Well, as much as I like the N9, I can't help but think that your above statement is a bit too N9-biased.

1. Optimus Black has a hot-swappable MicroSD card slot. With a 64GB MicroSD, it'll beat the N9 64GB by 2GB. =P (also allows you to carry more than one microsd card. I don't do that regularly but I'm sure some will be doing this. Also like the idea that I can easily take it out and use it on my next phone or camera etc when it's time to sell it / bin it)

2. Has a 2MP front facing camera. N9 has a VGA camera at front. (according to the N9 camera dev at Nokia)

3. Has a brighter display. (should also have crisper looking small texts)

4. Has a user replaceable battery. (to some, this may be a HUGE difference)

5. Uses a normal sized SIM card. This is actually my biggest annoyance with the N9 (and soon the Lumia 800 etc) as I have multiple SIM cards and multiple phones. (for reviews, work, personal etc etc) I really hope all future phones from every manufacturer soon use a Micro SIM so that we don't have to worry about this. (IMO, Micro SIM makes sense considering it's smaller while doing the same job)

Hmm. I have no idea why I am even writing this up as I've never owned an Optimas Black nor care for one.

Anyways, N9 doesn't need ICS IMO. I doubt we'll get a perfectly working one anyways. Heck, even the N900 doesn't have one yet after so long. I much prefer the Swipe UI and its awesome OS. But I wish the hardware was better and had more apps that I use regularly on Android/WP7/iOS. (e.g. Official ebay app on WP7 is brilliant and is quite good on Android also. Much quicker and more effective than using a web browser that's for sure. Same goes for internet banking apps etc)

As a device, N9 is brilliant and OS is even better. It's just that Nokia or more like its decision makers up top don't want anything to do with it.