Just my 2 cents

It depends on what kind of development that OP is looking for. Custom ROM/kernel, tweaks and mods? Yes, it's development (or improvement? or modification? Personally I'm confused). Android has lots and lots and huge group for that.

NITDroid on N9, IcedRobot that run android apps on N9. I see these are definitely development for N9 as these can give me new user experience (of course to be fair I'm not sure if the latter one will come to reality or not). If I can enjoy the sweet from both of the OS then it's bingo. If not the original N9 with MeeGo already gives me great experience and I'm happy with that.

I totally agree with the points above. That's why Android needs more superior hardware to make it fast. I'm not saying Android is not good but it seems the dalvik or emulation limits itself.

I'm conservative for SGS with ICS better than N9 as I flashed the custom ICS ROM for my SGS but didn't find it really superior than N9. Well, it's not apple to apple comparison and it's all personal preference.

After all it's a choice of which device would give you the most fun when you have it.

ts compare sgs2 vs N9, and both is 2011's phone, its fair, now we all know nokia doesnt has monster spec at their phone untill now, but they sell it too way high, how about upgrading RAM of n900? it is possible?

Galaxy S III specs


- Codename: GT-I9300
- Size: 131,3 x 63,7 x 8 mm
- Weight 125 grams
- 4.8” Super Amoled HD (313 pixels a inch.) (resolution 720 x 1280)
- 12 megapixel camera with LED
- 1.3 megapixel front camera
- 1.5 GHZ quad-core processor.
- Bluetooth 4.0
- NFC
- Wi-Fi a/b/g/n
- MicroUSB 2.0
- HDMI
- Battery 1750 mAh
- 32GB intern

It will take years (literally) before others gets to this level throughout. The bad side: it runs Android, and dull and uninspiring design but I mean, the SGSIII really is something spec wise, and it's a real upgrade from SGSII, so it will sell like hot cakes and further assure Android dominance.

^Dude that "leak" is a fake. Besides they've simply copied a post I did a while back and copied a mockup from another source. Just wait for the actual device before comparing it to an existing one.


I know what you mean by its fair comparing them from the same year, but Nokia is actually about 2 years behind Apple and Samsung in the smartphone race. The only hope they have are their current investments and the exclusive "Windows 8-ARM tablets" by Nokia and the exclusive "Windows Phone 8" by Nokia.

You cannot compare the N9's Maemo6 Harmattan OS (it isn't MeeGo!!!) to the likes of Android 4.0 or even 2.3, Google has a functioning/tolerable OS tied to a great ecosystem. Its just not fair for Nokia, which is why they actually jumped ship to Microsoft.

And the hardware specs only match those of 2010 (we are in 2012!!)

No.

I think you are very mistaken, let's find out how.


1. Camera: The SGS2's camera is actually better than that of the N9's and it also allows full 8Mp quality shots in its full screen ratio, whereas the N9 offers only 7Mp shots in full screen ratio and 8Mp only in the 4:3 ratio.

SGS2's camera is also sharper in the pictures that it takes, especially when you compare full screen with full screen. Furthermore, if you take a picture on both devices and zoom in to the maximum, you will see the S2 retains sharpness whereas the N9 becomes grainy/noisey.

So in actual fact the SGS2 has a much better camera than the N9, but do not take my word for it, test if for yourself or see comparison videos of this widely available online.



2. Display Now I do not see how this is even a possible comparison, put an N9 next to an S2 and the display is so obviously superior in the S2. But let's not go for user perception, I will outline the facts once again.

SGS2 Super AMOLED Plus display, known to be the best display at its time of release, surpassed only by the Super AMOLED Plus HD display.

N9, even though launched many months after the S2, comes with an outdated OLED display.

The display in the S2 is again far far superior technology.

Now granted the N9 has a higher PPI (251) vs the S2 (218), but that is not because it has a better display, the display technology used in the S2 is much more superior to that of the N9, but being a bigger display (4.3) vs the N9 (3.9) it has a lower PPI as pixels are spread over a larger screen size. I have yet to see where this makes a significant difference, but yes the N9 does have better PPI, not a better display.


3. Radio: I am not sure what radios you are referring to that are better in the N9 than the S2. So far in most components the S2 radios are better and in other cases they are the same, there is not one radio in the N9 which is better than the S2, that I am aware of.

S2 has HSDPA+ (21.1 Mbps) vs the N9 HSDPA (14.4 Mbps).

S2 has better Bluetooth radio (3.0) vs the N9 (2.3).

The wifi radio in both are the same.

Cell reception on the S2 is crystal clear and loud enough in outside use. I have never had any issues with voicecalls or quality of these calls.

The N9 also has clear reception but the calls themselves are not loud enough and it becomes very difficult to hear outside.

I am not going to list each radio compononent, you can google this for yourself but the bottom line is, the radios in the S2 are actually better than the N9 and in other cases, the same, but there is not even one in the N9 that is better.


4. Battery: Now battery is a very subjective matter, it comes down to personal usage and personal perception. So I will try to again outline the facts and avoid personal interpretation as this varies from one user to the next.

Looking at the S2 battery (1650 mAh) vs the N9 (1450 mAh) this pretty much tells you that the S2 battery is better, as it has a much bigger capacity. Even if it was 1451 mAh, it would still be better. More is more, no arguements.

Now let's take a look at how these batteries are used.

Granted the N9 has a smaller display which means in theory it does not require as much power consumption for the display. However it also has a single core processor which means it is not as battery efficient and can drain battery power fast at times where the clock is near maxed, which is easily seen when the N9 hangs and lags in many situations.

The S2 has a much bigger display so you would think the N9 has the battery efficiency advantage in this case, however the Super AMOLED Plus displays are known for the power efficiency vs older displays even larger ones are much more efficient than smaller older displays. This technology has been commended all over and you can again find this out for yourself.

The S2 also has dual 1.2Ghz A9 processor which even today is one of the best chips released (soon enough we will see better ones but the Exynos 5250 A15 will reclaim the crown once more). And again, a proven fact is that a dual core faster processor is more efficient on power because the stress of the OS and tasks is spread across multiple, more efficient cores. This means the OS never hangs, or lags, the SGS2 itself has never lagged for me and the cores have never needed to reach maximum clock speed.

They are much more efficient with the battery and require much less power consumption than the CPU in the N9.

This coupled with the better/more efficient display means not only does the SGS2 have a better battery (200mAh extra makes a huge difference, check the N900 battery thread) but how this juice is used is much more power efficient than the N9 allowing less battery draining in the S2.

Currently on stock firmware, I can use my S2 for 4 hours of music playback per day (to and from work and at the gym), 1.5 to 2 hours of browsing per day (wifi or 3g), at least 30-45 minutes of voice calls per day and over 200 text messages per day being sent, after all of this I will only drain 50% of the battery by the end of the entire day (full 24 hours) including standby/idle time.

So, I can repeat this usage twice, for a full 2 days (48 hours) on one single charge before needing to charge again, at this time I will still have a few % left, or be right at the end of the battery charge, either way it lasts 48 hours at least before needing a fully charge done and that is perfect in my eyes.

The most I have got is 2 days and 12 hours with the above usage however, to be fair, the last 12 hours were mostly standby time, with maybe 20 mins of wifi/3g browsing and probably an hour of music playback.

I have attempted to test the same usage with the N9 to make an actual comparison and have so far been unsuccessful.


Conclusion: So the hardware superiority of the S2 over the N9 that I outlined in my orignal post, is an actual fact.

Furthermore, the OP asked what phone would be better suited from a developement point of view, as the OP stated that custom kernels, ROMs, Mods, Tweaks, UI enhancements etc. greatly appealed to them.

So in my post I was actually outlining most of the hardware advantages that the S2 has over the N9 which would be directly beneficial from a developement perspective.

