Nokia N900 to be released in SA

Nokia South Africa has announced today that the company has opted to release the N900 device locally, adding that it will be available in the second quarter of 2010.

In mid November the handset manufacturer revealed that it would not be releasing its flagship smartphone in South Africa.

According to Nokia South Africa Communications Manager Tanja Steenkamp the N900 was “initially due to be released in select markets only” and added that a “solid business case” convinced head executives at Nokia to ship the device to South Africa.

The next step for the local Nokia office is to “submit the device for approvals and operator rangings”. During this process the major network providers and communications authority will approve the N900 for retail locally.

Thus far no price point has been set although Steenkamp added that the global release price is €500 (R5,500) without sales tax or surcharges. Further information regarding South African retail pricing will be released in February.

A new hope for Nokia

According to popular mobile review website GSM Arena the device represents “a new hope” for Nokia and demonstrates a number of impressive features.

Most notable among these is Nokia’s departure from its Symbian operating system, which some critics have labeled as aged when compared to Apple’s iPhone OS or Google’s Android.

Instead the N900 features the newly developed Maemo operating system, which finds its roots in Debian Linux. This allows technology savvy users to access the back end of the system and reprogram it according to individual needs. In addition the device includes an open Linux command line which allows for faster system alterations.

The device features a slide out QWERTY keyboard and a 3.5 inch resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 800×480 pixels. It also includes 32GB internal storage capacity, an ARM Cortex A8 600MHz processor and a 5 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus and dual LED flash.

With regards to connectivity the N900 includes Class 32 GPRS and EDGE support as well as 10Mbps HSDPA.

Nokia N900 to be released in SA

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