Nokia confirmed that the N96 Smart Phone equipped with support for live TV reception -- is now shipping in Europe, the Asia Pacific, China, the Middle East, and Africa, with unlocked models selling for €550 ($794.50 USD) before taxes and subsidies, but North American release looks likely to wait until the fourth quarter, as expected.

Last week, Nokia unveiled plans to release a North American edition of the N96 -- designed for 3G HSPDA networks in the US and Canada -- during the fourth quarter of this year.

Priced at about $895 USD (unlocked), the North American N96 will be bundled with integrated support for Nokia's Ovi online video sharing service; a three-month subscription to turn-by-turn GPS navigation using Nokia Maps; a voucher for Nokia's N-Gage Racing Game, Asphalt 3; and trial versions of four other N-Gage games.

Source:→ BetaNews