Smartphone comparison: Nokia N9 vs. Apple iPhone 4S

Which is the better phone: Nokia's N9 or Apple's iPhone 4S?
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Nokia has launched its N9 smartphone in Australia, the first and likely the last Nokia phone to run the MeeGo operating system. Although the Nokia N9 is slick and easy to use, the timing of its launch sets it up to compete directly with the Apple iPhone 4S.

• Apple iPhone 4S review
• Nokia N9 review

The Nokia N9 and the Apple iPhone 4S smartphones are similarly priced and are available through all three Australian carriers, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. So, how do they compare?

Apple iPhone 4S vs. Nokia N9: Specifications

Feature Apple iPhone 4S Nokia N9 Verdict
Operating system Apple iOS 5 MeeGo (Harmattan) Apple iPhone 4S
Display size 3.5in 3.9in Nokia N9
Display technology Capacitive LED-backlit IPS Capacitive AMOLED Draw
Display resolution 640x960 480x854 Apple iPhone 4S
Pixel density 330 ppi 251 ppi Apple iPhone 4S
Multitouch Yes Yes Draw
Front camera VGA VGA Draw
Rear camera 8 megapixels w/single-LED flash 8 megapixels w/dual-LED flash Draw
Camera features Autofocus, touch focus, geotagging, face detection, video stabilisation Autofocus, touch focus, geotagging, face detection, Carl Zeiss optics Draw
Video recording 1080p HD @ 30fps 720p HD @ 30fps Apple iPhone 4S
FM radio No No Draw
GPS Yes Yes (with free turn-by-turn navigation) Nokia N9
Internal memory 16GB, 32GB or 64GB 16GB or 64 GB Draw
Expandable memory None None Draw
Dimensions 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm 116.5 x 61.2 x 12.1 mm Apple iPhone 4S
Weight 140g 135g Nokia N9
Application Store Apple App Store Nokia Store Apple iPhone 4S
Processor Apple A5 dual-core (800MHz) ARM Cortex A8 single-core (1GHz) Apple iPhone 4S
RAM 512MB 1GB Nokia N9
Australian 3G networks HSDPA 850/900/2100 HSDPA 850/900/2100 Draw
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n 802.11a/b/g/n Draw
Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP 2.1 with A2DP Draw
NFC (Near Field Communication) No Yes Nokia N9
HDMI-out No (Yes with Apple Digital AV adapter) No Apple iPhone 4S
Quoted battery life Up to 8 hrs Up to 7 hrs Apple iPhone 4S
Battery capacity 1420 mAh 1450 mAh Nokia N9
Adobe Flash support No No Draw
Australian carriers Telstra, Optus, Vodafone Telstra, Optus, Vodafone Draw

Nokia N9 vs. Apple iPhone 4S: Design

The N9 is the best looking and slickest smartphone Nokia has released in a number of years. It's a candybar handset constructed from solid polymer, the same material often found in ice hockey helmets. The company says the phone's polycarbonate casing is coloured all the way through in the manufacturing process, so scratches, dents or marks from everyday use will not show up.

The N9 has no keypad or home button on the front so it’s the first full-touch smartphone Nokia has ever released. The only physical controls are on the right side in the form of volume buttons and a lock key. The N9's design is attractive, comfortable to hold and different.

The Apple iPhone 4S on the other hand retains an identical design to the iPhone 4. It's constructed largely from aluminium and glass, is just 9.3mm thick and has an industrial look and feel with distinctive, sharp edges. The iPhone 4S also retains the iPhone 4's glass back that does look slick but attracts plenty of fingerprints. The iPhone 4S can be a little uncomfortable to hold without a case, but there is no doubting its build quality and premium feel.

Next page: Display, software, camera and more

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More about: Adobe, Apple, Cortex, DMA, Facebook, Galaxy, Google, IPS, MeeGo, NFC, Nokia, Optus, Skype, Speed, Telstra, Vodafone
References show all

Comments

1

jakub

Thu 27/10/2011 - 17:38

Very funny iPhone 4s review.. Enjoy it!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsVEbRt6g94

2

Nseries

Sun 30/10/2011 - 09:27

the Meego OS actually beats the iOS since it supports Android so it can download Android Apps AND Nokia Apps. Android currently has more apps than the App store does. A combination of Nokia Apps and Android Apps crushes the App Store hands down. Meego is an unrestricted OS unlike the iOS and Android (which can get computer viruses). It is also much easier to use and it has much more user-friendly. So the Nokia N9 actually beats the iPhone. This is a biased review.

