In a series of announcements at its Nokia World conference, the company revealed the upcoming N97 smartphone, introduced its new social location technology, and rolled out an update to Nokia Maps. The N97 is a Symbian-based smartphone, a touchscreen with full-QWERTY sliding thumbboard. Intended to compete with the iPhone and other high-end smartphones, the N97 will feature a 5-megapixel camera and a 3.5-inch screen with a resolution fifty percent higher than Apple's offering. The handset should use HSDPA and WiFi for its data needs, and feature an impressive 32GB of integrated flash storage. Nokia plans to release the model early next year.

The planned social location service, dubbed So-Lo, combines GPS information with a heading from a phone's on-board compass to figure out what buildings or attractions you're facing. Pulling information out of several online databases, So-Lo will provide pertinent information on the location (history of a landmark, show times for a movie theater, etc.). The social aspect of the function comes from the ability to track where your friends are and how they're using the service, sending short Twitter-like status updates. Along with these interactive map-based technologies, Nokia is updating its static Maps application, adding in new imagery, 3D buildings, and route overviews.