Some disappointing news coming from CTIA this morning ….
Nokia isn’t building a special US version of this phone – they’ll just be selling the European version direct and unlocked through NokiaUSA.com and at their own stores. That means the N95 will work on T-Mobile and Cingular’s EDGE networks, but won’t be able to access higher-speed HSDPA cellular networks in the US. The phone will ship in the second quarter of this year for around $700 in the US, according to Nokia. [Gearlog]
As much as I want the N95, it’s going to be hard to swallow the bill on a non-3G capable phone and makes the iPhone that much more competitive in my opinion. Perhaps some future deal will still come forth … Gearlog only references CTIA, but not a formal press release or announcement.
Update – The has been changed $500-600 (Thanks Mark!), but is still disappointing without 3G. I love the wifi and 5MP camera… don’t get me wrong, this is an awesome piece of kit. The price is actually pretty interesting considering that puts it just a tad higher than unlocked N80 or N73 units…
This is interesting news to me for 2 reasons:
1. Yes it’s dissappointing that they will not be creating a US 3G version. I had (and still harbor) hopes for Christmas.
2. ~$700 USD is about $150 cheaper than I’ve been hearing, so I’m excited if that’s the truth. IMO, even without 3G, for it to have built-in GPS, a 5 MP cam, and WiFi (which I’m warming up to, even though I’d gladly trade it for 3G), and TV-Out (which I recently discovered is f-ing cool), I’m very interested.
They also say 2nd quarter? That means we have to wait longer?
Check the source again…. they edited their post from $700 to $500-$600.
I hate to say it but … I told you so!
Stefan – You are no fun!