To recover its lost ground in the smartphone market, Nokia has launched the much awaited MeeGo powered Nokia N9. Despite its impressive features, it is doubted whether the new Nokia phone would make a dent in the smartphone market.

Absence of a well-developed apps market is a major drawback of a smartphone running on the MeeGo operating system. Developers are less likely to develop apps for an operating system that probably will be abandoned after the Finnish cell phone major starts producing Windows powered smartphones to stay afloat in a market dominated by Android, BlackBerry and Apple phones. Nonetheless, Nokia N9 might target Asian markets where a large number of customers are indifferent to cell phone apps.

Nokia N9 Features

Operating system

Nokia N9 is the first smartphone to run on the MeeGo platform. And if you are unaware of the features of this new operating system, then here’s a brief introduction to MeeGo. Just like Google’s Android, MeeGo is also an open source mobile operating system. It was first unveiled last year at the Mobile World Congress. The operating system was developed by amalgamating Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin operating systems. The Linux-based software supports advanced connectivity, multimedia, computing and communication features.

Processor

Powered by a 1GHz processor and with 1024MB RAM, Nokia N9 is an extremely powerful multitasking mobile phone.

Design

This is the first pure full touchscreen phone from Nokia. This is perhaps the only smartphone that is devoid of physical buttons. The different features and functions of the device could be activated with simple touch gestures. Double tapping the display unlocks the full touchscreen smartphone. The 116mm long, 61mm wide and 12mm thin smartphone handset is available in magenta, black and cyan colors. The body of the handset is crafted out of superior polycarbonate material.

Display

Nokia N9 boasts of one of the finest displays in the smartphone segment. The 3.9-inch AMOLED display is made out of tough Gorilla glass. The unique laminated display uplifts the visual experience of users. The icons seem like floating on the screen. The 854×480-pixel resolution display supports more than 16million colors. The standard display features such as accelerometer, ambient light sensor and proximity sensor are embedded in the touchscreen. Nokia N9 offers outstanding multitasking experience with three home views focusing on common activities of smartphone users.

One home panel focuses on social networking, accumulating notifications for calls, feeds, calendar events and others. There is another home panel from where you can access the apps you have used recently. The third home panel entails shortcuts for launching apps and organizing apps.

Camera

Nokia has integrated a powerful 8MP camera in the smartphone. It is one of the finest cameras in the smartphone segment, which might even give your standard digital camera a tough competition. It promises outstanding image quality with the aid of the integrated Carl Zeiss optics. It also boasts of super wide 28mm lens, auto focus and dual LED flash. You can even shoot 720p HD videos with the Nokia N9 camera. The photos and videos captured with the smartphone camera could be uploaded to social networking sites or shared with friends through emails and MMS directly from the smartphone handset. It also flaunts a lower resolution front-facing camera for video conferencing.

Entertainment

Standard entertainment features are embedded in the smartphone handset. The Dolby Digital Plus technology delivers impressive stereo quality sound. This is the first mobile phone to feature Dolby Headphone, which generates studio quality surround sound even on headphones. Nokia N9 users could download apps from the Ovi Store. Social networking apps Facebook and Twitter are preloaded in the smartphone. With the Wi-Fi hotspot app users can share the 3G connection of the Nokia smartphone with multiple devices. Skype and Vimeo for downloading videos are present on the device. Gaming enthusiasts could enjoy Angry Bird Magic on the smartphone. You can check the latest weather updates through AccuWeather.

Browsing

The browsing experience of users is enriched with a browser built on the Webkit 2 platform. Just like your PC browser, the Nokia N9 browser also stores browsing history and favorites. Your favorite websites are represented in the form of visual icons, which would help you to access these sites instantly simply by touching the visual thumbnails. The browser supports wide HTML5 format for streaming rich web contents.

Navigation

Nokia N9 could function as a navigation device. The latest Nokia Maps are preloaded in the smartphone. The free maps offer voice-guided turn-by-turn walking and driving navigation. The built-in Drive app converts the smartphone into an in-car navigation device. The navigation app features public transport routes in eighty-five cities. This will help travelers to find the right buses and trains that would take them to their destination. With the preloaded Nokia Maps, you can locate shops, cafes and other important public places in your neighborhood.

Connectivity

Nokia N9 sports the usual connectivity features such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, high-speed USB 2.0 port and 3G. It could be paired with NFC certified devices. You can synchronize photos, videos and other contents between your Nokia N9 handset and other NFC enabled devices wirelessly.

Storage

The new Nokia smartphone will be shipped with huge onboard storage capacity. Nokia will launch two versions of N9, one with 16GB memory and another with 64GB onboard storage space. For extra storage, Nokia N9 users can opt for external memory expansion via microSD card.

Battery power

The battery of the Nokia smartphone could power up to 11 hours of talk time and up to 15.8 hours of standby time. It has enough juice to support 50 hours of continuous music.

Should you buy Nokia N9?

Yes, you can buy Nokia N9 if you are desperate to experience the features of the MeeGo operating system. However, if you are someone who loves stashing your smartphones with apps, the new Nokia phone will definitely disappoint you. Despite the presence of high-end hardware, including 1024MB RAM, something you would not find in most smartphones, the features of this full touchscreen smartphone closely resembles those of the high-end Android phones.