to be a bungle and now Nokia has finally decided to show off its first 8 megapixel camera phone in Barcelona. In other words, a company that has openly complained about leaks on several occasions went to Singapore and publicly displayed an unannounced handset, allowing it to be handled and photographed by the public. While you try to wrap your head around that one, let’s move on to the specs…

Aside from the 8 megapixel shooter with a shutter speed of up to 1/1000 of a second, f-stop range of 2.4-4.8 and a wide-angle lens that Nokia absurdly states is equal to that of a wide-angle 35mm SLR, the N86 8MP runs S60 3rd Edition FP2 and features a 2.6″ AMOLED QVGA display, 8 GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi and aGPS with Nokia Maps 3.0 pre-installed. Thankfully, it will indeed be available for use in North America by way of our very own tri-band HSPA model though we can’t say for sure if it will launch around the same time as the Euro model. Battery life isn’t terrible with a rated talk-time of 3.9 hours 3G / 6.3 hours EDGE and standby falling in at 11.5 hours 3G / 13 hours EDGE. Last but not least we have the dimensions and the N86 8MP a big boy indeed, coming in at 103.4mm x 51.4mm x 16.5mm and 149g. All in all it’s a handset with a great camera, above average specs and horrible display resolution – Nseries up and down. Expect to see the N86 8MP begin shipping sometime in Q2 for €375 ($474 USD) and hit the jump for some pics and the obligatory press release.

Capture your life in more detail with the Nokia N86 8MP
February 17, 2009

Barcelona, Spain – When Nokia set out to make the best mobile imaging device, it combined wide-angle Carl Zeiss optics and an 8 megapixel sensor, resulting in performance comparable to a stand alone digital camera. The Nokia N86 8MP is designed to excel in both bright and low light conditions, and it’s optimized for both video and still imaging. Its high-speed connectivity ensures easy and convenient sharing. The Nokia N86 8MP is expected to begin shipping in the second quarter of 2009 with an estimated retail price of EUR 375, before taxes and subsidies.

“People demand mobile cameras that take excellent pictures in all light conditions,” says Juha-Pekka Sipponen, Director, Nokia Nseries. “That’s why the aperture of the Nokia N86 8MP is comparable to that of a high-quality, stand-alone digital camera. Whether it’s running with the bulls in Pamplona or capturing the panoramic beauty of a sunrise over Sydney, the Nokia N86 8MP will take brilliantly clear, wide-angle images that are instantly geotagged to be uploaded onto sites like Ovi Share or Flickr.”

Easy enough for a novice to use, the Nokia N86 8MP packs enough punch to impress an experienced photographer. This includes a wide-angle Carl Zeiss Tessar lens for panoramic pictures, shorter latencies and variable aperture for super sharp photos in challenging bright and low light conditions. The fast mechanical shutter ensures pictures with less motion blur while the dual LED camera flash is powerful enough for excellent photography and video capture.

“When it comes to taking the best digital photos, it’s the quality of the lens and the sensor that count, not just the quantity of pixels. The Nokia N86 8MP is the first mobile device with variable aperture, adding to the Carl Zeiss Tessar lens for excellent results. It has never been easier to capture special moments in such a great quality,” says Helmut Heier of Carl Zeiss.

Every detail of the metal-framed Nokia N86 8MP is thoughtfully designed with photography in mind, including 8 GB of internal memory for up to 4,000 images. Like any high-end digital camera, the memory can be increased with an exchangeable 16 GB microSD card. The device also offers a bright OLED screen with scratch resistant hardened glass, easy photo management, full sync capability with a PC and TV-out support for slide shows.

Shipping with the latest version of Nokia Maps and full Ovi integration, the Nokia N86 8MP gives a personal dimension to photos and videos. People can share their location with personal content like geotagged photos. The Nokia N86 8MP comes with a built-in compass, along with an integrated 3-months license for full voice and pedestrian navigation so that happy snappers don’t lose their way when capturing life through the camera lens.

Multimedia features – music, games, video
The Nokia N86 8MP, with its integrated kick stand, is ideal for watching videos and playing games. Each Nokia N86 8MP can play up to 25 hours of music on one charge which can be enjoyed with the Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-214 also announced today. People can build a personal music collection from the millions of tracks and playlists available from the Nokia Music Store, where available.

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We mentioned it a few days ago and rumors were true, something big has come from the Finnish mobile manufacturer. Nokia has just announced in Barcelona, Spain during Nokia World ’08 that it will be launching the N97. This feature-packed phone is guaranteed to please Nokia fans and general phone geeks alike. Apparently, product managers are calling this the “Facebook Phone,” and while it is a little silly, the name doesn’t just come from nowhere. The device is geared toward social networking and multimedia but it doesn’t seem like the business user has been left out, either. Here are some specs to get your appetite going:

• 3.5″, 640 x 360 resistive touch screen (No! Why not capacitive?! Fail.)
• QWERTY keyboard
• Tri-band HSDPA 3G
• 802.11 b/g WiFi
• A-GPS and Stand-alone GPS for directions and geo-tagging
• 32GB Built-In Memory
• microSD expansion support for ADDITIONAL 16GB
• 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics
• Flash Lite 3.0 support and Flash Video in web browser
• Music player up to 36 hours playback time
• Share and Ovi services support

Holy cow, this phone is loaded! Is there anything else you can ask for? 30 frames-per-second video and tons of on-board storage! It has 3G, WiFi, a touch screen and a full QWERTY keyboard and a fully customizable home screen. We’re not going to call this an iPhone killer just yet, but Apple has some serious competition. The biggest feature for a lot of you will be Flash support and Flash video – bonus! This is going to be a killer phone for sure. The N97 will be released in the first half of 2009 and will go for €550, or approximately $695 – maybe. Hit the jump for more images and a video.

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This actually kind of neat… Nokia has just launched a limited trial run of its new chat client. The aptly named Nokia Chat comes to us by way of Nokia labs, and takes advantage of the built-in GPS found in many recent Nokia handsets to provide your chat buddies with location and proximity information. Sure, it’s a little creepy, but we’re all for adopting and exploiting new technology to its fullest. Assuming you’re using a device equipped with both GPS and Nokia Maps, you’ll be able to broadcast your location for the world to see, as well as pinpoint your buddies on your map application. Sound like fun? Assuming you have a compatible device, (N95 8GB, N95, N82, N81 8GB, N81, N76, E71, E66, E51, 6290, 6120 Classic, and 6110 Navigator) hit the link for more info and get your chat on.

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