All eyes will be on Stuttgart next week at the Nokia World event where we expect to see at least two official announcements in the shape of the N97 Mini and the N900. And let’s be honest, it’s the latter everyone’s really interested in isn’t it? All we’ve had to go on so far is some leaked images of what is believed to be Nokia’s next flagship phone being liberated from its box. All very nice but what about something a little more official? Well, a photo has surfaced online claiming to be just what we were hankering for: feast your eyes on the new Nokia N900 (we hope).

In its new glossy guise, the N900 looks far classier than we ever imagined possible. The comparisons with the iPhone will undoubtedly be made, then again any new touchscreen phone suffers the same fate. From the photo, the Nokia N900 conceals its slide out QWERTY keyboard well and should feel just as natural whether using the keyboard or just the touchscreen. We’re still remaining skeptical on this one until Nokia come out and officially unveil the N900 but if the leaked photo turns out to be the real deal, Nokia’s latest offering could be its best looking yet.

As for the phone itself, naturally concrete information is fairly thin on the ground. The most publicised feature is obviously the Maemo operating system as it will be the first time Nokia has opted for anything other than Symbian in a flagship device (with Maemo ordinarily reserved for internet tablets). The N900 (or RX-51 or Rover as it’s also been known) will apparently include an improved processor and more RAM compared to the N97, Nokia’s current top dog. Other likely features include 32GB of internal memory, a 5.0 Megapixel Carl Zeiss camera, HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS, an FM transmitter expandable memory.

Without an upgraded camera or some other popular new features such as HD video capture, you may be wondering what all the fuss is about. But, compared to the N97, the beefed up processor, improved RAM, a better touchscreen and most importantly the Maemo operating system should ensure the N900 is equipped to take on the iPhone head on. Expected to be officially announced next week, keep an eye on the Blog for all the latest info.