And ever since HTC launched its first Google Android phone, which was described as an iPhone killer, touchscreen phones with QWERTY keyboards have been in vogue.

After witnessing a lot of action in the segment, Nokia has entered the smartphone war zone with its weapon — Nokia N97. Axel Meyer, Design Head for Nokia Explore, calls it “the beginning of a transformation.” He gives eWorld a glimpse of the unfolding action.

Thanks to the N97’s long list of built-in sensors — ambient light sensors that dim the display, orientation and acoustical sensors that aid interactivity, proximity sensors that turn off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear, video and velocity sensors and GPS — it can capture, classify, and transmit many types of data. Meyer says the perfect platform for “sensing the world is already in our hands.”

Sensors aid in making gadgets more intuitive, Meyer says, adding “gestures will be the gene of all future Nokia phones.”

Nokia’s designs are often user-driven, he says. “The Homescreen, for instance, features an improved contacts bar with up to 20 friends and family members and provides direct access to music, N-Gage and other applications such as Facebook, Photos, Ovi Contacts, Maps, messaging and more. With Ovi Contacts, people see which friends are online, chat and even view what music they are listening to. It’s all about what, how and to whom the Gen next interacts,” he adds.

Tiny sensors called accelerometers, which respond to a flick of your wrist or sweep of your arm, have been finding a place in almost all high-end phones these days, including the N97.

“We are on the edge of seeing an explosion of more and more devices using motion sensors,” asserts Meyer.

Taking the cue from Apple’s App storefront, other mobile makers are building their own.

Nokia is offering its new Ovi store, which is available for the first time through the N97.

Nokia is also trying to integrate a series of technologies including biometrics and smell recognition sensors, says Meyer.

Besides, Nokia is also working on a technology that draws power from ambient radio waves, maybe enough to keep a mobile phone charged.

You might be able to charge your phone by just turning it off. Nokia says the technology will likely work with a solar panel to charge the phone battery.

So don’t be surprised if your washing machine or even lights turn on to the wink of your phone, the day is not too far.

With design being the phone maker’s key focus, it’s no big surprise that a 320-member team of as many as 40 nationalities works on each of Nokia’s gadgets.

“There are sociologists, material designers, product designers, multimedia designers, visual communication professionals, packaging designers, anthropologists and even fashion designers,” says Meyer.

janani@thehindu.co.in

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu Business Line