Nokia last night kicked off a road show of sorts for its S60 smartphone platform here in New York City. The company threw a party for a select group of bloggers and S60 enthusiasts complete with free food, drinks, and a chance to win an unlocked N95 smartphone. How could I resist?Nokia hosted the party last night in its posh New York Flagship store, just blocks from the Apple Store.

The event had all the usual trimmings -- open bar, lush appetizers, and loads of mobile device geeks (including noted mobile blogger Darla Mack). I admit it; I spent almost two hours ogling all the gadgets on hand. I had seen many of these phone before at various trade shows, but it's great to see phones that are not normally available through U.S. carriers and their limited retail chain.

Alright, enough of my device envy. Back to the party.

Nokia announced a few initiatives at the event. They touted their network of S60 blogs and launched a new mobile business blog, Business2Go, chaired by the author of 101 Cool Smartphone Techniques, Dean Andrews.

Nokia has long taken bloggers seriously -- anyone remember The Feature? In the last year, though, it seemed as if they weren't reaching out as much as in times past. It was good to see Nokia out taking input from eager enthusiasts.

During my conversations last night, I encountered one user who was the archetypal mobilist. This gentleman was a big fan of the Nokia E61. So much so, in fact, that he took the liberty of setting up his own personal E61 to work with his company's BlackBerry Enterprise Server system so he could avoid using a BlackBerry handheld in favor of his beloved S60 phone. That's hardcore loyalty.

But this user isn't alone. Last week, in addition to my travels to the Frost & Sullivan event in California, I also spoke at a breakfast on business mobility. At this event, another speaker noted that close to 90% of mobile devices used in the business world today are purchased by the end-user. I cannot verify this statistic, but based on the conversations I heard last night, this figure might be accurate.

After three hours of endless mobile phone chat, the Nokia people finally got down to the task at hand: Giving away a new N95. Alas, I didn't win the N95, but kudos to the attendee who did. And thanks to everyone who took the time to speak with me about their love for the S60 platform.

Just added: Go here for pictures of the Nokia party.