Nokia delays N91 until early 2006

Nokia has decided to delay the release of its much-anticipated N91 music phone until the first quarter of 2006, no doubt causing a flurry of changes on many people's Christmas lists. As is usually the case with a delayed-release announcement, Nokia claims it wants to ensure the best user experience possible (this time around they cite the desire to incorporate Microsoft's PlaysForSure copy-protection scheme). In case you forgot, the N91 will sport a 4GB hard drive with built-in WiFi and 3G-compatibility, which would seem to make it a very strong competitor for Motorola's 100-songs-and-you're-done ROKR phone. Those who simply must rock their tunes from a Nokia may find temporary solace in the rebranded 6630, which unlike the N91, will be available in plenty of time for Santa to procure.

[jg @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Please don't insult this phone by comparing it to that piece of crap iTunes phone. This Nokia is a thing of beauty.

[flipmyx @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

MS Janus/napster-to-go/yahoo unlimited/etc. compatiblity with the N91?!! makes sense considering apple wouldnt want to license the itunes client on a 4GB phone (which would cannibalize its HOT100x ipod nano market share)....

[DaLa @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

I agree the ROKR is garbage... but so too is this nokoffia. I mean 4GB HD, why bother? Just use flash memory at that size. Then you could slip it all into a RAZR like body... and yes I know Motorolla also did the ROKR, but once the phone bombs, maybe they'll get the formula right.

[James @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

This Nokia is so ugly though - the way it goes out at the top is gross :(

[Connected @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

I've been waiting for the N91 for six months and I've stunned that people have been making such a fuss about the porr iTunes phone which has an awful spec. This phone has 4GB, 2MP, wi-fi, Symbian and more!!!!!!

[qyiet @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Crap, crap crap.. I REALLY need out of my current phone. and this one has WiFi.. I can use it as a VoIP phone as well as a cell, please nokia can I have one now, and run a software update on it later?

[Brian @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

"Then you could slip it all into a RAZR like body"

W-CDMA, 2MP camera, 4GB *flash* memory, 802.11b/g WiFi, Symbian OS, Bluetooth 2.0 and a 3.5mm headphone socket all in a RAZR-like body? Riiiiiight.

[JG @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

I'm no fan of the ROKR, but it think its much better looking than this Nokia N91- it has a very awkward look to it. I'll pass on both.

[Tea Vui Huang @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

For those who can't wait, or who already have a Sony Walkman phone, Clie or P910/P900 smartphone... there's the Mass Storage Synchronizer! It's an iTunes add-on that syncs Sony devices and turns them into virtual ROKRs! :)

http://www.geocities.com/tvhuangsg/massstorsync

[Web Design Ireland @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Absoulte pitty, but then again...I stand behind everything Nokia does.They usualy do it for the right reasons. (**forgetting about the NGage QD)

[Balazs @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Tea Vui, the Geocities page is constantly down, and I am really keen on getting the Synchronizer, can you publish it somewhere else?

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

D'oh! I so wanted this phone.

Wifi (b and g) will be amazing. I can walk round my university campus + leech files from random peoples computers!

It has a standard mini-usb connector too. You can also apparnetly record from line-in, but I dont know how.

Methinks it looks pretty cool too. Can't wait til it comes to the UK.

[Corical @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

I would have liked it if it included a touch screen + internal GPS... ;P (almost like the SPV m5000 or perhaps SE P1000)

[Simon @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

Will the N91 have a flash with it's camera? I've seen pics of the back of the phone and didn't notice a flash near the lens. Hopefully it was just a prototype pic.

[EDY @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

RE: Corical
Touch screen = bigger physical size (7710)
Internal GPS = extra GPS receiver = Bigger

and i dont want it to be any bigger than it is.

RE: Simon
Flash for the camera? i dont see the need to.

have you used those Samsung/SE camera phones with flashes? are they any good? i don't think so.

experiment has proven that the camera on my nokia 7600 (no flash) is better than the SE k700i (wiht flash), especially at night.

nokia's advanced photo mode is much better with the white balance adjustment.

[Rik @ Dec 19th 2005 2:37AM]

I think the WiFi function alone make this phone very special already, I don't know if there are any other phone in this size with a Wifi. Now on top of that you got a 4gb HD, 2mb camera, this will be the beginning of a standard of how every cell phone going to be.