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This month Nokia plans to release an enhanced version of its N80 smartphone, a member of the multimedia NSeries, with a major software upgrade that the company says will bring together a number of Internet services previously not found bundled on one its devices. Called the N80 Internet Edition, the quad-band GSM (900/1800/1900 MHz) with EDGE and WCDMA (UTMS) 3G slider will otherwise feature the same hardware specs as the earlier edition.

On top of the original N80's software bundle, there will be a host of additional Internet-centric applications stored in a folder marked - you guessed it - Internet.

The Wi-Fi handset includes a wizard to ease connecting to a WLAN, and it now offers the ability to make Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls with support for third-party applications and the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP).

Speaking of Wi-Fi calls, the N80, along with the handset-maker's 6136, is one of the handsets Nokia has been using to demo and test UMA (Unlicensed Mobile Access) services. UMA is an emerging dual-mode style fixed-mobile convergence standard that allows GSM carriers to seamlessly handoff calls and data connections between cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

There's Yahoo! Search and Yahoo! Go, an application that bundles together a number of services, including e-mail, search, photos, and address book and calendar. With it, for example, you can upload images taken with the N80's 3-megapixel carl zeiss-run camera to the popular photo-sharing site Flickr.

A new Download! App allows users to see what latest applications are available for their smartphone, as well as keep other selected applications current, according to Nokia. While the updated web browser features Min Map, which greatly enhances browsing the internet by promising to make pages look close to how PC web browsers display them.

The Nokia N80 Internet Edition comes in two patina bronze and pearl black. It is due to ship by the middle of month for an as-of-yet undisclosed price.

"Mobilizing the internet is a major strategic focus for Nokia and I'm excited to see how people can participate on the internet using the Nokia N80 Internet Edition," said Ralph Eric Kunz, VP Multimedia, Nokia.

Like the previous version, the Nokia N80 Internet Edition (and all recent Nokia smartphones for that matter) is built on the Symbian OS, version 9, and the Nokia S60 3rd Edition smartphone platform. It is likely that the N80 Internet Edition still supports the UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) protocol to more easily connect to compatible TVs, audio systems and PCs. (UPnP works with wired or wireless networks and can be supported on any operating system. It boasts device-driver independence and zero-configuration networking. )

N80 smartphones can be used to tap into a digital home network, acting almost as a remote control. Also, images and video stored on the N80 or a PC can be viewed wirelessly on the living room TV, while listening to music stored on the device through a stereo. Printing is now faster too, as Nokia N80 users can print wirelessly to any compatible UPnP-enabled home printer or printing kiosk.

Like the earlier version, the Internet edition should have a high resolution 2.1 inch, 352 x 416 pixel 262,144 color display and incorporate a MPEG4 AVC decoding support for video streaming.

There's 40 MB of memory and a miniSD card additional storage. The Nokia N80 boasts a digital music player as well as stereo FM radio. And users can transfer data via USB 2.0 by dragging and dropping from a compatible PC onto the device.

The device measures 3.7 x 2 x 10.2 inches (95 x 50 x 260 millimeters) and weighs 4.7 ounces (134 grams).

PDAStreet has one in for review and will give you the lowdown in a few weeks.