Nokia Mako becomes Nokia Surge, launches on AT&T next week

@grg / 11:48 am PDT • July 13, 2009

Here’s the Nokia timeline so far:

1987: Nokia releases the Mobira Cityman 900, one of the world’s first handheld cell phones
1994: Nokia releases the 2100 series, which is the first to feature their signature ringtone. The song is forever burned into our brains.
2003: Nokia releases the Nokia 1100 and sells 200 million units, making it one of the best selling handsets of all time.
2009: Nokia releases the Surge, a cheapo crappy QWERTY slider.

Yeah, yeah – that’s not exactly a fair portrayal. Nokia released an expensive crappy QWERTY slider this year, too.

Jabs aside, the Surge may fit the bill if some youngster living under your roof is looking for a texting phone without breaking the bank. It’ll set you back $129 out the door when it launches on July 19th, but a mail-in rebate drops it down to $79.99. Spec highlights from the press release are right after the jump.

The Nokia Surge offers multimedia and entertainment features, including:
· 2.0 megapixel camera – Customers can capture quality photos with color camera and 4X digital zoom
· AT&T Navigator – AT&T Navigator provides audible turn-by-turn directions, monitors traffic and alerts users when there is a slowdown or incident
· AT&T Mobile Music – Customers can listen and download their favorite music from Napster Mobile, eMusic Mobile, XM Radio and more over the air
· AT&T Video Share – The first-ever service in the U.S. that allows users to share live video over wireless devices while participating in a voice call
· JuiceCaster – Customers can share videos and pictures from their wireless device to the Web’s most popular sites including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr