GLOBAL – Power up your Nokia N9, turn on your WiFi and get ready to download the latest software update, known as PR1.2. Why should you update? To receive a huge array of added features, such as video calling, improved photography and enhancements to Nokia Drive, plus so much more.

Last week, the Nokia software update team began slowly rolling out this new update to just a handful of select countries. One week later, this update is now available to more than 70 per cent of all handsets, with more receiving the updates over the coming weeks. If you do not see an update notification, just wait a little while more, or contact your local operator to find out if it they have enabled it.

OK, that was the important business-y bit. Now, let’s get go into more detail on some of the main features* included in this update.

Keeping your apps and games organised is now really easy, as the Applications view now supports folders. Pressing and holding anywhere on the application screen will give you the option to add a new folder, where you can tuck things away into. Nice, neat and easy.

Here’s one for camera enthusiasts: you’ll be happy to hear that the Nokia N9’s 8-megapixel camera now supports continuous shooting. Even better – the zero lag shutter in continuous shooting mode means that the camera is so fast, what you see (in the screen when you snap the shot) is what you get (in the final image).

Once you’ve changed the settings in the camera, just hold your finger down on the capture button for a continual stream of photos – nine, to be precise. You’ll get three frames per second, and will never have to miss those fast moving scenes that just tend to whizz past your eyes.

When you’ve captured that perfect image of your friend, you can upload it straight to your social sites. While this isn’t new, the ability to tag your friends in that photo is, using the Nokia N9’s new face recognition technology for your photos.

This update also includes the ability to make video calls with Google Talk, using the full power of the front-facing camera. You can download the Google Talk Video Call app from Nokia Store – for free.

When in a video call, switching to the main camera on the back is a great way of showing other people in the call what’s going on around you. Even better if you’re shopping in a mall and want to get your friend’s opinion on a cool outfit right away, don’t you think?

Nokia Drive on your N9 got even better with a few nice touch-up features. It now includes routing options, so you can avoid that toll bridge or motorway, if you’d prefer. With the new Favourites feature, you can now sync, add and remove  locations with maps.nokia.com. Say you want to get to the new mall in your city but don’t know how to get there. You’re in front of your PC and you find the mall on Nokia Maps. Add it to your favourites, and the next time you sync your favourites folder on your N9, the saved location will appear there. Select it, and you’re ready to go.

And if you’re driving, your N9 will also help you keep to the speed limit thanks to the speed limit alerts. Very useful when in unfamiliar territory. Just think about it – the software update is free, but could save you some money in speeding tickets.

You can now share the media stored on your phone, via your TV and games console**. Let the rest of the people in the room see your holiday snaps, or that video of something hilarious you saw at the weekend. It’s all about sharing, without wires.

Other updates include software update notifications for 3rd party apps in Nokia Store, support for creating playlists and deleting songs in the music player, and also access to the global company address list in Mail for Exchange – something business professionals will appreciate.

 

Also there’s improved web browsing history, improved copy and paste features for web and documents. And as if it wasn’t smart enough, the Nokia N9 can now say hello in five new language scripts, including: Thai (ภาษาไทย); Hebrew (עִבְרִית); Persian (فارسی); Vietnamese (tiếng Việt); and Kazakh (Қазақтар).

As you can see, this update adds some significant improvements to your mobile experience. So, look out for the update notification on your Nokia N9, or check for it manually by finding the updates icon of your Nokia N9. Alternatively, head to swipe.nokia.com or the Nokia N9 page on your local Nokia site for more details.

Have you updated yet? Of course you have. Why wouldn’t you want all those great new features? What are you most excited about this update? Use the comments section below, to let us know.

* Some features not available in the China download
** Not all TV sets and game consoles support file sharing, or enable sharing of all media file types