Update for Nokia N9 on the horizon?

Rumours gathered pace a week ago about the eagerly awaited next update for the N9.

One unwitting owner recently posted on the TMO threads that he seemed to have a different firmware version than most which transpired to be PR1.2.  That fanned the flames and some excitement as to what was in store for the rest of us humble N9′ers.  Even GSMArena and Engadget ran articles on the story and what possible new features we could expect.

As the days unfolded it now looks like the N9′s developer device, the N950, looks set to get a Beta update for PR1.2 any day soon.  Twittering suggests that the Nokia Harmattan team have been working long days and nights fixing software code and swotting bugs presumably to meet a deadline for releasing the update.  The consumer update looks set to roll out towards the end of February 2012, although there is no official confirmation just yet.

Personally, I am happy to wait a while longer.  PR1.2 will be a major update, so all owners will want be looking forward to some nice enhancements, but there will be gazillions of bug fixes in there too.  Hence, the more time Nokia devotes to getting them sorted, the more rounded the N9 device will be for us all. 

Either way, we can look forward to:

• Video calling functionality
• Folders for your App screen
• Copy/paste enhancements
• Improvements to the Camera software; and
• Better gallery options for your photos.

It will be interesting to see if the update will include video calling being introduced to Skype which is already in-built into the N9 but currently only offers chat IM.

The Nokia folders feature looks a little similar to those that can be found on the iPhone.  I for one have really appreciated the Meefolders app which we wrote about in December (read the post here).  So there will be some close scrutiny to see if Nokia’s effort trumps the high standard already set by Marxian, the developer responsible for Meefolders.

Let me know if you hear any further news on PR1.2.

NN9S