MobileTechReview.com Phone, Smartphone, Notebook and Gadget Reviews and buyers guide
Phone Notebooks & Tablets Gaming Gadgets iPhone & iPad Shop Forum

Advertisement

Home > Phone Reviews > Nokia N9

line

Nokia N9 (Lightning Review)

Editor's rating (1-5): rating starrating starrating starrating star
Carrier: Unlocked GSM
Manufacturer: Nokia
Discuss this product

What's hot: Simply gorgeous design, modern and enjoyable OS, lovely AMOLED display.

What's not: Expensive, not many will be made, Nokia doesn't intend to continue developing MeeGo OS.

line

Reviewed November 6, 2011 by , Editor in Chief (twitter: @lisagade)

The Nokia N9 is Nokia's last hurrah before they make the switch to being a Windows Phone manufacturer. It runs their customized version of the MeeGo OS that's based on Linux, and it's a thoroughly modern and beautifully designed touch-based OS. It's fast, intuitive and makes excellent use of gestures. Case in point: double tap the sleeping phone's screen to wake it up, then swipe up to unlock. Swipe down or to the right to close an app and return to the home screen. Swipe across the home screens to see the notification and social networking pane, the app drawer and thumbnails of all running apps.

Nokia N9

The N9 has a 3.9" AMOLED display with anti-glare technology and Nokia's black technology. Blacks are deep, colors are vivid and glare is indeed less of an issue vs. most touch screen phones. It's 854 x 480 pixels with Gorilla Glass, an accelerometer and an ambient light sensor. The phone runs on a 1GHz single core OMAP CPU, and though that's not cutting edge, the phone is generally very quick.

Nokia N9

The design is minimalist elegance and unique. The Nokia Lumia 800 inherits the design, and that's a good thing. The unibody casing is polycarbonate which is durable and won't show scratches as discolorations. It feels wonderful in the hand and is very slim. The phone is about the same size as the iPhone 4S, despite the larger display.

Nokia N9

This is a pentaband 3G phone with HSPA+ 14.4, and that means it will work on T-Mobile and AT&T as well as overseas. It's sold unlocked but you'll have to get it from importers here in the US since Nokia isn't selling it directly. Like the iPhone, it uses a micro SIM. The bad news? It goes for around $700 and Nokia is only making 90,000 or so. The even worse news? This is their first and last MeeGo Harmattan smartphone. It's a dead end. There are third party apps on the Ovi Store on the device, but I wouldn't expect the selection to grow much from where it is today.

Nokia N9

The Nokia N9 has an excellent 8 megapixel rear main camera with a dual LED flash. It can shoot sharp 720p video and it takes photos that are as good as the top 8 megapixel camera phones on the market. It has the usual WiFi, Bluetooth and a GPS plus maps. The phone has 16 gigs of internal storage (Nokia says there's a 64 gig version as well) and no expansion slot.

Nokia N9

 

 

 

 

Nokia N9 Video Review

 

Conclusion

We love almost everything about the Nokia N9, and that bodes well for the Nokia Lumia 800 Windows phone that uses nearly identical hardware. We'd give the N9 a higher start rating, but the high price, extremely limited availability and Nokia's statement that they won't be developing MeeGo anymore make this phone more of a collector's device than an everyday higher end purchase.

 

Price: Varies depending on store or importer, runs from $679-$799

Website: www.nokia.com

 

blog comments powered by Disqus

Specs:

Display: 3.9" capacitive AMOLED display (Gorilla Glass). Resolution: 854 x 480, supports both portrait and landscape modes via accelerometer. Has an ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and gyro sensor..

Battery: 1450mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable. Battery is not user replaceable.

Performance: 1GHz TI OMAP3630 CPU (ARM Cortex-A8), PowerVR SGX530 graphics. 16 or 64 gigs of internal flash storage.

Size: 4.58 x 2.41 x 0.47 inches. Weight: 4.76 ounces.

Phone: GSM quad band unlocked phone with pentaband 3G UMTS/HSPA (850/900/1700/1900/2100MHz). Works on T-Mobile and AT&T 3G in the US. Uses a micro SIM card.

Camera: Rear 8 megapixel camera with f2.2 Carl Zeiss lens (28mm equivalent). 4x digital zoom, dual LED flash. Can record 720p video.

GPS: GPS and A-GPS, comes with Nokia Drive and Maps.

Audio: Built in speakers, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack.

Networking: Integrated WiFi 802.11b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR.

Software: MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan OS.

Expansion: None.

PHONE

All Phone Reviews
Smartphone Reviews
Android Phone Reviews
BlackBerry
Windows Phone Reviews
iPhone
HTC Phone Reviews
LG Phone Reviews
Motorola Phone Reviews
Nokia Phone Reviews
Samsung Phone Reviews
Sony Phone Reviews
AT&T Phone Reviews
Sprint Phone Reviews
T-Mobile Phone Reviews
Verizon Phone Reviews
Unlocked GSM Phone Reviews

TABLETS

All Tablet Reviews
Android Tablet Reviews
Tablet Comparisons
Android Tablet Comparisons

 

LAPTOPS & ULTRABOOKS

Laptop Reviews
Ultrabook Reviews
Laptop Comparisons
Best Ultrabooks

 

GADGETS & GAMES

Bluetooth Headsets
iPhone and iPad Accessories
eBook Readers

iPhone Game Reviews
iPad Game Reviews


iPhone Case Reviews
iPad Case Reviews

SITE TOOLS

RSS News Feed

About Us

Contact Us

Advertising

Site Map