Mobile handset maker Nokia Corp. Tuesday announced the launch of smartphone Nokia Astound, which will be available exclusively from T-Mobile USA, the unit of Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY.PK: News ), beginning April 6. The Astound has a sleek stainless-steel design that features an 8-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash and 720p HD video capture, a 3.5-inch capacitive touch AMOLED display, free turn-by-turn navigation from Nokia and access to thousands of free and paid apps via Nokia's Ovi Store.
With the latest commercial version of Ovi Maps, the Astound provides free voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation in almost 100 countries in 46 languages. Additional countries and languages are available to download free from Nokia.
Mark Slater, vice president of sales, Nokia, stated, "As millions more consumers make the switch to smartphones, Nokia is proud to offer an alternative that is not only easy and fun to use, but is also very sexy and sleek, unlike anything in its price point."
The phone itself is quite attractive with a white and silver color scheme and slim profile. While the Astound might be attractive on the outside, Symbian is still, well, Symbian. Although it is a powerful and full-featured platform, its whole aesthetic feels dated and static compared to Android 2.3, Apple's iOS, and even the latest version of RIM's BlackBerry OS. Thankfully, this is the most recent version of Symbian S^3 so you get a portrait QWERTY keyboard and a browser improved from the previous versions.
Nokia officials had no comment on its relationship with Microsoft, but they did hint that there will be more Symbian phones to come. The Astound will be available April 6 online as well as at T-Mobile stores.