Nokia readies Astound

Finnish cellphone maker, Nokia is targeting phone users who haven't yet made the move to a smartphone with the new Nokia Astound, writes Wireless Week.

It will be available 6 April through T-Mobile USA for $79.99 after rebate and with a two-year service agreement and qualifying voice and data plan. The data plans start at $10 a month.

Nokia worked closely with T-Mobile over the past six months on the phone.

Cnet says the Astound is basically a re-branded version of the C7, which was introduced back in October 2010, and features the same sleek design, a 3.5-inch Amoled touch-screen, a rear-facing 8MP camera capable of 720p HD video capture, and a front-facing camera for video calls.

The Symbian 3-based smartphone offers some enhancements, such as the addition of a portrait keyboard, and comes preloaded with the usual Ovi Maps, Ovi Store with support for carrier billing, as well as some extras, including Swype, Slacker Radio, and Fruit Ninja.

The Astound also supports T-Mobile's WiFi-calling feature and has an embedded NFC chip.

According to TG Daily, Nokia is haemorrhaging money and market share right now, largely because of Symbian.