Nokia is a major player in the cell phone game but it hasn’t had a major new handset release in some time. Apple, LG, BlackBerry and others have all introduced new smartphone handsets in the past few months, angling for a slice of the holiday gift sales market.

Now, Nokia has weighed in with its new N97.

Featuring a 3.5 in. diagonal touchscreen interface and a full QWERTY keyboard, the N97 looks a lot like other wide-format smart phones. But other features, such as easy access to social networking sites, built-in GPS and flash video capaility, place it in the froont ranks.

The N97 is also a portable media with a built-in 5 megapixel camera and 32 GB of built-in storage, with an expansion slot for a 16 GM microSD cards. The multi-band phone is compatible with all GSM networks but with only some G3 networks. (Ask your local service provider who features Nokia phones.)

The N97 should retail in North America for around (US)$695. Dealers may sell for less depending on the service plans in which they wrap the phone. On the down side, it may be a year or more before the N97 comes to North American markets. But, by then, it may well be compatible with all of the continent’s G3 networks.