Nokia's iPhone Rival "Tube" to Debut Next Week

Talk to a wireless carrier or a cell phone manufacturer, and they're all about touch-screen devices nowadays. The obvious reason is the success of the iPhone. However, if they used some common sense, they would realize it's not just the touch-screen of the iPhone; it's the experience of the OS.

Touch-screen versions of Windows Mobile devices: still Windows Mobile underneath, and just as clumsy as always. Usable, but no iPhone. Hopefully, Nokia's touch-screen iPhone competitor, the 5800 XpressMusic, codenamed the "Tube," which it first showed off in April, will not fall into that trap. If it's as great a phone as the E71 is, but in its own way, it'll be a wild success.

According to reports, Nokia is set to formally introduce the phone at the "Comes with Music" launch event on Oct. 2nd. It makes sense, as the device has always been suspected to be as a mid-range music phone.

Although Nokia is the world leader in mobile phone sales, with over 40% of total market share, it has been one of the slowest to add a touch-screen phone to its catalog. Although many have been calling this phone Nokia's first touch-screen device, it's not --- the 7710 was also a touch-screen.

Of course, the Tube is the first post iPhone-era Nokia touch-screen phone.

Leaked specifications on the device from earlier in the year:

Nokia 5800 Tube specifications

• 3.2-inch touchscreen display with 16 Million colors
• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus
• Quad-band (850/900/1800/1900Mhz) GSM/EDGE radio
  • 3G UMTS/HSDPA
• Bluetooth 2.0
• WiFi
• GPS
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• TV-out port
• 140MB on-board storage
• 111 x 52 x 14.5 mm
• 104g
• End of 2008 launch

The leaked image above is via mobil.cz. As far as the name goes, come on Nokia, keep the Tube name. While it's going to be an XpressMusic phone, let's call it the XpressMusic Tube. It's waaaay cooler than 5800.