eBay Germany is listing what looks like a prototype of the successor to the Nokia N86. It has the same portrait-slider form factor but instead of an 8 megapixel camera, it’s 12 megapixels, like the Nokia N8. There’s a weird bar separating the the directional pad from the screen, whose function is anybody’s guess, plus there’s a kickstand on the back, which has become a signature on a bunch of Nokia handsets within recent memory. The seller suggests that this will be a new N87 which we had heard sketchy rumours about a year ago.
If Nokia squeezes out a feature phone-ish device with all of the high-quality camera goodness we’ve seen on the N8 with a lower price point, they may have a real winner on their hands. Symbian^3 isn’t winning over any new hearts or minds, but Nokia’s established superiority in hardware and camera quality may be able to tide them over until Meego becomes their new standard for smartphones.
Anyway, anyone interested in this thing? Gonna place a bid?
[Smartphone Area via Engadget]