Given how Nokia has been disappointing with their product releases of late, hearing about the new X3 Touch and Type didn’t excite me one little bit.

And it wasn’t until I checked my Twitter timeline a bit later that I realised how this particular product sported some interesting characteristics, which I thought would be worth mentioning.

• “Touch and Type”: What this means is that, for this particular X3 model, users can type with the 16–button keypad (featuring the standard numerical set plus dedicated hard/shortcut keys) and manoeuvre or navigate around the menus via the resistive touchscreen. “The best of both worlds” concept, perhaps? 

• A smartphone it isn’t: Not all touchscreen-enabled phones are smartphones. The X3 Touch and Type is based on Nokia’s Series 40 platform, and this latest iteration (Sixth Edition) gets the usual aesthetic/features upgrade plus touch support. I, for one, have never warmed up to S40 — yet, I am curious to see just how far Nokia has gone with this “feature phone”.

• Rich feature set: A feature phone it may be, but the X3 Touch and Type comes with full quad–2G and quad–3G network compatibility/connectivity, 3G data at up to HSPA (10.2/2 Mbps) speeds, and full 802.11 b/g/n WiFi (wireless LAN) support, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, a 5–megapixel camera, and support for microSD cards of up to 16 GB in size. 

• New design: Granted it’s your typical candy–bar/monoblock form factor. But throw in a touchscreen, and you have something very different — specifically, in the user experience (UX) aspect of things. Plus, the X3 Touch and Type’s unique keymat design and layout is something I want to try personally (before making any solid comments about).

• Available in a range of colours: Similar to what Nokia will do for the imminent N8 flagship model, the X3 Touch and Type will be offered in five different (and vibrant) colours. Given the segment which it’s being marketed towards, I’m sure it will hit the spot with a lot of people.

• Naming convention: The X3 designation isn’t new for Nokia, which originally only referred to the slider–based model. But by adding ‘Touch and Type’ becomes — although creative — confusing, to say the least. While others may be doing so similarly (take SE’s X10 mini/mini pro and HTC’s Touch Diamond/Pro, for example), theirs are more easily remembered and understood. I can just picture how those interested parties end up being confused during the purchasing process!

Nokia has set a EUR 125 price point for the X3 Touch and Type, and hopes to have it on the market by the end of September. Should be interesting to see who makes the move (I’m thinking: those who are pondering on upgrading their current handset; but definitely not those of us already using smartphones).

Visit the Nokia X3 Touch and Type site for more info and detailed (technical) specifications.

And finally, here are the official videos by Nokia on the X3 Touch and Type: