Nokia N81

Remember the Nokia N-Gage? Nokia's original attempt at a gaming platform fell a bit flat in most (but not all) markets and largely sank without trace. But Nokia didn't give up on the idea of advanced mobile gaming, and now it's back with a vengeance on the Nokia N81 plus some other smartphone devices in the Nokia range.

So what exactly makes up the Nokia N81? Well, this is a 3G slider with a 2.4" 240 x 320 pixel display that works in landscape (wide) and portrait (tall) orientations. On the back is a 2 megapixel camera, and the N81 also has WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity which can also be used for gaming. There's an FM radio too, and the N81 runs the Symbian S60 operating system, making it a capable smartphone.

It's quite a heavy phone at 140 grams in weight and 102 x 50 x 17.9mm in size. Talktime is up to 3 hours on 3G and 4 hours on GSM, with a maximum standby time of around 16 days. Alternatively, you can play music on it for up to 11.5 hours.

Nokia say that the N81 and N81 8GB should be available during Q4 2007 at an estimated cost before tax and subsidy of €430 / £290 for the N81 8GB and around €360 / £250 for the more basic N81.