Launch of the N9 delayed; U.S, U.K will not get the device

The Nokia N9 was formally announced and shown off a couple of months ago in Singapore at the Nokia Connection event. Since then it has been subject to a bunch of demos, both official and unofficial.

Even though Nokia isn’t focusing too much on the handset due to the WP7 transition, one can imagine the amount of work that has gone into the making of the N9. With no buttons to control the handset, the N9 works on the “Swipe” technology that Nokia proudly showed off during the launch. With so much going on for the handset, there is little info about the launch of this MeeGo powered handset.

While some claimed that a September launch is imperative, it was recently discovered that a countdown timer had been taken down from Nokia Sweden’s website which made us believe that the handset has been delayed further. But all that aside, it does seem worth the wait.
But now, Nokia has let a cat out of the bag by saying that the N9 will not be launched in the U.S and the UK.

It is believed that Nokia doesn’t want to take any chances with the N9 by launching it in those regions where most carriers sell handsets on a contract basis. This might come as a shock to the users in the respective countries, but it wasn’t totally unexpected given Nokia’s relationship with the carriers.

As far as India is concerned, the N9 is still some time away. Nokia surprised us all by not mentioning India in the list of countries that would be getting the handset first. India is one of the prime markets for Nokia handsets given the company’s relationship with the customers since the past few years.

And it hardly made any sense to leave out the country from the list. Some other Asian countries have been left out of the list which has caused further concern. This seems like a very bold move by Nokia, though the handset will make way to the respective countries in due time.