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Nokia today, as anticipated, introduced three new Nseries phone models in Berlin, Germany: the N72, N73, and N93. The company has sold 5 million of these multimedia-centric smartphones since introducing them last year. Last week - in fact - Nokia said the N70 was its highest revenue generator and the best-selling 3G handset period; accounting for 10 percent of all broadband phones sold around the world.

The N70 never made it to the U.S., however. And, unfortunately, it appears the new models won't either, at least through a carrier. PhoneScoop reports both the N73 and N93 will be sold through Nokia flagship stores when they are eventually opened in the U.S.

When the N72 (in Asia and Eastern Europe) and N93 does ship, it'll be in July. The N73, which follows up the N70, will be available a month earlier, in June.

While Nokia expects the new Nseries models to be received as more attractive, sleeker and lighter options than previous handsets in the series, it'll most likely still be raw functionality, particularly with the N93, that drives sales.

Nokia executive VP & general manager of multimedia Anssi Vanjoki (see top image of him today’s press conference) said, "When you have a Nokia Nseries device that is always with you and connected, you no longer need to sit in front of your TV to watch your favorite program or take along a separate digital camera when you go on vacation."

Canalys research reports 53 million multimedia phones sold in 2005, with Nokia commanding more than 50 percent of them. Nokia expects this market will hit 100 million units in 2006 and exceed 250 million by 2008.

"Clearly, people want to have a device that gives them access to all digital content, all the time, wherever they are and at a reasonable cost," according to Vanjoki.

To enhance the camera phone capabilities of all three new Nseries models, Nokia is partnering with Yahoo! to offer users access to their Flickr accounts. They'll be able to upload and add comments to photos directly from their smartphones to the online photo sharing community.

"As increasing mobility creates new possibilities for communication, people stay in touch, share and discover the world through each other's eyes," said Stewart Butterfield, Flickr co-founder and general manager. "Nokia and Flickr are making it easy for consumers to connect and share their photos and life experiences without being tied to a PC."

N73
Contrary to previous reports on the smartphone's thickness, those who've seen the N73 live at the Berlin event are even saying that the new smartphone is pretty thin; at least compared to its predecessor and other Nokia Nseries handsets. As with the other two new Nseries models, the N73 runs on Symbian OS along with the S60 interface, 3rd edition.

The bar-style phone has a large 2.4 inch, 240 x 320 pixel (QVGA) resolution display, Bluetooth, 2.0, 42 MB of memory, miniSD card slot, stereo speakers with 3D sound, a digital music player (supporting MP3, AAC, AAC+ and WMA audio formats) with playlists and equalizer, and an FM radio with Visual Radio.

                  

For still images and video, the N73 packs a Carl Zeiss-powered 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, an integrated flash, and a mechanical shutter. The camera can take images up to 2048 x 1536 pixels in size, which translates into 10 x 8 inch (25 x 20 centimeter) prints.

It'll be available in several color schemes, including frost white/mocha brown, silver grey/deep plum, and frost white/metallic red.

N93
When the N93 is released, it'll go for the equivalent of $680 unsubsidized or without a service contract (the other two models will sell for considerably less). That's a lot of money. Nokia, on the other hand, is positioning it as the ultimate mobile device for spontaneous video recording, offering an uncompromised digital camcorder, telephony and Internet communications.

                  

Okay. So it's not targeted for mass consumption like the N73. Vanjoki puts it this way, "The Nokia N93 marks a new era in the digital camcorder market. Incorporating all the features you need for great quality movie-making."

So the highlight of the large tri-band (900/1800/1900 MHz) GSM/EDGE/UMTS 3G (2100 MHz) smartphone is its 3.2 megapixel Carl Zeiss lens that enables it to take video with 3x zoom at 30 frames per second with stereo audio recording and digital stabilization.

It also has flash and an active camera toolbar to display all available capture features, from exposure value to color tones and white balance. There are dedicated keys for shutter, zoom and flash and also a camera mode key that enables you to switch quickly between image and video capture as well.

While it has 50 MB of memory, its miniSD card slot enables users to add up to 2 GB more storage for up to - Nokia asserts - 90 minutes of DVD quality video or close to 2500 high-quality photos.

Additional specifications include a 2.4-inch QVGA display that supports up to 262,144 colors and a wide 160 degree viewing angle. There's also 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a digital music player, FM radio with visual radio, Universal Plug and Play, and TV-out. While it looks a lot like the earlier N92, it doesn't have DVB-H (mobile TV) tuner like that model.

N72
The tri-band GSM/EDGE N72 is very similar to the earlier N70, but is slated to ship in Asia and Eastern Europe. It has Bluetooth 2.0, 20 MB of memory, a 2 megapixel camera with flash for still and video (15 fps), music player with dedicated keys (MP3 and AAC), FM radio with Visual Radio, and an SD card slot. There's also a 2.1-inch, 176 x 208 pixel resolution display that supports 263k colors.

Like with the N73, Nokia is taking its cue from Motorola with the RAZR and offering the N72 in multiple colors: pearl pink or gloss black.