As you know this site is primarily focused on Nokia devices that I use in the United States. Thankfully, we had the Nokia E71x launched by AT&T a couple of months ago (check out our Nokia E71x Starter Guide. AT&T has launched another Symbian S60 smartphone, the Nokia Surge and I was able to get an evaluation unit to try out for a while. I may add a Nokia Surge Starter Guide page eventually if it seems like readers are interested in it. So far I am pretty pleased with the device and may have to soon pick one up for myself.

The Nokia Surge (6790) is a device with a rather interesting form factor. It has a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and quite a compact shell. There is no keypad or anything in the closed position, but there are some handy shortcut buttons. The Surge launched on AT&T for $79.99 after $50 mail-in rebate with a 2-year contract. The full, no-commitment price is $279.99. This device is $20 less than the E71x. I am sure we will soon see this available for free through Amazon as well.