Touchscreens are the new black, dahlink.
No. 1 worldwide handset manufacturer Nokia is expected to become the latest vendor to release a touchscreen device, on Oct. 2, when the Finnish giant will put its market-leading stamp of approval on the touch craze with “the Tube.”
Nokia, which wisely has been expanding its value proposition to include services (please see “Ovi”), not just hardware, seems to be taking on the iPhone and iTunes with the Tube, which will be integrated with Nokia’s “Comes with Music” music store. Touch + music vs. touch + music. Hmm.
Nokia had no choice but to develop something touchy, considering the other iPhone-imitators (OK, “iPhone-inspired devices”—that sounds less snarky) deployed already from Samsung and LG Electronics Inc. and Sony-Ericsson with the upcoming Xperia X1. Motorola Inc. has a touch product in China, and the Google Android-based G1 will arrive in October. That essentially will leave only Research in Motion Ltd. untouched, as it were, but RIM said it is working on a touch-enabled Blackberry.
