After what seems like a life time of waiting for the new Nokia N78 this top of the range N-Series mobile phone has finally been released in the UK.

As with all highly anticipated Nokia models the forums and blogs have been alight with rumoured release dates for the N78 but finally we can reveal that this new phone is now available.

The Nokia N78 is a fully featured multimedia phone. With built-in GPS you can find your location quicker, and automatically tag your photos with your location which you can share with your friends when you upload the pictures online.

Music playback is a main feature of the N78, with up to 24 hours playback, a 3.5 mm audio output jack and the ability to easily synchronise your music collection or rip CDs directly to your Nokia N78. There's an FM radio built-in and also an FM transmitter, which allows you to play your music collection from your phone to a nearby stereo (such as your car radio) using a free FM frequency.

The 3.2 megapixel camera has autofocus and a Carl Zeiss lens. it can take photos at a resolution of 2048x1536 pixels and can record video at 15fps. Your can ppload your photos and video to your favourite online community like Flickr or YouTube in a single key press. High speed Wi-Fi and HSDPA allows you to upload media quickly.

Initially launched as a SIM Free handset, consumers can now buy the N78 Nokia completely network unlocked and insert their existing SIM card to retain their current mobilke number and account details, alternatively they could even buy a pay as you go SIM card and use the N78 as a prepay mobile phone.

SIM free means network freedom and although the customer will pay a little more upfront as their is no network subsidy as with contract and pay as you go phones they can then do what they will with the phone and connect it to any network or payment system.

Further network rollouts are expected very soon with Vodafone, O2, Orange and T-Mobile through the networks themselves aswell as via independent mobile phones dealers and retailers. Although there are no confirmed release dates from the networks there are hints of stock on their way to most.

So if a consumer really wants to buy a Nokia N78 the choices are to pay a little more upfront as a SIM free handset or wait for what might be a couple of weeks for the networks to get their hands on this top of the range N-Series mobile phone.