The iPhone has allowed smartphone upstart Apple to attain second place in the worldwide sales wars. Sales reports note that the company recently jumped ahead of RIM (Research in Motion) with a 17.3% share of the market. RIM lands squarely at a 15.2% market share. Of course, neither company even gets close to Nokia’s massive 38.9% market share.

These numbers have a lot to do with the successful launch of the iPhone 3G, which has sold nearly 7 million units since it’s July 11 launch. Apple’s share of the entire cell phone market is now a respectable 2.3%.

The Nokia N96 has already appeared at Best Buy Mobile locations, but the phone is finally also available at Nokia’s two flagship stores in New York and Chicago. The company is asking early adopters to pay a slightly raised price, however. The phone runs a hefty $842 at the stores compared to the $800 Best Buy is asking. Amazon has the phone listed for only $705.99, however, with an expected ship date of November 9th.

It’s official, the Nokia N85 is bound for North American shores. Some FCC documents advertise the forthcoming release by making the User Guide and SAR report part of the public record. Nokia has yet to officially release pricing or a release date yet though.

The Nokia N85 is a handset that features a bright OLED display, a series of audio functions and a full-fledged GPS service.

A great little stocking stuffer here – Nokia’s new Bluetooth earpiece, the BH-101. It boasts eight hours of talktime, 180 hours of standby, Bluetooth 2.0 (with EDR, Handsfree v.1.5, and Headset v.1.1), and best of all, it is affordable at only $40. Ho- Ho – Ho

Slapping a Nokia brand on a car makes it what – a cellphone with wheels?

Renault has teamed up with Nokia on this new Twingo Nokia special edition. Basically it just offers music connectivity options through an audio connection box in the glove compartment that accepts USB, a 3.5 mm cable and a DIN connector for iPods.

It also features bluetooth connectivity for the Nokia 6110 Navigator phone with GPS, 3G and a microSD slot. There is no nav system embedded in the dash (gee, there’s an idea), but is does give you a suction cup to secure it to the windshield. Whoopee.