The Nokia N9 phone is the sensational novelty of 2011. Due to its powerful characteristics, combined with a promising operating system, the model attracted the attention of many experts and found its target audience. Well, let's fast forward to 2011 and take a closer look at the characteristics of the flagship of that time.
Appearance
The design of Nokia N9 is bright and unusual. The case is made of scratch-resistant polycarbonate and is carefully lapped onto the front side, completely made of shock-resistant Gorilla Glass. The smartphone is available in 3 colors: blue, hot pink, black.
The 3.9-inch OLED display with a resolution of 800 by 480 pixels works with ClearBlack technology, which gives it extra brightness. The screen is as close as possible to the protective glass surface, which only improves its contrast and clarity. Thanks to these enhancements, you can work with your smartphone even in bright sunlight.
You will find the volume and power button on the right side, where it is convenient to press them with one hand. And all the connectors present on the smartphone compactly fit on the upper edge: a headphone jack, a microUSB port closed by a latch and a retractable microSIM card slot (in 2011, this standard was used only on iPnone).
What's inside the smartphone "Nokia N9"
The characteristic of the model was very impressive for 2011, because at the time of release it was the most powerful in the line of a well-known brand. The ARM Cortex-A8 OMAP 3630 processor, operating at a frequency of 1 GHz, the PowerVR SGX530 graphics card and 1 GB of RAM - all this guaranteed the fast and accurate operation of all smartphone functions, including the speed of response to gestures.
Nokia N9 was produced in two versions - with 64 or 16 GB of internal memory. There is no microSD card slot.
But you cannot blame the lack of support for protocols of different types of connection “Nokia N9”: NFC, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, Wi-Fi - all of them help to easily exchange files and connect external devices, such as speakers.
The smartphone is quite powerful by the standards of 2011 with a battery capacity of 1450 mA.
Photo and video
Nokia N9 has two cameras:
- Front VGA-camera with flash (about 0.3 megapixels) for making video calls and chat in Skype. It is noteworthy that it is located not on top of the case, but in the lower right corner.
- The main one is 8 megapixels, with a dual LED flash and Carl Zeiss lenses, with a fast aperture of f2.2 lens. This means that it works better in low light conditions. The maximum resolution of images is 3248x2448 pixels. The main camera is located close to the center of the smartphone, so it is as convenient to use it as a conventional digital camera.
A significant drawback is the lack of a separate button for the camera. It allows you to take pictures faster and reduces smartphone shake during shooting.
But a nice addition was the manual focus, which can be put just by pressing a finger on the desired area of the picture.
The shooting application has a much smaller number of functions than later models, so it will be difficult to get confused in it: the shutter button displays the mode you are in now, below it you can switch between the modes - photo or video. At the top there is an icon of the image gallery, and on the left is the settings panel.
The main camera can shoot video in HD quality (720 pixels and 30 frames per second).
Interface
Nokia N9 is a unique smartphone, 1 out of 3 existing. And all because the little-known MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan operating system is installed on it - the result of a collaboration between Nokia and Intel. It is noteworthy in that it relates to an open source OS and uses only its own applications.
But in work, it is simple and effective.
There are three ways to unlock your smartphone:
- click on the corresponding button on the right end;
- briefly touch the display twice;
- slide your finger in the middle of the screen saver (an interesting feature, if you hold it a little higher or lower, two popular applications open - an Internet browser or a camera).
The main screen (desktop) contains a long list of all applications installed from the manufacturer, or downloaded from the Ovi store. The color of system utilities changes with the change of theme.
If you swipe to the right, the second desktop opens - the multitask panel. It simultaneously displays 4 or 9 (depending on which size to choose) open, or recently closed applications.
But to the left of the main screen is the notification screen - about missed calls, unread SMS, Facebook and Twitter updates.
Interesting detail
Today we are already used to the fact that the latest models of Nokia installed Windows. In truth, soon this name will go into oblivion, finally giving way to Microsoft Lumia. But there was a time when the word “windophone” was not synonymous with smartphones of the Finnish brand. Many users took a chance and successfully installed Android on their Nokia N9. After all, the MeeGo OS was not pleased with the number of applications. And the “Nokia N9” “characteristic” more than allowed such actions. Of course, the installation did not always go smoothly and required certain knowledge and skills from the user. But after that, it became possible to fully enjoy the quality of the physical components of the smartphone along with the popular and convenient OS.
Money issue
How much will the Nokia N9 cost? The price at the start of sales was around 24 thousand rubles. But 4 years have passed since then, and many more modern models have appeared on the market. Therefore, the price of Nokia N9 has dropped very much - to 9-10 thousand rubles. But keep in mind that the smartphone has long been discontinued, so only a few stores can offer it. For an even more modest amount, you can purchase a used Nokia N9.
Where was the smartphone manufactured?
Today, even the iPhone is made in the Middle Kingdom, but the hero of our review was produced in Finland. But, like many popular and interesting models, copies soon appeared on it. The Chinese Nokia N9 looks similar, but very different from the original inside, for example:
- the screen size is smaller, as well as its resolution - 3.5 inches and 320 by 480 pixels, respectively;
- the main camera is only 2 megapixels;
- There is a slot for microSD-cards up to 16 GB, etc.
The list of differences between the declared characteristics and the original can be continued for a long time, but in any case, the similarity with it remains only external.
Reviews
Buyers liked the interesting design of the model and the quality of the materials. The smartphone quickly copes with any tasks, besides loading regular sites. But watching videos, games (popular at the time of release) did not slow him down at all.
The camera also pleased buyers - it is easy to take bright, beautiful pictures with it. But the lack of a special shutter button on the contrary upset users.
The lack of expandability is also not good.
But the main minus of the model is a limited number of applications. Therefore, for the average user, it is not suitable.
To summarize
Nokia N9 is an interesting smartphone with a bit of a sad history. Initially, it was designed for experienced users, one might even say, for software developers who would like the opportunity to customize it for themselves and make changes to a new promising operating system.
But by the time it was released, it became clear that the MeeGo OS would not be universally used on Nokia smartphones. For expensive models, cooperation has already been signed regarding the installation of Windows Phone, and for budget models - Symbian Anna. The N9, N900 and N950 smartphones are the only ones that support the MeeGo OS. The project itself has not yet received significant development.
Therefore, the smartphone did not receive wide popularity and was not released for long, although it became an interesting page for the development of the Nokia brand and operating systems for mobile devices in general.