Touch Screen Or Keypad? Nokia X3 Offers Both

Nokia Tuesday debuted the Nokia X3 Touch and Type, a cell phone that sports both a 2.4-inch touch-screen and a traditional 12-button keypad -- the first Nokia phone to offer such a combination. The idea is that some consumers prefer a keyboard instead of a touch-screen for rapid texting.

"Our research tells us consumers who have invested years in becoming fast one-handed, one-thumb texters want to maintain their speedy edge for SMS, chat and instant messaging -- yet enjoy the benefits of touch as well," said Mary McDowell, Nokia executive vice president of mobile phones, in a statement.

The X3 follows the same "hybrid" approach as the BlackBerry Torch 9800, which Research In Motion debuted late last week with a lot of market hype. It also has a touch-screen and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. But there are reports the device isn't selling well, leading to speculation that such hybrid devices won't be popular.

Unlike the Torch 9800, which RIM is targeting toward the smartphone market, Nokia is positioning the X3 toward the mainstream consumer cell phone market.

The X3 comes with four bands for voice, 3G, HSPA and WiFi for data, a music player and an FM radio. It includes a 5-megapixel camera with 4X digital zoom for taking both still photos and video, and a MicroSD memory card slot for up to 16GB of extra storage.

The device, which is only 0.4-inches thick and is being offered in five colors, has a Communities application with links to Twitter and Facebook, according to Nokia. Dedicated music and messaging keys provide quick access to e-mail and the music player.