Nokia has started delivering its two newest camera phones, the N73 and N93, to carriers worldwide. Both smartphones have been approved by the Federal Communications Commission for the U.S. already: the N73 earlier this month and N93 back in May. Unfortunately, neither device is supposed to be offered by an operator in this country, but only through Nokia's new Chicago - and upcoming New York - flagship stores instead.

Canalys research reported 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.

The company has sold over 5 million of its own multimedia-centric smartphones, of which the N73 and N93 are members, since introducing the Nseries last year.

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 candy-bar style N73 is the follow up to the N70.

The handset-maker refers to the new Nseries smartphones as "multimedia computers." Seriously. In fact, employees are reportedly told not to use the world "phones" at all to refer to the company's handsets.

Sure, Nokia knows it’s a cell phone company, but the idea is to plot a course whereby one device - the mobile handset - becomes the center for everyone's communication, data and entertainment requirements.

Just because Nokia is delivering the N73 and N93 to carrier customers in markets around the world, it doesn’t mean those devices will be on store shelves right away. We’ll let you know when that happens and if U.S. operators change their mind and decide to offer them directly after all.

N73
It runs on Symbian OS 9.1 along with the S60 interface, 3rd edition (same as the N93), and has a 2.4 inch, 240 x 320 pixel (QVGA) resolution and 262k color display, Bluetooth 2.0, 42 MB of memory, a 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.

To enhance the camera phone capabilities of all three new Nseries models (the third is the N72) 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.

The quad-band GSM/EDGE/UTMS 3G N73 will be available in several color schemes, including frost white/mocha brown, silver grey/deep plum, and frost white/metallic red for about roughly 400 euros (about $508) without taxes and subsidies in europe.

"We are very excited to bring the Nokia N73 to the world, it's the ideal companion for any digital camera lover or simply anyone who appreciates stunning print quality and multimedia just a slide and a click away," said Nokia VP of Multimedia Computers Pekka Pohjakallio in a statement. "At the core of the Nokia N73 is a camera that is truly ready for the Internet age, enabling people to share their photos on the Web in an instant on Flickr or other photo sharing communities."

N93
When the N93 is released in Europe, it should go for the equivalent of $680 unsubsidized (about $535 euros) without a service contract. Nokia 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. At its press conference introduction, Nokia executive VP & general manager of multimedia Anssi 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.

"The mobile video revolution is here," said Satu Ehrnrooth, head of Nokia Nseries Cameras, Multimedia, Nokia. "People are already using the internet as a forum for dialogue, and what better way to share your thoughts than through video. The Nokia N93 provides a perfect medium for this - you can shoot your short movies and share them instantly with others in the internet."

While Nokia is emphasizing its videocamera phones as a way to empower individuals, professionals are even starting to take notice. For example, last year a pair of Italian filmmakers created a 93-minute movie using a predecessor to the N93, the N90.

Directors Marcello Mencarini and Barbara Seghezzi said the camera phone came in handy because it was light, not invasive, easy to use and - best of all - cheap. This allowed them to shoot a movie without having to follow rules of a traditional production.