Nokia's next generation of mobile phones looks like it might get off to a promising start as the Nokia N9 has been shown off in high-res pictures.

Although not offering a great deal of extra information about this new slider, the chassis is certainly a lot sleeker than the chunky Nokia N900.

Assuming this is the first Meego phone (the Nokia N9 model number means it could still be part of the Symbian line-up, following the Nokia N8) then it certainly would be a good model to show it off with.

Big in China

The photos popped up on Chinese Website Baidu, complete with detailed breakdowns of the innards of the phone, showing a full metal chassis with some plastic parts – overall, the QWERTY slider has a beautiful overall finish.

We first saw this handset two months ago on a video, and there was a question over whether it was a real handset or the overexcited dream of a fanboy – but the new photos prove that it's definitely real.

We're hearing that this might be coming before the end of the year, which means it will be competing in the same space as the N8, so it will be interesting to see whether Nokia unveils the N9 at Nokia World next month.

From Eldar Murtazin LiveJournal via Engadget