Mine is starting to chip where you open the USB cover around the opening where you open the cover (the round blob thing) and on the cover + on the sim tray.
My N9 has been in silicone cover from day oneon
I live in Denmark it might be humid, but think it's more to do wirh the moisture from your hands. I think I read it somewhere here on TMO.
My colleague's 6 months old 16 GB version has flaking in USB-cover, it has been mostly sitting on the table unused minus calls of course, and has been always in very dry conditions. It's a work phone in a very well ventilated building. I haven't checked yet whether it is made in China or Finland, and I suspect it wouldn't matter since it is USB-cover that has the issue currently.
My 7 months old 64 GB version made in Finland kind of shows some level of flaking after over 7 month's usage. This unit was bought from Nokia flag store in Helsinki the very launch date of N9 in Finland.
It has been both in and out of silicon cover with high humidity at times. I have some dents on it, and I scratched one dent hard with my fingernail to see if anything comes off.
It looks like there is a very thin paint layer on chassis, but it does not have that weird grey color to it like my colleague's phone has. Beneath extremely thin layer of paint it is just black plastic and no grey paint. The bits I'm able to scrape off fall so small, that I can't tell whether any whitish coming off is from my fingernail of actual paint.
But in short; it looks like both black 64 GB and 16 GB versions of N9 have been painted.
My 64GB black N9 still looks pristine. I keep it in the silicone case 90% of the time and have used it daily for 6 months. We haven't had alot of humidity around here so may that has something to do with it.
Alright, yesterday I got a Lumia 800 for trial, which meant I had to compare it with my 4-month-old N9. So I removed the rubber cover & I found this.
The matte layer has indeed worn off. How? It's my own fault because I hadn't removed the cover since a few months and it definitely hasn't coped well with the sweat and heat while inside my pocket (I live in a country with a very warm weather).
Clearly, Nokia haven't tested it under this extreme weather condition.
I have the same problem.. not so extreme.. but on the back, it's definitely going towards the matte finish turning weird and spotty. I use it in the case most of the time.. and I remove it only to clean the dust and wipe it. I live in a very hot climate as well.. and now, those spots on my phone are not going away at all. They are not oil spills or stuff like that.. the polycarbonate's finish really is wearing off. Also, I think the case is scratching the front edges of the phone every time you take it off or try to put it on.. because the case is so tight. There are permanent scratches on the phone now. My N8 is with me for 2 years and it still doesn't have a single scratch on its freakin' strong body. (and I dropped it many times on the floor in front of iFags to win challenges saying they can't do the same with their phones )
Gonna keep it in my case the whole time.. damn, I really wanted to show it off around without the case.
Thinking of buying the glossy white housing and replacing it.. but too expensive.
The polish on the body of the n9 seems to have worn off. I had my n9 in a case all the time for 6 months. The back of my n9 looks so dry that its about flake any second.
)