Nokia N9 launches with no buttons, but plenty of MeeGo swiping


Nokia has announced the next flagship smartphone in its venerated N-series line, the N9. The N9 features an all-new design and interface that eschews the button-heavy designs of past Nokia devices. Nokia is calling the design of the N9 an "all-screen" affair, and that description seems to be quite accurate. The slab-style phone is dominated by a 3.9-inch, AMOLED(INFO) display with Nokia's ClearBlack technology that offers FWVGA (480x854 pixel) resolution. The body of the phone itself is a single piece of polycarbonate, not the usual metal materials that we are used to seeing with Nokia's N-Series of phones. Nokia says that the body of the phone flows seamlessly into the slightly curved display. There is a volume rocker and shortcut key on the right-hand side of the phone and a power/unlock key on top, but other than that, there don't appear to be any buttons on the N9, not even a camera shutter key, which is a shocking departure for Nokia.

The rear of the N9 sports an 8 megapixel, autofocus camera that's complete with a Carl Zeiss lens and LED flash. It can record HD video at 720p (1280 x 720 pixel) resolution and 30 frames per second. The camera has a wide-aperture (f2.2) lens that Nokia claims will provide better shots in low-light conditions. There is also a front-facing camera for video calling.

The Nokia N9 really looks great, with striking industrial design and what appears to be a beautiful and elegant UI. The only question to remain is, what will happen to it (and its MeeGo operating system) when Nokia launches its Windows Phone powered smartphones, due by the end of this year? With as much R&D as the N9 has obviously had, why didn't Nokia just pursue this MeeGo platform instead of switching to Windows Phone in the near future? Oh, and will it have a competitive assortment of apps available to users? We will have to wait and see. The Nokia N9 is due to hit stores "later this year", and will arrive in three colors: black, cyan, and magenta. In the meantime, take a look at a couple of videos Nokia has put together highlighting the N9 and its new interface.

Nokia N9 - The Big Introduction - Swipe with Nokia's Beautiful New Smartphone:



Nokia N9 Design Story:

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