Thanks, misterc for the link to check the IMEI. Both of the N9s checked out. Also, your point about the two flash LEDs being "fairly close to the surface" is right on. My picture didn't show the LEDs clearly, but the one on the right was clearer, more yellow in color, and yes, seems closer to the surface than the unit on the left.

Which leads me to Xilix's reply:

"..my 16GB looks like the left one, blue-ish shine in the lens, and hardly visible flashleds.
edit: cat /proc/cpuinfo tells me its a RM696, revision 1603.
hope it helps ..."

yes, confirming that the one on the left in the picture has a blue-ish tint over the lens (which is almost identical to my Nokia E90's Carl Zeiss lens). The flash leds on the unit on the left does seem to be set deeper and whiter in color.(as for the RM696 revision 1603 bit, I'm going to need to study up on how to get that..do you use netview ?)

Thanks everyone for your input! I hope to get time to do more comparisons between the two lens. It does sound like both units are legit though, so that's comforting.