Nokia unveils megapixel phone at CeBIT

Nokia today unveiled its first megapixel camera phone, the tri-band Nokia 7610.

The Finnish mobile giant chose the opening day of the CeBIT technology show in Hanover to launch the device, which will be available this summer at a retail price of around €500.

The phone ships with a 4x digital zoom, a self-timer, and a 1,152 x 864 high-quality camera lens.

It also boast a built-in RealOne mobile player that allows users to view images and real-time video streaming on the unit's 65,000 colour screen.

Juha Putkiranta, senior vice president at Nokia's imaging business unit, said in a statement: "Digital imaging has developed in ways that were unimaginable when digital cameras first entered the mainstream only five years ago.

"In 2003, the number of cameraphones sold outnumbered digital cameras. We are now entering an era where cameraphones will become mainstream imaging devices."

Bluetooth connectivity and a Kodak Picture application on the phone allow owners to print images in Nokia retail locations or transfer them over the web.

In addition they can create short films and music videos of up to 10 minutes, using the embedded Movie Director application.

Other features include MMS, email, an MP3/AAC music player, internet browser, 72MB of expandable memory, USB and Java support.

Nokia also unveiled its Image Album, a 20GB hard drive, which will be available from late summer, allowing consumers to store digital images, video clips and messages.