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Nokia N9 : Lone hero
by admin ·
The N9 was a myth before he was in the stores. Is this the phone that Nokia could have saved from the clutches of Microsoft? Or is it a kind of preview of what Windows Phone 7 will bring?
Leaked photographs do indeed suggest that the first Windows Phone 7 phone from Nokia comes to hardware design, a twin of the N9 is. All we know of course not be sure in a few weeks after the Nokia World event.
MeeGo
The essence of the N9, the following words: MeeGo. Or the mobile operating system based on Linux that one of the most difficult births in the history of information technology experienced.
Once started as a project within Nokia to develop an alternative to Symbian, the software that almost all Nokia phones drives (except the cheapest), and then suddenly seemingly condemned to death when the new Nokia CEO Steve Elop decided everything on Windows Phone 7 to convert.
But suddenly he was there anyway, that N9. The first and probably the last MeeGo phone from the factories of Nokia rolls.
Beautiful design
But enough history. What about the concrete N9? In design terms this is probably the best phone Nokia have ever produced. The smartphone is packed in a unibody metal that is stylishly finished with rounded corners. It exudes quality.
This feeling is reinforced by the display, a 3.9-inch amoledscherm that pretty flush with the casing, and a Gorilla Glass rear glass layer is very thin across. This seems really graphics and text from the device to jump, an effect that is seen in some Samsung and the iPhone 4 you. The displayed resolution is 480 x 852, which is a clear picture. In the past I was never a very big fan of Nokia’s clear black screen technology, but here with a better polarizing filter works very well, even outside.
Nokia shows off like with the camera. That may be, because the 8 megapixel camera is in the N9 at least as good as winning the N8. I like him even more responsive when focusing. Moreover, the N9 video in 720p at 30 frames.
Now you can tell a lot about Nokia, but their high-end smartphones are always well built. And so this unit. In terms of hardware is about the N9 mustache, which I certainly do more to look forward to the N800 phone with WP7 that the rumor mill so fond of running.
The real surprise with this smartphone, however, lies in the software. On the N9 running MeeGo 1.2, with fans known as Harmattan. Debian linux, topped with an interface that is designed for a touchscreen.
The interface is very swipe-centric: you swipe left and right to switch between your main screen (a list of apps that are stylistically similar to the Anne-update from Symbian ^ 3 looks), thumbnails of running programs, and a screen where messages all possible social networks and messaging services together. An active app to send the background upward sweep.
It makes me very reminiscent of WebOS 3.0, on the HP touch pad is located. So hard in fact, that I wanted to close apps on the N9 through a second time to sweep up – an action that WebOS MeeGo not know.
Navigation
The phone has embedded navigation, just like previous Nokia smartphones. It is a translated version of Nokia Maps with slightly less functionality. Remarkably, the Nokia Maps app splits: one is aimed at walkers and city trippers, the second in drivers.
How powerful is the N9 compared to, say, the E7 appears when you hold your finger over the 3D map of Nokia Maps to scroll, the E7 is that slow, perfectly smooth on the N9. And despite “only” a single core processor with 1 GHz.
It is a somewhat academic question whether Nokia had to bet heavily on MeeGo, instead of switching to the dark side, some argue that Microsoft. When it comes to strategy, it is too late for that question. MeeGo has missed his chance and the tanker that Nokia has already made his change of direction. A pity, because MeeGo is clearly much to offer.
On the N9 which is equipped with relatively powerful hardware it runs like a dream. The interface is sophisticated, intuitive and full of good finds, like the basic integration of many social networks. Once you make your own wipe, you can quickly arrow from app to app jump.
The question naturally suggests that everyone is in the N9: what about the apps?
There is no point to it bluntly: the range is much smaller than in Android, IOS, Symbian and WP7. Yet there are more apps in the Nokia store to find than you might expect. However, there are large gaps in supply. For example, there is no Dropbox and Evernote app.
In part, that lack of demand offset by a large amount of bundled apps. As MeeGo translations of Angry Birds, Galaxy on Fire 2 and Need for Speed Shift, built-in clients for Twitter, Facebook and Skype, a weather app, an app for a stolen phone with detection and the ability to create a mobile wifi point to set up.
Moreover, the N9 Microsoft Office formats open, but not edit. It seems not easy to find an app that can.
Many media formats supported
One of the strengths of the N9 is very broad support for media formats. Video example you do not, in principle to convert if you want to see this smartphone. That’s when the iPhone is different.
The N9 opens smoothly DivX MKV files and even videos. Though he clearly insufficient power to a 720p movie in MKV format to display smoothly. On the audio side is particularly striking support for the audiophile FLAC. Well we wonder how long it will take you mean the memory is stuffed.
Data sharing with NFC
The N9 is not the first Nokia phone with a built-in NFC chip, but only now there is some enthusiasm about this technology (Near Field Communication). For example, Nokia sells a wireless speaker (Play 360) that, for him to pair with the N9, merely requires that the phone is placed nearby.
With NFC you can share data with other users N9. The included Angry Birds game will even offer extra levels if you N9 into contact with another NFC phone like the Nokia C7.
NFC is obviously more in the future because this technology will ever be the basis for contactless payment. But that’s far away.
It had been nice if the N9 did not suffer from the typical disease of powerful smartphones: a battery becomes flat. One day after extensive use, it is time to (shapely) adapter to bring out. Extensive use means in my case an hour to navigate, check email regularly and answer some things up in the browser and continuously rolled in tweets and Facebook updates.
Mostly these days I was connected to a 3G. It is difficult to N9 at this point much to blame, because I still waiting for a smartphone that in such a scenario really sings several days.
Nokia has finally decided to push the N9 as a straightforward yet powerful and beautiful smartphone. Yet he has a very geeky-feature: with the touch of a button you root the N9 and the operating system can access the phone via command line.
Conclusion
Now if you just ignore that there is something like Android or IOS, you’d probably be amazed at the N9 MeeGo and Harmattan. The smartphone is fast and works smoothly, even if many apps open. The N9 looks very nice. Unfortunately there are so hurt competitors, and may in some respects less than score than this unit, they are still better about it because they have extensive appwinkels.
Nokia, however this unit in the market for 599 euros for the 16 GB version. That’s compared with top-Android Devices really too much. I fear that the N9 – how unjust also – but little attention can count. He will surely be pushed out of the limelight as his twin brother shows up with Windows Phone 7.
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Tags: Nokia N9