While techno junkies are awaiting the much-anticipated release of Apple’s iPhone, Nokia has a trick up its  sleeve that may cause more than just a murmur.

In a rush to compete with the iPhone, which is slated for release just two days away, Nokia announced the release of it’s worthy competitor, the N96, a full two months before the global launch. Incidentally, this is also probably the first time that a Nokia handset’s global launch will be witnessed in India.

Termed as a ‘killer product’, the N96 is proving to be quite a worthy adversary to the iPhone. Features such as navigation with voice direction, a 5 megapixel camera and a larger 24 GB memory are some avenues where the N96 scores over the iPhone, whereas the latter triumphs with it’s 3-axis motion sensor and encrypted pushmail feature.

Though prices for both the phones have not been announced it seems they would be available in the same price range. All in all, both phones seem to be absolute delights for gadget freaks, but as which one will rule the roost, we will just have to wait and see.