For serious music listening you will be using headphones anyway. The speaker is just for streaming radio and other stuff where sound quality isn't important.

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Added on September 15, 2011, 8:47 amNot sure about J2ME but Java apps are a poor substitute for native Meego apps. However there are some Java ebook readers like Albite and Foliant which are pretty good.

As N900 and Maemo5 apps need to be ported to N9 it means N9 doesn't have a ready pool of apps. It has to start from practically zero.

The quality and quantity of N900 and Maemo5 apps show that there is a robust developer community for Meego which will hopefully turn their attention to N9. It is interesting to note that these are all free apps so developers were driven by enthusiasm rather than financial. After they are ported they may not remain free because N9 being a mass market product is a chance for them to monetize their apps. This is okay as financial incentive is a strong driver. Also we will see more apps to cater for general users rather than specialized apps.





This post has been edited by KennyKB: Sep 15 2011, 08:47 AM

In many countries you can get smartphones for 20%-30% of the RRP with a contract. In Malaysia you just get a small discount of maybe 10%. Hardly worth tying yourself to a contract.

Some shots captured with Nokia N9

http://www.n9fanclub.com/2011/06/shots-cap...9-8mp-carl.html

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Added on September 15, 2011, 1:06 pmI notice the Opera mini 11 for N9 Meego has .RPM packaging.

This post has been edited by KennyKB: Sep 15 2011, 01:06 PM

It depends on whether you consider apps important or not. The N9 app store has to grow from zero. All existing Maemo and N900 apps will have to be ported by developers willing to do it against an uncertain platform future. If you can't live without your favourite ios or Android apps the N9 will be a tough choice.

Early October. This makes Malaysia among the first countries to get it. But is it true that only 100,000 units will be produced worldwide?

N8 or N9? One has all the apps. The other has better hardware.

Nokia N9 pre-orders through the roof, 64GB batch all reserved in Finland.
http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n9_preorders..._-news-3143.php

Never in living memory has a Nokia product created so much excitement. But the ex-Microsoft Elop is trying his best to put down N9 so that he can justify to the world that he was right to bet the company on WP7.

What's happening is that Elop has bet the farm on WP7. Symbian has been sidelined, Meego put on the back burner so if Nokia's WP7 fail then Nokia has nothing left.

However there is a lack of consumer interest in WP7. It's market share by % remain in the low single digit. In the last quarter WP7 even managed to lose market share so I wonder how Nokia branded WP7 phones are going to change this.

Do you think N9 will sell out fast or can we wait a couple of months to get it?

N9 photo sample. http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_riss/set...57627680910012/

Not very impressive but the photographer is not aspire2006.

If N9 is a success and SeaRay is a flop Elop will be looking for another job. Then we can look forward to more Meego phones.

But of course. N8 is the King of camera phones. But from the looks of the samples N9 is more than decent enough.

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Added on September 19, 2011, 6:18 pmComparing WP7 to Bada is a big slap for Microsoft. Bada is a niche os which Samsung never intended to compete with the big players. If consumers are not interested in WP7 putting Nokia's name on it will make no difference.

This post has been edited by KennyKB: Sep 19 2011, 06:18 PM

For N8 holding down the power button for 6-8 secs until you feel a vibration simulates removing the battery of the phone.

I suppose N9 will have some arrangement like this but no info as yet.

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Added on September 19, 2011, 7:57 pmMicrosoft doesn't allow any manufacturer tweaking of the UI unlike Google. Hence one WP7 phone look and feel very much like another. There are rumours that MS will allow Nokia to add their own UI but if this is the case other manufacturers will drop WP7 like a stone because the playing field is no longer level.


Nokia could have stuck with Symbian and used Meego as an alternate OS. But Elop has bet the company on WP7 which may be a bad mistake to put all their eggs in one basket. N9 will not be available in U.S., U.K., France, Canada, Germany, Spain and Italy which are the countries where SeaRay will be launched. Elop desperately wants SeaRay to succeed instead of N9. But online retailers have thwarted him by making the N9 available to those countries.

This post has been edited by KennyKB: Sep 19 2011, 07:57 PM

I hope somebody can also do a comparison of the audio playback quality of the N9 compared to N8 and iphone4. Really interested to know whether the Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby headphone on the N9 make a difference.

N9 has no hardware camera button unlike N8. Photography enthusiasts may like to take this into consideration.

No problem. Samsung Wave also has curved glass but still can install screen protector. It just curve together with the glass.

Never has a Nokia phone created so much excitement!

True, for N9 to be a real mass product there must be sufficient apps. But N9 already has a head start with N900/950 and Maemo 5 apps which only need some tweaking and re-compiling. With good community support it may overtake the pathetic bada app store in useful apps in 6 months.

Take a look at the N9 apps here. Not bad for a start.
http://my-meego.com/software/index.php

And Maemo 5 apps
http://maemo.org/downloads/Maemo5/

This post has been edited by KennyKB: Sep 20 2011, 08:53 PM

I don't think it will scare people away, it is a good start. Bada store started worse than this and Samsung has sold millions of Bada phones. Many users are willing to buy on the hope that apps will grow but in 6 months there must be a reasonably good app store or sales will falter.

Agreed, not all smartphone owners choose their phones on the basis of apps. Many are content to use it as a music player, camera, video player, navigator, streaming radio, youtube, web browser, ebook reader, email, facebook, twitter, schedule planner, note taker and instant messaging besides calls and sms of course. I have friends who never downloaded any extra apps on their Androids besides the ones bundled in. However those who are into games will look at apps.

Bada app store is still pathetic but Samsung has sold 10 million bada phones. However it is misplaced to compare N9 with bada because bada buyers are mainly first time smartphone users who choose bada because it is simple and affordably priced compared to comparable hardware. This is not the profile of N9 customers. Nokia has priced it in the same league as SGS2. The typical N9 user will be matured, well-heeled and smartphone savvy.

N9 will certainly be attractive to the Meego/Maemo community who will jump on it like the second coming. However I expect demand to break out of this group to general users who are attracted by its good looks and quirky but simple and attractive UI. Nokia has bundled in some good apps and utilities including Skype, Office/pdf reader and a few games and of course there is Ovi maps with voice navigation. Game addicts should look elsewhere but youngsters are not N9's target market.

So I believe the N9 will sell well if only to those who want something refreshing and different from the ubiquitous iphones and androids.

This post has been edited by KennyKB: Sep 20 2011, 11:04 PM