So jcr:like(%title, "%N%") do the job but is case sensitive. And jcr:contains(%title, "*N*") is
I have the same problem and I think this is a feature used in nearly every application and so far important. Case insensitive search with patterns is supported by the most used storage systems. Searching for words is maybe OK for google, but not for smaller applications where you search for cities or what ever entities.
Would be nice to get this feature ;-) Philipp Bracher