The smartphone for the design-conscious social networker, the Nokia C7, has started shipping to customers around the world. The second Nokia smartphone based on the new Symbian platform, the Nokia C7 follows hot on the heels of the company’s entertainment powerhouse, the Nokia N8.

The Nokia C7 combines stainless steel and glass in a sleek, full-touch design. The 3.5 inch AMOLED display is ideal for networking, with updates from Facebook and Twitter fed directly to the home screen, as well as one touch access to many popular email accounts including Ovi Mail, Yahoo!® Mail and Windows Live(TM) Hotmail. The Nokia C7 also opens up a world of apps, games, videos, and web and location-based services through the Ovi Store.

“The Nokia C7 is our second smartphone based on the new version of Symbian to hit the market,” says Jo Harlow, head of smartphones at Nokia. “Designed specifically with the style-conscious consumer in mind, the Nokia C7 also brings excellent social networking abilities, making it perfect for people who want to check-in and stay up to date.”

Following the release of this social-networking centric device, Nokia will be setting out to find the most active Facebook user from the more than 1.4 million fans on Nokia’s own global Facebook page. Nokia will then pick five finalists who will each be provided with a Nokia C7 to organize a party using various social networks. The fan who best captures their party through Facebook - generating the most coverage with updates and posts - will win a Nokia C7 for themselves and 20 of their friends.

The estimated retail price of the Nokia C7 is EUR 335 before applicable taxes or subsidies, with pricing and availability varying from region to region, operator to operator.