N950: What impress me most

* Disclaimer: User experience is based on pre-beta firmware on not-for-sale device.

What do I like the most about N950, specifically Meego Harmattan? It's definitely the swipe interface. At first, it takes some getting used to. Besides, N950 is not really designed with this interface in mind so there are things that could be done better (e.g. the gap between screen and frame is noticeable and the swipe is not as smooth as N9). But I quickly fall in love with the interface. Yes, there are times when I want to scroll but find I swipe into task manager. This is much easier to happen in landscape mode due to the limited vertical scrolling space, but in general, it's not frequent and in the case it happens, I can still easily go back to the app by a tap.

This is really a killer interface, and IMO the biggest selling point for N9. It is fluid and intuitive, and the interaction makes me feel the device is "alive." This is kind of like how iPhone was/is about - simple and beautiful interface that reacts to user command naturally. Android (3.0 is better than 2.0 but still a mess) feels pathetic in this regard, let alone the poor core interface of Windows Phone. I am pretty sure, most people will love this interface once they start using it.

Of course, there are still quirks and glitches since the software is pre-beta and Nokia is not Apple. And of course there is the dark cloud hanging over Meego Harmattan that the N9 is likely to be the only and last device running this OS. But hey, it's not like Nokia will never release software update. You see, people still buy new cars that are close to end-of-their-life-cycle. Not every Android receive sw update after two years. Even Apple drops sw update for earlier device after some time, so I wouldn't worry too much about all this "Nokia abandon Meego" drama. There is more important things to worry about, right?

Besides the swipe interface, the camera on N950 is really really good for its size. I am impressed by its quality and the UI again feels good. But I wish there were a dedicate camera button. Nokia tried too hard mimic Apple in this regard. Maybe Nokia or 3rd party developer can learn from Apple and make the volume key to become camera key at some point in the future.