It seems like the new craze for phone manufacturers is to trot out an online emulator of your upcoming handset in the run-up to its launch. We’ve seen it happen with the Android-powered T-Mobile G1, we’ve seen it happen with the BlackBerry Storm - and now there’s a simulator for the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic.

Okay, so it’s not quite the same as prodding and pawing the real thing, but it’s the closest most of us are going to get until the touchscreen music maestro lands in the UK next year (boo!). It lets you have a play around with the various functions, especially the music software - although instead of having access to two million tunes (which you’ll have on the real deal, thanks to Comes with Music) you can only listen to a few snippets from Estelle’s album.

In the meantime, prime your excitement for the real thing with a close-up look at the 5800 XpressMusic in the images below.

Out 2009 | £219 | Nokia