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Nokia unveils N80 multimedia phone

The new gadget offers GSM cell coverage, Wi-Fi access, Web browsing, a camera, a book reader and maps. Photos: Nokia N80 Internet Edition

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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Candace Lombardi
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Here's another all-in-one device that lets work find you.

Nokia announced on Thursday that the N80 Internet Edition, an enriched successor to the N80 multimedia phone, will be available in mid-September.

N80 Internet Edition

The N80 Internet Edition can be used as both a cell phone and a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone. Users can download and use software for any VoIP service, according to Nokia. In addition to handling work-related functions such as e-mail and text-messaging, the Wi-Fi-capable multimedia phone allows users to find and map locations, take pictures, share photos, browse a book, and record and send instant voice messages.

"The Internet has evolved from static Web pages to communities and people sharing experiences. I believe it will be multimedia computers, such as the Nokia N80 Internet Edition, that will be primary devices for people to participate in this phenomenon, in addition to PCs," Ralph Eric Kunz, vice president of multimedia for Nokia, said in a statement.

The device features Yahoo Search and Yahoo Go, an application that manages things like voice instant messages, contacts, e-mails and photos. Yahoo Go allows N80 Internet Edition users to upload their images to Flickr, Yahoo's photo-sharing Web site. While cell phone cameras have been steadily increasing in quality, the N80's 3-megapixel CCD is impressive. At that resolution, the photos are easily of print quality.

Nokia's Web browser includes a function called Mini Map, which plots search listings on a viewable map. The N80 Internet Edition can also be used to read books via Amazon MobiPocket reader.

The N80 Internet Edition comes in pearl black or patina bronze. Pricing information was not immediately available.