Today Nokia officially announced that it is shipping its long-awaited N97 multimedia device this month. The high-end smartphone, which has a touch screen, should be available in some 75 countries around the world by month's end.According to some reports, the N97 has already started shipping in some countries. The N97 can be pre-ordered via the Nokia web site at the whopping price of $699. Nokia hasn't said exactly when it will start shipping units to the U.S., but they should be here by the end of June.

The N97 comes absolutely loaded with most every feature possible to pack into a phone at the moment. A touch screen, QWERTY keyboard, 5 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, worldwide 3G support, and massive 48GB storage capabilities are just a few.

Nokia is sure to point out that this is the first phone from Nokia with a fully customizable home screen. In a press release, Nokia says, "The Nokia N97 is Nokia's first device to feature a personalizable home screen, which can be customized with a range of widgets which bring live information directly to the device. These widgets include key social networking destinations like Facebook and Hi5, news services like the Associated Press, Bloomberg and Reuters, as well as shopping and weather information. The Nokia N97 is the first device to ship with the Ovi Store, which offers easy access to applications, games, videos, podcasts, productivity tools, web and location-based services, and much more."

Nokia's Ovi Store had a rough launch last week, and it is a vital step Nokia has taken by bringing native Ovi Store integration with this device, which is largely seen as the company's flagship device for 2009, which will compete head-to-head with the iPhone, Palm Pre, and other devices.