With just the recent release of the Nokia N8, there is already a lot of buzz about the forthcoming N9. Problem is, all information is from leaks and rumors as there has been no official announcement from Nokia. That probably is their biggest difference since the N8 is available at stores right now while there is no telling when would be the exact release of the N9. So if you can’t wait, the N8 is your only option right now.

With all the information available so far, the N9 is expected to be a side-slider with a full QWERTY keyboard. The N8 does not have a hardware keyboard, relying instead on an on-screen keyboard for typing messages. The screen of the N9 is expected to be at 4 inches, much bigger than the 3.5 inch screen of the N8. To match the increase in size, the resolution of the N9 screen has also gone up from the 360×640 of the N8 to 480×800. The amount of internal memory has also been increased four folds to 64GB while still maintaining the option to add a microSD card of up to 32GB capacity.

The biggest departure of the N9 from the N8, or any other Nokia smartphone, is the move from Symbian to MeeGo. MeeGo is a relative unknown in the smartphone market but it somehow follows in the footprints of Android. What this basically means is, the N9 would not be able to tap into the list of Symbian apps and it is still very much in question in terms of performance and services. The N8 uses the newer Symbian^3 operating system that is far better than the S60 OS on other Nokia phones.

Lastly, the N9 does not inherit the excellent imaging system from the N8. Instead of the 12 megapixel sensor of the N8, Nokia decided to go with a more conservative 5 megapixel sensor. Autofocus is still expected to be in the N9 so expect lower quality images compared to the N8 but better than most smartphones can produce.

Since there has been no official announcement, all the specs stated here are subject to change and may no longer remain true once Nokia decides to finally unveil the N9.

Summary:

1. The N8 is already out in the market while the N9 is expected to in 2011
2. The N8 doesn’t have a QWERTY keyboard but the N9 does
3. The N9 has a bigger screen than the N8
4. The N9 has more internal memory than the N8
5. The N9 uses MeeGo while the N8 uses Symbian^3
6. The N8 camera is better than the N9 camera