In announcement made today, Nokia officially launched the Nokia N81 multimedia computer, which is expected to hit stores in the fourth quarter with an earlier European and Asian release and a US release after October.

There will be two versions of the Nokia N81: an 8GB model and one with a microSD expansion slot that can accept cards up to 4GB. Both iterations offer support music and gaming and sport a 3.5mm headphone jack and dedicated game keys. You can even download music from the new Nokia music store and games from the N-gage service. The N81 supports A2DP, sports an FM tuner, has side-mounted speakers and plays the following formats: MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, and M4A. As part of the Nokia N series of multimedia computers, the N81 also has RealPlayer onboard for full-screen video playback and a 2-megapixel camera with video recording capabilities.

The Nokia N81 features quad-band world roaming and integrated Bluetooth 2.0 and Wi-Fi (802.11b/g). The Symbian smart phone also includes e-mail support (Push, SMTP, IMAP4, POP3), Nokia Mobile search, and Nokia Maps.

With a 2.4-inch screen and the ability to display 16 million colors, it will come at a hefty price. The 8GB model will retail for $599 for an unlocked version, while the regular Nokia N81 will go for $499 unlocked.