Nokia 500 is now official; runs Symbian Anna and ticks at 1GHz

Remember those photos from not long ago that allegedly represented a leaked Nokia roadmap? The images shed some light on a quartet of mid-range, Symbian-powered Nokia smartphones that were supposedly scheduled to see the light of day in the third quarter of this year. Well, the said leaked roadmap may be genuine after all as one of the devices listed in it, the Nokia 500, has just been unveiled.

The Nokia 500 is actually marketed as an entry level smartphone despite the 1GHz processor that is ticking under its hood. It features a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 360 by 640 pixels, and a 5-megapixel camera with no flash is located on the device's back. The camera, unfortunately, lacks autofocus, and judging by the smartphone's data sheet, capturing HD video is not among the things that it can do. There is also a pentaband radio crammed in there so the Nokia 500 will be able to run on AT&T or T-Mobile's networks.

Some other goodies that the Nokia 500 has to offer include Wi-Fi, GPS, FM radio, 2 gigs of built-in storage and... interchangeable battery covers. On the software side, Symbian Anna will be running the show accompanied by a selection of widgets for quick access to social networks on the go.

So, some of you are probably curious to find out how much the Nokia 500 is going to retail for when it launches. The good news is that the smartphone will be priced at the affordable €150 (roughly $215), and is expected to hit the shelves in the third quarter of 2011, just as the rumors have suggested. Will it ever launch in the US, however, is still anyone's guess.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

source: Nokia

UPDATE: It has been brought to our attention that the 1GHz processor inside of the Nokia 500 is by no means something to call "fast". Some deeper investigation has shown that the chip powering the smartphone is an ARM11, which means that its real-life performance would be comparable to that of a 400MHz contemporary mobile processor.

source: IntoMobile (Twitter)