Nokia full touch screen phone by 2008 end

Nokia has confirmed it will launch a full touch screen handset by the end of this year.

"We have been working on the Series 60 platform for touch screen user interface and a mobile device is expected to be launched by the year-end," Devinder Kishore, Nokia India's marketing director, told reporters.

The Nokia full touch screen phone, codenamed the 'Tube' was also featured in the latest Batman movie "The Dark Knight" and will be Nokia's second full touch screen device, the first of which was launched in 2003 but was later discontinued.

The past year has seen cell phone majors such as Samsung and LG debuting their full touch screen mobile phones in the market after the success of the Apple iPhone.

It is widely anticipated that Research in Motion (RIM) - the makers of Blackberry - are also working on a full touch screen phone, codenamed 'Blackberry Thunder'.

Nokia first unveiled the touch screen S60 interface last October.