3

zau

Mon 31/10/2011 - 22:28

oh really ! if it really support Android and symbian, i'll go for N9.

4

jason brown

Sun 20/11/2011 - 16:37

pentaband not quadband. cdma is useless.

5

Cheryl

Mon 21/11/2011 - 15:47

Can anyone please tell me which one will work best on the Optus network? I'm in an area which seems to be better served by them as far as signal goes. Thanks.

6

Alex Shand

Tue 22/11/2011 - 20:54

So which one is better?

7

Michael

Sun 27/11/2011 - 01:57

Uhhh... the N9 has flash doesn't it? I just watched a video and it was running flash. Besides I've always had Nokia and it has always supported adobe flash player.

The iOS can only play music in the background and doesn't support multi-tasking as where the MeeGo can run--from what I've seen--17 apps at once!

I like it! N9 is more for the computer geeks like myself. It's running off a Linux platform.. so it's open to customizing. But Nokia dropped this MeeGo system so we won't be seeing it anymore by 2012. Meltemi(code name) by Nokia will be the next Linux-based platform to replace the old Symbian system. Symbian is great. It's too bad they're gutting the whole Nokia borne systems. I blame this silly smartphone market. What's next?

8

andrey_333

Sat 10/12/2011 - 05:06

The nokia n 9 has bluetooth that works with other phones, the 4s can only send files to another iphone.

9

fredf

Wed 14/12/2011 - 15:44

Very unprofessional review

10

Wade

Mon 19/12/2011 - 10:24

This review is a load of crap, you have compared nothing. All you have done is rate what is better out of the two phones and it is not even correct. There are more variables to be discussed. Thanks for wasting my time you stupid douchebags.

11

KANNAN.V.S

Wed 28/12/2011 - 07:19

NOKIA N9 IS AWSOME BUT APPLE 4S ITS A VARIETY DUE TO DE BRAND BOTH R GOOD COMPARING TO EACH OTHER.....

12

kian

Thu 29/12/2011 - 06:14

just look up how results are different !!!!
which one is valid?
http://www.techworld.com.au/article/399560/nokia_n9_vs_iphone_4/

13

geppy

Fri 13/01/2012 - 03:07

very funny review: n9 is better for his 3,9" against 3,5... but iphone is better too, cos is smaller... do u want more screen in a smaller phone??? Less vodka, and more water in ur life reviewer..

14

kim

Sat 28/01/2012 - 03:34

u can vist:if u have any quries..
ww.365mobileclub.com/

15

Laine

Tue 06/03/2012 - 06:53

I had an iphone then switch to the N9 how disappointed I am. me personally would go back to the Iphine.......

16

Leo

Wed 28/03/2012 - 06:49

Personally, I have a N9, the OS is very friendly user, the camera is great, I´m not a professional photographer, so is suffice for me. Overall, I´m happy with what I got, the things that I like to be improve will be the battery life and the apps store.

17

Jeff

Wed 04/04/2012 - 01:25

This review's incorrect in so many ways that I don't know where to begin.
It'll be for nought anyway, & I'm tired so I won't, suffice to say...
Had there been far more accuracy, the N9 may well have nudged ahead.
Only for technically competant users though...
For the average clueless user, the iPhone's still prolly the better buy.

18

pon

Fri 04/05/2012 - 10:16

poorly investigated review.
it may not have HDMI but you can conect your tv with the Nokia A/V cable no problem id rather have Gorilla Glass which alows me to brig it out in any situation

update:
The swipe Keyboard (its just sweeet)
N9 has Flashplayer and firefox browser
Camera has face recognition
multi burst when taking pictures
Video alows to turn the flash on for taking videos at night
video calls with gTalk
fully cusomizable ( fonts and icon Size)

19

Sean

Wed 09/05/2012 - 16:00

Iphone all the way. I will never do business with Nokia again. I had the Nokia N900 and it was crap. When I went to get customer service, it was really bad. Apple customer service is excellent. I pray that Nokia goes down the tubes

20

niesa

Sun 13/05/2012 - 03:42

how can I download android apps?

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