These specs are actually fake, along with all other SGS3 specs, designs, pictures etc.

Samsung have made it very clear that due to the worry of competition copying them, they will only announce the SGS3 when its release is imminnent.

I don't blame them for this, as when Apple was the market leader, it did the same with its iPhones, announce and then release them straight away. Until then 100s of fake specs and designs would circulate the internet to create drama, demand and discussion, some were probably secretly released by Apple themselves for promotional reasons.

I'm sure Samsung is doing the same as they now have the smartphone crown and who can blame them.

However I do think the specs you have outlined are not too far off from the actual release we will see, who knows the actual specs may be even better (or worse). Only time will tell

Sorry, I am not trying to be disrespectful, but I honestly do not understand your logic here at all.

Why can you not compare Meego Harmattan with Android 4.0.

At the end of the day if N9 is the best that Nokia offer for Maemo/Meego users than thats that. It is perfectly fair to compare this to the latest versions of Android, iOS etc.

Especially when Android 4.0 and iOS 5 were both released last year around the months of October/November, similar time to the release of Meggo Harmattan.

To say it is not fair on Nokia is actually ridiculous, Nokia has been in the smartphone business a lot longer than Google has, so if google can release a competitive OS to contend with iOS than so can Nokia.

It is actually not fair on us the Nokia consumers that Nokia, despite its many opportunities and loyal customers, refuses to release a competitive device for the mass market.

And I really mean for the mass market, not for a small developer community. However, I do not see any reason why they would need to choose.

Again take the S2 as an example, appeals to the mass market and also appeals to the developer community, in fact has the largest developer community over any other Android Device or any other smartphone, period.

Nokia could do the same and release one mega device, or even two variations like they did with the N9/N950, one should have been focused on the mass market and the other for development. Which I guess was the intention but they never followed through.

The fact is, smartphone technology both in terms of hardware and software is so rapidly changing that the consumer demand for improvements seems insatiable. Any real smartphone manufacturer that desires to actually survive in this business needs to adapt to these changes and regularly release devices to suit them, even if they are not the best, they should at least be considered by the mass market as suitable alternatives.

Take Sony for example, they have recently acquired Ericcson and rebranded the phone to be a complete Sony device, to bring it up to the levels of other devices released by Sony. Now compare the new Sony Xperia S, P U and Ion with the Sony Ericcson Xperia range released last year. You will notice a huge difference in build quality, hardware and software.

Furthermore, they didn't just make the typical improvements, they added features that are unique to their own company. For example Playstation Certified Games, PS Store and PS Suite are huge additions to the new Sony Smartphones and the fact that all future Sony phones will contain these features is a welcome change. They have also incorporated the entire Sony Entertain Network and all of its features, including Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited to allow audio/video downloads and streams straight to your device. This will be a huge contender for the iTunes crown, and not just compete with smartphones.

Now I am not saying Sony will be the best smartphone manufacturer, only time will tell, but at least they have made significant announcements and actually realized those changes, instead of focusing just on heavily advertising their device (which they are also doing), they have actually improved it.

Now I don't want to go on about Sony, as this thread is not about them, but the point I am trying to make was Sony identified the flaws in their own company and took the necessary steps required to correct the problems, not make them worse. They have literally launched a full scale assault on Apple and Samsung and although they cannot yet compete realisitcally, if they follow through with this, they will be considered a serious contender soon enough.

I see no reason why Nokia could not do the same, I mean Nokia has some of the best desingers for its phones, it has some of the most unique and attractive devices, take the N9 for example. It also is known for its quality hardware. Why not stick with the trend and introduce the lastest hardware in the N9 or future phones. Why not improve the software to meet mass market demands as well as developer demands.

Samsung have done this, Sony are doing this, Nokia is still a giant, granted not as huge as before, but they have the resources to do this with ease.

