Nokia N77

Expected Q2 2007 (in markets with DVB-H coverage)
12th February 2007

The proposition with the Nokia N77 is very simple. Take a 3G smartphone, not unlike the Nokia N73, add a DVB-H digital TV receiver and then sell the whole thing for around €370 (or £230).

The N-Series of handsets is pretty familiar by now, and the N77 on the surface is pretty predictable, with a 2.4" 240x320 pixel main display, 2 megapixel primary camera with a secondary video camera, microSD expandable memory and Bluetooth. Underneath is a UMTS / W-CDMA 2100 MHz device with tri-band GSM 900/1800/1900 MHz and EDGE data support.

Of course, the twist with the Nokia N77 is that it can receive DVB-H signals, as can the much bigger and heavier Nokia N92. The surprising thing with the N77 is that it only weighs 114 grams, which is actually 2 grams less than the similar Nokia N73 and a substantial 77 grams less than the N92.

As with other N-Series phones, the Nokia N77 has good multimedia support and can play back a variety of audio and video clips, plus streaming 3G media. The N77 also has an FM radio, plus a web browser, email client, PIM applications and can take memory cards of up to 2GB.

It's certainly not the first mobile phone with digital TV that we've seen, but it's probably the most unfussy in terms of design. When you want to watch TV, you can simply hold the phone sideways. Other than that, the N77 looks just like a normal Nokia smartphone, and certainly not as strange as the Lobster 700TV.

Nokia say that the N77 should be available in the second quarter of 2007. Reception of DVB-H broadcast signals depends on availability, which isn't due in the UK until 2008. However, DVB-H is widely available in Italy, Vietnam and Albania with Finland, France, Germany, Russia, South Africa, Spain and the USA starting DVB-H rollout in 2007.

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