[wrender]

If I understand correctly there is no dedicated Camera Button on the N9... is it possible to assign one of the buttons to act as one?

[carman58]

No it's not possible, but for me the camera works great, the only real disadvantage is if you want to take 'one handed shots' which never turn out too well and also virtually impossible to take a 'self portrait', but most of the time, holdong the virtual button until the focus square turns blue works great !!

[donofworld]

I also have N9 so I can assure you that you can capture perfect images without physical camera button as N9's camera app ui and virtual capture button is perfect to snap images.
Currently it is not possible to assign any keys as camera button but as Meego is open source os developers can actually tweak N9's volume + or minus key as camera capture button

[wrender]

I guess that is the final straw for me.... I was really looking into getting a N9. But I take a lot of photos with my N8 and prefer using the virtual key. However there are so many times that I do use the hardware key for a quick one handed snaps of a candid moment and especially its nice with someone close together. I can't picture not having a key for those times.

Between no FM radio software or Transmitter hardware, no button for one handed photos. I guess I will be sticking with my N8.... sigh Though the N9 is sure sexy and I just like the idea of running a linux phone that has the kde community interests.

[SpecK73]

Hey wrender,

My advice would be to stick with your N8 because running Symbian Belle it is superior in almost every respect to an N9. 

I had a chance to use the N9 for a few hours yesterday. Aside from its beautiful appearance and the speed with which it runs, I was left under whelmed. I found the swipey interface to be quite restrictive and frustrating. My main gripe was the difficulty I had closing applications. You swipe them away and then you have to return to the running applications view, do a long press and then close down the app you just swiped away. Perhaps there's an easier way but it was not obvious to me. Maybe closing apps isn't necessary when the thing has 1GB of RAM but it's a hard habit for me to break. I don't want stuff running in the background that I am not using; it's inefficient and probably uses more battery life which is another sore point for the N9.

Also, I checked out the Nokia Store offerings for the N9 and it's pretty bleak. Some of the best Nokia Beta Labs apps don't seem to have N9 versions either. For example, I was looking for the Nokia Play To application (DLNA streaming) and I couldn't find it. That's not good when the N9 is also missing an HDMi port. I love being able to play videos on the telly from my N8.

I also couldn't find the program which updates the phone's software despite looking everywhere I could think of. If it's there then it's well hidden. I couldn't find a file manager program either.

The missing camera hardware button is unacceptable, not only because you can't take one handed photos or self portraits, but because a hardware button offers the only decent method for launching the camera application. Having to navigate through the N9's interface to launch the camera app makes a mockery of its claims about being the fastest picture snapper out there!

So if you haven't got Symbian Belle on your N8 yet, wait for it to roll out. The interface is just as beautiful as the N9's and far more functional. The only thing you'll be missing out on is the faster processor and all that wonderful RAM! You'll still have your brilliant camera, HDMi port, FM transmitter, MicroSD expansion and decent software selection though which more than makes up for it.

[carman58]

To close applications on the N9 you need to go to settings and set Swipe down to close  also ther are a lot of apps on the web that are not in the Nokia store, I have Firefox Browser on mine for example, and the UI is twice as easy and fluid to use as Symbian (and I have and use an E7 on a regular basis) but if you want the best camera and the most apps the N8 maybe a better choice, but please don't advise on a handset you've only used for a few hours and haven't even learned the settings on 

[wrender]

Thnx for all the help. I look forward to the fluidity of belle.