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Another contender to the Apple IPhone’s coveted market share is the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic. It had been subject to speculation and rumors months ago as the Nokia Tube. Scheduled to hit stores in the last quarter of 2008, here’s a quick round up of what it can offer.

As an IPhone contender, of course it comes with a multi-touch screen but likewise accepts input via stylus and plectrum.  It has a 3.2-inch display in high resolution.  Since it will cater to music lovers, it has an 8 GB memory and a microSD slot that supports 16 GB cards.  It also has a graphic equalizer and a built in stereo surround sound that supports all major digital music formats.

The rest of the features are pretty standard — 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens, Bluetooth, dual LED flash, GPS, WiFi, and runs on Nokia’s S60 5th edition.  Price tag is estimated at $392.   Is the Nokia 5800 the One?  We’ll see.

Apple just admitted that it can remotely remove applications from any IPhone 3G device. According to Steve Jobs, the “kill switch” is intended to prevent malicious software from getting through the network. Malicious software, such as one that can steal personal identity, may be distributed to other IPhones through its App store if the kill switch was not created.

Steve Jobs felt that not creating it would be irresponsible. However, some people see it differently. Having the kill switch meant that Apple has virtual control over IPhones through the network and poses a security risk to many users. The issue of the kill switch is that it gives Apple too much control over the units, leaving users at their mercy. What else is Apple not telling?

Gadget geeks are eagerly anticipating the latest high-tech mobile phone that Nokia will release in the first quarter of 2009. I am talking about the Nokia 5800 Tube. Many say that it is Nokia’s answer to the Apple IPhone but definitely better.

Like the IPhone, the Nokia Tube will be the first touchscreen S60 Nokia phone with a 3″ display at high resolution (16:9) graphics and interface. It will be a quad-band mobile phone that supports GPS and geotagging. It will be a camera phone but it will not be as good as the N Series. The actual dimensions are uncertain but it will be close to the N73, just a little bit wider to accommodate the bigger screen.

It does look like the IPhone. Unforunately, the numerous IPhone replicas does not imply that looking like Apple’s mobile phone is an advantage. It could be mistaken as an IPhone clone. But it could’ve done better had Nokia come up with a unique design rather than trying too hard to look like the IPhone.

There is still no official press release on the Tube, just speculations. Nevertheless, it may be worth waiting for.