AT&T and Nokia on Monday announced the Nokia Surge. The companies are touting it as a socially supercharged smartphone empowered over AT&T’s 3G network.
In stores on July 19, the Nokia Surge is aimed at consumers who want to stay connected via IM, text or e-mail; update social-network status; and send multimedia messages to friends and family.
“Launching at $79.99 with a complete e-mail solution, downloadable applications and full HTML browser with Flash support, Nokia Surge hits the sweet spot between a quick messaging phone and a smartphone because of its low price and strong feature set,” said Michael Woodward, vice president of AT&T’s Mobile Phone Portfolio.
Update Facebook on the Go
Nokia’s social-media-driven device is equipped to help its user keep in close contact with a social circle anywhere. It comes with a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard and runs on the Symbian S60 operating system with multitasking.
Is Nokia betting on the right market? The company thinks so. A recent survey commissioned by Nokia revealed that people are so hooked on staying in touch that they would rather give up coffee and sweets than live without their mobile for two weeks.
The Nokia Surge allows users to post messages, images, videos and comments to Web sites like Facebook with the preinstalled JuiceCaster application.
“Designed in the U.S., this socially charged smartphone comes in a sleek slide form factor that supports social networking and messaging — and all on an open platform,” said David Petts, a Nokia vice president. “Together with AT&T, we’re excited to address the increasing demand for smartphones with a device that’s as attractive to the customer as it is to his or her wallet.”
Competing with the iPhone
The Nokia Surge isn’t all about socially connected multimedia, though. The device also offers a browsing experience that includes Flash support to view most Web sites in…