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Nokia introduced several new Nseries smartphones half a year ago in New York City, the most eye-opening model being the all encompassing N95. It is Nokia’s first smartphone with an integrated GPS chip for mapping and navigation and a 5-megapixel camera, for instance.

This Multimedia Computer, as the Finnish-phone company refers to all its Nseries models, is now available after a short delay. Unfortunately, the first markets Nokia is shipping the N95 in are Europe and Asia. It goes for a hefty 550 Euros ($732) unsubsidized. Official U.S. availability should come later on, if at all.

Update: Nokia has confirmed with infosync that yes, indeed, the N95 will ship in the U.S. Due in the second quarter, the N95 will go for about $750 without a contract.

Some Nokia devices that weren't released through a carrier in the U.S. eventually made their way here through the phone-maker's Flagship stores and online. For example, the N93, which the N95 replaces, eventually received some U.S. distribution in the above manner after being available in Europe for several months. So there is hope.

As with all Nokia Nseries smartphone models, the N95 is built on the Symbian OS and S60 interface. It features a unique 2-way slider design that reveals media controls when moved one way and a keypad when moved the other.

When the N95 is in media mode, the 2.6-inch 240 x 320 pixel (QVGA) and 16 million color display is automatically placed into landscape mode. Built-in stereo speakers offer a 3D stereo effect, plus there's a standard 3.5 mm audio jack for headphones, a microSD slot for storage expansion, and mini USB for data transfers. Bluetooth with A2DP allows users to leverage wireless stereo headsets as well.

Users can record and playback VGA video at 30 fps with digital image stabilization. There's also TV out and support for MP3, AAC, M4A, and WMA audio files.

The N95’s 5-megapixel digital camera for picture and video tops previous-generation Nseries models 3-megapixel shooters. Tele Atlas provides the digital map data and dynamic location content for the handset, which includes free basic mapping and routing functionalities to initiate local searches for more than 100 countries and over 15 million points of interest.

There's also Wi-Fi, 160 MB of memory, and support for high speed HSDPA networks with the GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UTMS N95. As with all recent Nokia smartphones, including the N75, there's the new Nokia Web Browser with Mini Map for an improved Internet experience. We'll be publishing a detailed review of this browser in the near future.

The N95 weighs a mere 4.2 ounces (120 grams) and measures 4.0 x 2.0 x 0.7 inches (99 x 53 x 19 millimeters).

According to ABI Research, Nokia continued to lead the worldwide smartphone market in 2006 with 40 million units sold, a huge increase over the 28.5 million shipped in 2005. That's 56.4 percent of the 70.9 million smartphones bought last year. Nokia's closest competitor, Motorola, accounted for 8.5 percent of the market, mostly due to the success of Linux-run smartphones like the MING in China.