Nokia N900

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euanandrews

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#40487 29-Aug-2009 14:16

The Nokia N900, the latest and greatest announced by Nokia, already outdating Nokia's current flagship, is expected to be released this October.

It is what the N97 should have been.

Specs:
- 2G: GSM EDGE 850/900/1800/1900 Mhz
- 3G: WCDMA 900/1700/2100 MHz
- CPU: ARM Cortex-A8 600MHz
- GPU: OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics acceleration
- WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA
- Bluetooth: v2.1 with A2DP
- Data: HSDPA, 10Mbps; HSUPA, 2Mbps
- GPS: Yes, with A-GPS support; Ovi Maps
- Radio: Stereo FM radio; FM transmitter
- Battery: 1320mAh
- Flash: Full Adobe Flash(TM) 9.4 support
- Keyboard: Full physical slide-out QWERTY
- RAM: 1GB (256MB RAM, 768MB virtual RAM)
- Memory: 32GB, expandable via microSD
- Dimensions: 110.9×59.8×18mm = 181g
- Browser: Mozilla powered Maemo browser
- Video: Record up to 848×480px, up to 25fps
- Codec: Divx/Xvid, wmv
- Screen: 3.5in TFT resistive touchscreen, 16M colors, 800 × 480 pixel resolution
- Camera: 5 MP, 2592x1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, Dual LED flash, video light

What I like about the N900:
- Brand new OS, Maemo/Linux
- The multiple Homescreens
- The Dashboard
- The swipe transition effects between screens
- That it can play divx/avi out-of-the-box
- The 1GB of RAM means no shortage of memory/crashing apps
- The PowerVR SGX hardware graphics acceleration
- The web browser appears much easier and deskop traditional to use
- Full flash support
- The larger pyhsical qwerty keys

What I do not like about the N900:
- Brand new OS, Maemo/Linux...should this device and/or Maemo not take off, the owners of this device could be left with an unsupported OS that no one makes apps for
- The N900 is a slider...I like the snappy slide-n-tilit form factor of the N97
- The N900 is wider and thicker hence is also heavier than the N97
- The incompatibilty with many Nokia apps such as Nokia Sports Tracker
- No D pad for gaming
- Still only 3 rows of qwerty keys, no dedicated number keys
- The battery appears to be smaller than that used in the N97, which is always running out, and this is a more powerful device?

That said...I am going to buy one, either on first release, or possibly 1 month after release to give time for reviews to come out as base my decision on that.

Your thoughts/questions?

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Master Geek

#251555 29-Aug-2009 14:39

brand new OS to Nokia,... maemo has been around for quite a while in Tablets from what i've read

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NZtechfreak

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#251559 29-Aug-2009 14:47

It looks great, I'll be getting one ASAP no doubt about it.

For reference though its only 256MB RAM, the rest is virtual (sounds like a paging file type deal). On the basis of my experience with the i8910 though I can safely say that 256 should be ample. Its completely changed the way I use the device - now, apart from applications that maintain a GPS lock, I never exit applications, instead dismissing all to the background.... Its actually true multitasking as it should be...

Its basically like my i8910, but with more memory, a better screen resolution and browser, better OS, and a physical keypad. Enough to make me happier overall, despite taking a decent hit on the camera capability and likely worsening of GPS strength.

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thecrippler

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#251565 29-Aug-2009 15:20

I'm definitely getting one on release, I don't mind being a guinea pig for this device.

Its funny, I was going to buy a N97 this week, the only thing that stopped me was the RAM and not being about to play divx/Avi out of the box. So I was looking at the I8910, but that didn't have a qwerty or Nokia's software support.
Now I can get the best of both worlds (minus the I8910 camera)
:)

freitasm

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#251567 29-Aug-2009 15:52

Maemo is Linux. Has been around for ages. The Nokia Tablet has been around for ages too, just didn't have the cellular radio on previous devices.

Like any other previous Nokia Tablet you will have the stock applications - browser, contacts, Gizmo, etc. Running Linux means you will be able to put some other stuff in there. How easy it will be depend on what Nokia does now.

Because this isn't new OS I expect them to have something to make it easier for new users to come on board. As seen it is raising a lot more interest now that it brings a mobile on board.

The previous Nokia Tablets were really nice little machines. Their main attraction was "Internet". I think this will be a killer mobile Internet device. Up to competition with the Apple iPhone.

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euanandrews

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#251597 29-Aug-2009 18:53

I realise Linux has been around for ages, and Maemo has been used on Nokia tablets, but Maemo 5 to my understanding is their latest OS and only just released...

My concern is that it has yet to gain mass market appeal hence not many people are coding apps for it...and just like Symbian v5, not many apps have yet been coded/ported to it yet.

MF, are you suggesting desktop Linux apps will work on this OS?
If so, that is reassuring.

Another question...is being Linux, is it possible Android apps may work on it?

euanandrews

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#251643 29-Aug-2009 23:54

Having read more about Maemo, here are a few more interesting facts:

- Maemo 5 is the latest OS, with the N900 being the first device to have it available to the public
- The Maemo.org website, has apps available for download for the various Maemo OS, OS2005, OS2006, OS2007 & OS2008...but not currently Maemo 5
- 'Maemo Select' is where Maemo 5 apps can be found and downloaded...it appears to be an application much like the Ovi Store app found on Symbian devices...the difference between the is Maemo Select will source apps from both the Ovi Store and Maemo.org, where as the Symbian Ovi Store app which just sources apps available within the Ovi Store.

Here is also an interesting quote I took from Wikipedia on available Maemo apps:

Debian: The complete ARM Debian distribution can be installed as a Maemo application.[11], making thousands of software packages available (including OpenOffice, Firefox, Java, the GNOME desktop, etc)

That sounds promising.

gadgetmannz

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#253194 4-Sep-2009 14:55

Bartender, I couldn't agree with you more re the N97 should have been the N900. I've been watching it closely with the Nokia World 2009 and I have to say that I'm immediately drawn to the phone. The size is big in comparison to other smart phones, but when you take a look under the hood, who cares! I will be getting one for sure.

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euanandrews

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#253227 4-Sep-2009 16:09

What must be carefully considered with the N900, is it is not a phone...it is a tablet first and foremost.

The phone is simply an app, and it appears the N900 and Maemo is designed to work only in landscape, with the phone app being the only app used in portrait, it automatically activated when he phone is turned portrait....

That does seem a little disapointing and limits they ability of the device/OS....but it may change?

Has not changed my mind though.