Joining Windows/Microsoft was a huge mistake, but they have made that bed now, might as well sleep in it. If they have to be partnered with Windows thats fine, but at least force Windows to improve its OS that is aimed at the mass market. I mean any idiot can see how ugly and basic the home screen looks compared to iOS and Android, and how cluttered it gets when you start adding more apps to it.

This is a huge design flaw that I noticed over a year ago, how could they have missed it.

It's wrong to say that we are not being fair on Nokia by comparing the N9 or the Lumia 800 with SGS2. By rights, the SGS2 is the older device. And it is not our fault that Nokia chooses to release its later devices with outdated hardware or refuses to support Meego Harmattan which could have been the making of Nokia, instead goes with Windows and literally allows MS to kill off the N9, its own device.

This is Nokia not being fair on us, not the other way around.

Furthermore, as much as we all hate it, the iOS software and iPhone have been hugely successful from late 2007/early 2008 till early 2011 until Samsung pretty much stole the show.

Yes iOS is hugely restrictive, mostly closed source and cannot do even the simplest of things without the need of a jailbreak, yet despite all of that its a market leader for so many years.

Why? Because its consumers are blind? Yes maybe so, but not just that, mostly because Apple actually identified a mass market demand and then supplied it. So yes it is such a restrictive OS but it is also very polished, very attractive and appealing, it satisfied the mass market demand so people bought it despite its huge restrictions.

It is ignorant to say that Apple sucks because it has been a mass market success. I do agree that Apple lacks real vision which is why it is so restrictive in the first place. However if Apple had realized this serious design flaw and adapted to this change, they would not have the heat that Android is bringing to them. Yet they, like Nokia, release the same or similar devices with minor OS/hardware improvements year after year.

This is the sole reason that Android exists today, because of the flaws in Apple's OS. Google identified these flaws and released its answer. Do you think it is any coincidence that Google decide to release a fully open OS that they want multiple smartphone manufacturers to use? They knew what Apples flaws were, its restrictive and closed source OS and the fact that it is only available on one highend smartphone.

So google release a fully open system available on a variety of different smarphones of all prices ranges and multiple manufacturers, gaining them entry into every aspect of the smartphone market.

These flaws with Apple were present for many years, and if Google a smartphone novice could identify them and release a real solution, then I do not see why Nokia could not have done the same, having been in the game a lot longer.

The fact is Nokia dropped the ball and its best today is the N9, so it is perfectly fair to compare the best that Nokia has to offer to the SGS2 as it is the best Samsung has to offer.

And as mentioned, in fact the SGS2 is the older device, the N9 is months newer. It is no fault of ours that Nokia chose to put outdated hardware in the newer N9. That's a mistake of Nokia and they chose to do so.

For example, if a new Samsung 50" TV launched in 2012 had the same specs/display quality etc. as a Sony 50" TV launched in 2010, and Sony's 2012 TV launches destroyed Samsung TVs in every hardware respect is that Sony's fault or Samsung's?

Would you then say it is unfair on Samsung to compare Sony's 2012 TVs with Samsungs ones? At the end of the day, technology in 2012 can only be compared to technology in 2012, that is a fair comparison.

It is unfair on Sony if you compare it's 2010 TV with Samsungs 2012 ones, just as it is unfair on Samsung to compare its 2010 phone with Nokia's 2011 one.

Both Samsung and Nokia released their flagship phones in 2011, Samsung was months older but had better hardware in every way.

The N9/Lumia 800 were launched months later and already had outdated hardware, this is Nokia's fault and there is nothing unfair about the comparison. That's the whole point of competition, they should have launched a competitive device because people will compare and buy the better specs/hardware that is a huge factor. So is design of the device and design of the OS.

I mean its the N9's design that made me buy it a few weeks ago even though I clearly prefer the SGS2. Why? Because SGS2 dropped the ball with its ugly design, N9 is infinitely better so I bought it.

Nokia is making these mistakes with its hardware and OS. They should release a Maemo6 or new version of Meego Harmattan and aim it for the mass market as well as developers. Or get on MS's *** to significantly improve the Windows OS if that's is their paltform of choice. And they definitely need to release competitive hardware in their devices. Beautiful design alone will not save them.

