Nokia commits to N9 support; "several" updates in pipeline

Nokia has confirmed it plans to support the MeeGo-based N9 "for years" and that the company's software engineers have "several SW updates" planned for the niche handset. Nokia head of portfolio management, Klas Ström, took to Twitter to assuage concerns over the N9's longevity, with would-be buyers seemingly keen to pick up the smartphone but wary of Nokia's change of allegiance to Windows Phone.

Whether those reassurances will be sufficient to make the N9 a sales success remain to be seen, though there are signs that Nokia itself has only moderate ambitions for the MeeGo phone. Previous leaks have tipped small-scale production and modest sales projections – something Nokia itself has declined to comment on, naturally – with the primary focus remaining on Windows Phone 7.1 Mango.

Nokia has said that it sees MeeGo development as a test-bed for future disruptive mobile technologies, though it's unclear exactly how many of those will find their way out to the N9 and any other devices running the OS that Nokia releases. The company is yet to commit to a specific launch date for the N9; check out our hands-on report here.

Nokia N9 hands-on

[vms cb2651801455c86d78f2]

[via IntoMobile]