The arrival of the Nokia N9 means that the company is targeting the higher end of the smartphone market in 2011. Nokia Symbian phones have always proven to be reliable devices, but they have often lacked a bit compared to HTC and Apple. Seeing as this model has its sights firmly set on the premium end of the market, it seems only fair that we compare it to one of the best phones available in the form of the HTC Sensation. So can Nokia make a serious impression in this sector or does the N9 fall short here?
It is very difficult to choose any current model that can compete with the N9 thanks to the really modern design of the phone. Granted, the Sensation is one of the best looking phones available today, but the N9 really is in a league of its own. The N9 offers a combination of clinically straight edges with a curved screen that gives the phone an almost futuristic look and feel, especially the lack of physical buttons. The HTC Sensation is more traditional in looks, but it’s still an attractive device. It takes a similar shape to other models of the brand, but adds some elements that freshen up the overall look, such as a tricolor rear plate. This undoubtedly gives the phone a premium look and feel that blends perfectly with the high-end specs that the model offers.
If you put Apple’s Retina display aside, HTC Sensation offers the best screen currently available. A number of factors contribute to this, including the large size but suitably matched high resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. This results in the screen offering an extremely high pixel density rating of 256 per square inch, which in turn means users can enjoy vivid images on all types of material. Unfortunately, the Nokia N9 can’t quite keep up and offers 238, which in itself is still great quality. What Nokia does offer, however, is an AMOLED screen that helps produce a wonderfully sharp picture along with viewing angles that the Sensation’s S-LCD screen would find hard to beat.
When it comes to using your phone on a day-to-day basis, you won’t be disappointed with what HTC Sensation has to offer. A chipset of the highest quality is included and it incorporates a powerful 1.2Ghz dual core processor. This puts the device in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S in terms of performance. Fortunately for Nokia, they are not far behind in this area and also offer a high-quality processor. Even though it only supports a single core chip, it offers excellent performance speeds thanks to its 1Ghz ARM processor.
Nokia’s latest attempts are really brave and the N9 will appeal to many consumers who base their purchase decision on looks. However, when it comes to performance, they still fall a bit short of what HTC offers in the Sensation phone.