The Nokia N85, which was announced only a few months ago, has begun shipping, with several reputable online retailers listing the phone in stock. Prices are hovering around US$650, which is roughly the price that Nokia announced. As soon as Nokia begins shipping to its major retail partners, I think it would be safe to expect the N85′s price to drop to $550 before the end of the year, which is pretty reasonable, considering the feature set.
Unfortunately for those of us in the U.S. of A., Nokia is once again giving us the big Finnish finger, as the version that is shipping is the ‘Euro’ version, which includes tri-band 3G (900/1900/2100MHz). While the 1900MHz frequency *will* work on AT&T’s 3G network, it will only offer limited coverage, as AT&T is currently using a combination of 850/1900MHz for its 3G coverage. The NAM version of the N85, which will sport 850/1900/2100MHz 3G support is due out sometime, though based on history, it may not even make it to shelves this year.
In any case, if you’re living abroad, and can’t wait to have your mitts on the N85, which is by far the best-overall-featured Nseries to date, you can pick it up through Fonegrabber.com, which is run by Mark at TheNokiaBlog, and pulls out most of the reputable sellers through Ebay. Plemix is one such reputable seller, and he has already reviewed the N85 on his blog.
For the rest of us, you can enjoy this oddball unboxing video.
