This is review for Nokia N9, loan by Nokia Ranger: Ang Yik Fong (Andy):


Introduction:
I’m a Java Developer (Age: between 20-29, Sex: Male) who had been using HTC Incredible S since this year. Previously, my phone was Nokia N82 and had been using it for about 2 years. The reason for me changing to a HTC Incredible S because I wanted to experience smartphone. Among all smartphones, I’ve chosen HTC Incredible S because it I the best smartphone at that time. The body has a good grip and it has a rubberize back cover. It has a big 4.0” capacitive touch screen. The 8MP rear camera is good to capture any moment on the go. It runs on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and upgradable to 2.3 (Gingerbread). There will be no problem for finding apps for this phone. HTC has its own HTC Sense which I found it interesting. What I like the most about this phone is there are huge collection of apps available to download from the market. Every phone has its cons too. HTC Incredible S having some issue with its SMS problem. There will be SMS delay issue if the phone network is set to GSM/WCDMA auto. The speaker is also quite soft although the volume is set to the max. It is reported that most if not all of the HTC phone has soft speaker. Overall, I like this phone.


My impression:
First look at the N9, it looks elegant. It has 3 different colours with the blue stand out among others. The design is different than other Nokia phones. Normally, a Nokia phone’s battery is exchangeable but not for N9. Apart from the 3.5mm audio jack, you will not find any holes for charger or USB plug in. The USB plug is hidden under a cover on the top of the phone. This can prevent dust from entering the hole.



When holding the phone, it fits firmly on a medium size hand. The back of the body is solid and does not feel “plastic”. It has only 2 buttons which is for switch on/off the phone and adjusting the volume. The phone is using MeeGo and this provides flexibility for advanced user to explore the technical part.


Phone Specifications:
It has a stunning 3.9” AMOLED display which only few phones have as of now. Made by scratch resistant Corning Gorilla glass, you will never need to worry about getting the phone scratch and screen protector can be put aside. Even under bright sunlight, the screen is still clear and easy to view.



N9 comes with build-in memory of 16GB and 64GB. This is pretty good for a normal user to store their personal files, photos, videos and songs. However, it does not have any slot for external memory. The model I reviewed has 16GB internal memory. Having browsed the device setting, found that the total memory available in the device is only 15.79GB. The total memory is shared by 3 main items which are installed apps, app data and user data and the maximum memory can be used is 4.2GB, 2.1GB and 9.5GB respectively.



This phone has NFC (Near Field Communication) capability. It can communicate with other device which supports NFC without hassle. Whenever want to pair or share files with other NFC device, just need to touch and it is connected. However, this technology is still new in our country and cannot fully utilize the NFC capability in the phone.

Comes with Carl Zeiss 8MP rear camera, you will never miss any moment again. This camera has wide angle lens and F2.2 aperture for better photos. It also includes dual LED flash for low light condition. It has touch focus to easily focus any part within the screen. It is able to lock the object very fast and capture a clear photo. The camera supports up to 4x digital zoom. Special about this camera is the setting allows user to adjust the light sensitivity from ISO 100 to ISO 800. For easy use, it can be adjusted to Automatic. Apart from the rear camera, it has a 1.3MP front camera.





N9 camera is also capable of capturing HD video with quality up to 720p resolution at 30fps. It has continuous auto focus which allow clear recording. Not to worry about the sound quality because it gives you stereo sound. The video playback supports multiple formats such as FLV, MKV, MPEG4-SP, H.263, etc.

Nokia has provides an interactive user guide and installed into the phone. This will be useful for user to check the user guide on the go, without having to carry the conventional book type user guide anywhere.



N9 is easy to use because everything is just swipe. There is no home nor return button. To unlock the screen, you can either press the on/off button on the side or double tap on the screen. To close an application, it just needs to swipe it down. This function can be disabled too. To put the app running in the background, just swipe to the left. With the Gorilla glass, swiping the phone feels good and smooth. When swiping to other screen, it does not lag and respond immediately. However, one needs to apply some pressure during swipe.

Many applications can be run in background. I’ve tested to open more than 10 programs including games and web browser and running them in the background simultaneously but the phone never experience any lag. The programs running in the front able to process smoothly. This phone has a great multitasking function.



Unlike other OS, MeeGo allows user to access the backend of it. The Terminal app can be used to input Unix command to explore the folders, modify the shell and configure it to suit ones need. It can also be tweak to enhance the OS.

I noticed the buttons provided on N9 feel “loosen”. The on/off button is not firm and feels loose. As there are other OS competitor in the market such as Android and iOS, Nokia should bring more apps for this phone to remain competitive. It will be better if there is slot for external memory.


EXTRAS: (additional questions provided by Andy)
Would you be interested to get this phone? Please also provide reason(s) why.
No. This is because Nokia will no longer provide support for MeeGo devices and the app is still limited.

If No, and your reason is you prefer your current phone, then if say you're looking for a new phone; Would you consider/be interested to get this phone? Please also provide reason(s) why.
No. There are many smartphones in the market which has better hardware specification compare to N9. I would prefer an Android device.

If No to above, then if you have the luxury to own 2 phone; Will you consider this phone? Please also provide reason(s) why.
And, please also mentioned if you would use/switch this as your primary phone.
Yes. This is because I’m attracted to the multitasking capability of the OS. The swipe gesture also makes the phone easy to use. Given my current phone and N9, I will use N9 as my primary phone.