The Nokia 5800 Tube has been somewhat of a mystery with its leaked photos and Youtube videos finally culminating in an official announcement.  Senior Vice President of Nokia Markets, Anssi Vajoki, revealed that Nokia is set to launch a touchscreen handset in the second half of 2008, more than likely the Nokia 5800 Tube.  While Vajoki did not explicitly confirm that the device would be the anticipated 5800 Tube, we are confident that the 5800 XpressMedia / 5800 Tube will be the manufacturer’s first touchscreen device later this year.  With the iPhone 3G releasing in July, Nokia’s time for a touchscreen device seems perfectly placed in the market, the only question is will the ‘Tube’ deliver? Vajoki had this to say about the 5800 Tube, 

Convergence will strengthen through such a significant company such as Apple coming to that field, from the perspective of operator business this is an extremely good issue.

The interesting portion of Nokia’s announcement is that the ‘Tube’ will be one of many touchscreen-based phones, ranging from the high-end 5800 Tube to unconfirmed low-end models.  While the market for a low-end touchscreen phone is untapped, the possibility of success in an uncharted demographic could pay reap huge rewards.  

Before the low-end market is approached, Nokia’s 5800 Tube will be set to rival Samsung’s i900 Omnia which brings a 3.2 inch touchscreen and an extensive list of features.  The bottom line is that performance and the OS will dictate the sales as many prefer a Symbian based device over the often buggy Windows Mobile OS.