Despite rumors of a delay, Nokia has started shipping the N96, its new flagship phone.

The N96 has a 2.8-inch display, a 5-megapixel camera, GPS navigation and can store up to 40 hours of video on its 16 GB of internal memory. It also has a micro SD card slot. The handset also has stereo speakers, a kickstand for video viewing and quad-band GSM as well as HSDPA in U.S. frequencies.

The phone currently is shipping in Africa, Asia, China, Europe, and the Middle East, and reportedly will sell for $795 before operator subsidies. No word on when the device will reach the Americas.