The Nokia N8 hasn’t even hit the masses yet and the N9 is already getting fondled and judged out in the wild. While its predecessor, the Nokia N8 almost certainly bound for AT&T, has had mixed reviews regarding its hardware, the N9 was called “near perfect” by one Russian journalist.
The journalist also said that the software wasn’t so great, but that is to be expected. The device hasn’t even been made official yet, so any software it’s running is a far cry from final.
If the hardware is as good as the journalist claims, it could be a serious contender in the mobile space if it packs MeeGo in its final form under Peter Skillman’s watch. And it is just what Nokia needs at this point in order to stay relevant with the rise of iOS and Android.
As far as the N8, although we’ve yet to give it a thorough review, the hour or two that I spent playing with it left me a bit underwhelmed. I was genuinely excited for the device, and while the hardware is solid (though a bit plasticky feeling and very light weight), Symbian^3 is just not where I hoped it would be. Astonishing camera aside, I’m going to take a pass on the N8 for now and set my sights for the N9.
[Update]
Because some of our readers are thoroughly confused, allow me to clarify the materials issue here. The N8 is what I am referring to when I said the smartphone has that “plasticky feeling,” not the N9. Yes, I am well aware that the Nokia N8 is made of aluminum, but it feels like plastic in my hand and it was surprisingly light weight.
[Via: Nokia HD Blog]