Furthermore, with the success of Android which were clear, they could have jumped to that platform (I personally disagree with them jumping ship) but at least with Android they could have reached profitability. To choose Windows OS when Android was clearly available made no sense at all.

But that is another topic in its own right. The point of my post is to clarify that it is absolutlely fair for us to compare the hardware in the N9 with the hardware in the SGS2, just because the N9's 2011 hardware matches that of the SGS1 launched in 2010 doesn't mean we're being unfair to Nokia by comparing it to the SGS2, it means Nokia is being unfair on us, its loyal customers by releasing hardware in late 2011 that is already outdated by phones that were released earlier in that same year.

They clearly have the information available to see what competitors are doing, they should at least aim to do the same or better, not worse, they have the resources still to do this. They should identify their flaws and improve upon them, not hope that they will go unnoticed if they keep spending money on advertisements.

Bottom line: SGS2 from a developers point of view has a much larger developement community, in fact the largest of all smartphones. It has custom ROMs, kernels, Mods, Tweaks, UI enhancements, audio enhancements, plus many other developement features available today, which are current and updated in time to coincide with todays demands and technology and its superior hardware is a huge bonus for developers, it largely lifts the hardware limitations and issues presented to developers on the N9.


The SGS2 is not an outdated phone with outdated software and outdated hardware specs, desptie being the much older device compared to the N9. (6 months older in smartphone life is actually a very long time for the competition to release something that is hardware wise at least on the same level, if not better)


So I think we're being very fair in the actual comparisons of hardware that we have made. Ultimately it comes down to personal preferances and is a matter of choice which phone you should use. Go with the one that appeals to you, whether its design that you like or something else.

I will not say the SGS2 is a better smartphone than the N9 for end users, at that varies from user to user.

But I will say it is a much better device for development purposes based on the requirements that the OP has mentioned. These facts speak for themselves

...Well so far the Galaxy S line has been the premium choice for Android handsets and Samsung wants to keep it that way.
One area in particular is the SoC, where the original Hummingbird rang circles around the competition (HTC, Motorola, Apple) and same with the SGS2.

Now HTC has re-shuffled its strategy into more "premium" direction with its One series. Its introduced the Qualcomm S4 core, the first with the new Krait architecture. And the performance is appaudable. It runs rings around the old Exynos 4 and the Tegra3, and is almost as fast as a Cortex A15.

So now if Samsung's Exynos 5 is simply a 1.5GHz Quadcore A9 (like Tegra3) it will be much inferior to HTC in the performance compartment (which is Samsung's homeground).

So either Samsung is really going to beef up the A9 in many ways for the SGSIII otherwise it will have to be early (and the first) with the Eagle architecture (A15).

Frankly I wish for the A15, but its somewhat unlikely.
I think we might instead see a 2GHz Quadcore A9 with very speedy components (RAM, NAND, GPU etc) and a "fifth core" possibly based on the Cortex A7 clocked at 1GHz, which is the newly developed solution and touted as the most efficient processor in the world.

One thing is for sure; things are about to get very (competitive) interesting, very soon!

I agree entirely, which is why I feel Samsung will not release a quadcore A9 as the dualcore A15 is clearly the better choice in terms of performance even though it is unlikely/too early for it to have this chip. Maybe this is the one of the big reasons behind the delay in the SGS3's launch from last year?

So either the SGS3 will have a much better quadcore processor than a Quad A9, or it will have a dual core exynos 5250, again only time will tell. There are also other solutions available to improve upon the chip that HTC are releasing and I think Samsung will be aware of this.

I sincerely hope Samsung do not drop the ball on hardware, but considering what they have done so far with its Galaxy S range and the fact that they already know what this year's competition is doing, I am confident that Samsung's answer will be something that its consumers love.

tizen with samsung will be awesomeeeeee,