It is glistening, smooth, slightly curved and four inches long. What is more is that it has been “optimized for one-hand use.” And yet, it is not what you might be thinking right up until this point. I am talking about Nokia’s new smartphone N9.
Nokia’s N9
The N9 is supposed to represent a rejuvenated Nokia, once a byword in mobile phone design aesthetics that became a disheveled, pajama-clad recluse for a while. The Finnish company’s head of design Marko Ahtisaari, whose team is responsible for the N9, told The New York Times’ Kevin J. O’Brien, “It’s optimized for one-hand use.” That’s the line that caught my attention and prompted me to write a suggestive opening to this post.
With that impulse out of the way, I can say that strictly going by the Times report and Nokia’s own promotional videos on their website the N9 looks promising enough to free the company from mediocrity. I am not much of a mobile phone user other than answering a few phone calls but I am a sucker for gadget and app design aesthetics. I am also sometimes susceptible to visually powerful stimuli to the exclusion of accurate judgment. The N9 promotional material has all the elements for someone like me.
Although Nokia still enjoys about 28 % share of the world smartphone market behind Android’s 36 % but ahead of Apple iPhone’s nearly 17 %, it has conveyed a sense of defeatism lately. I do not know whether the N9 will help Nokia regain some of its edge but it seems to create a new source of excitement which is distinctly different from the iPhone. Unlike the iPhone, which demands unquestioning faith and commitment, the N9 has the promise of promiscuity. (The last line is gratuitous but had to be purged from my brain.)
