Nokia N900 will be landing soon

Hi,

I brought a N900 from Nokia flagship store in Helsinki and in love with the device, it works like a charm, very easy to add shortcuts and widgets to desktop (3 desktops), very easy to multi task, conversations work well too, some bug when i try to call from messages..., photos can be improved too, camera is brilliant, pictures are of amazingly good quality, can share pictures in services, not sure why there is both maemo select and OVI store, liked UI a lot, so very responsive and easy to use, required no guide whatsoever. Happy to see Nokia UI moving away from options menus, scroll bars etc, its one of the best simple user interfaces i have seen. Wish there is some searching facility for conversations, audio is superb quality, headphone is great too. All in all i am very happy for the money spent and i hope all improvements can be addressed in future releases. Its by far the best Nokia phone I have seen.

- Murali.

"sophmoric non-professional piece of crap OS ... limited functionality, limited expandability and customization choices"

It's based on Debian, and you can get Debian ARM-apps, right? In which case it'd be more accurate to say:

"Debian OS, incredibly versatile, unlimited expandability and by far the widest choice of apps for any OS - phone or otherwise"

You want ssh, or VNC or python or jukebox or anything your Debian PC runs, it's there.

The idea that an N800 couldn't list files on an SD card is an impossible concept to linux - where everything is a file that can be listed.

About the only thing that gives me pause for thought is the battery life and the lack of USB host (to attach USB peripherals like a keyboard)... but as an example of Debian versatility, download Synergy and your desktop keyboard/mouse work on the N900.

Was this model pulled out of the market? Too many flaws? Read talk.maemo.org where users are reporting about product flaws, constant reboots, phone bricked, dead microphones. Was this product rushed into markets with panic? My advice DO NOT BUY N900!

Its really amazing phone, i just bought my last week and did lots of R&D, X11 terminal emulator, Bounce game (with full 3D experience) AVI(DIVX) movie support, C/C++ development with full support from nokia and lots more...i m s/w developer and worked on microsoft products but now start learning and working on maemo (its really great and challenging experience), and in future looking for more maemo based products, NOKIA...keep it up...

They are balanced and provide knowledge on how Nokia have supported this range of phones up until now. It should server as a warning to potential customers who would be wise to research any of your points that concern them.

Some people just don't want to hear bad information about something they desire. I think that if Nokia failed to support this range of devices in the past, then they should provide a statement saying how they are putting more effort into these new devices.

FAO John and other N900 fanbois/customers, doesn't CrashMurdock have grounds to comment? He has the previous generation, he has experience of Nokia and says that they are poor at supporting this range of phones. He is able to quote examples and can provide reason.

Maybe all the flaws he points out have been corrected. Have they? I like all smartphones. Can it run Tomtom?

@CrashMurdock

Thanks for your views on the N800. Sadly this article is about the N900. You are in no place to comment on a device you don't own. As Cas mentioned, there is an upgrade path to the next version of Maemo for the N900. Sorry that it didn't work out for you with the N800, but please, stop trying to crap all over the follow-up devices. I think I'd prefer to hear more from people who actually own the N900 than someone with a lack of perspective and an anti-Nokia agenda.

I own a n800 and I just love the unit, but it has one serious flaw - no GSM capabilites.

n900 got that - ME WANT latest Maemo unit.

and i will get one.

You're right in that I don't own an N900 and never will. Like my N800 was when first introduced, it probably is a nice unit because Nokia is pretty good from a hardware perspective. The problem is with Maemo, which up to this point has been a sophmoric non-professional piece of crap OS compared to all others. It has proven to have limited functionality, limited expandability and customization choices, and limited compatibility with other devices. And not only that, it hasn't been very user friendly, but you're going to find out the hard way because, hey, you're now a proud new N900 owner. I, and many others, have suffered with Maemo for a long time and I happily pass the baton to you. I hope you and every one else who buys a N900 proves me wrong, but time will tell. Nokia will really have to change to make that happen and I doubt they'll change at this point. All I can say is up to now Maemo sucks. I certainly didn't take the time to comment to spread FUD, only to help potential buyers avoid the pitfalls that I and others have experienced with Maemo. For you it's too late.

Enjoy your new toy!

@ CrashMurdock
Stop peddling FUD about a device you do not even own and are basing your opinion on a 3 year old device with a similar name and model number.

I will be upfront and say i do own an N900 and am immensly happy with it. Despite this i concede there shortcomings with the shipped Maemo OS that are minor niggles but nothing in any of the areas you are talking about.

For example you point about the bowser is irrelevant here as the N900 uses the Fennec browser that by all accounts is superb.

As far as future support i have read that Nokia are considering shifting focus from Symbian to Maemo and furthermore say that Maemo 6 will be available for the N900 on its release next year.

For anyone actually concerned goto http://talk.maemo.org to find out the real issues that concern the N900

Nokia has pretty good hardware but PLEASE STAY AWAY from Maemo. Why? It is complete shit. I bought a Nokia N800 pocket PC/tablet not quite a couple of years ago since it had excellent hardware specs. Unfortunately I have suffered greatly since that time as Maemo is the world's worst Linux implementation in the world. Nokia has barely supported this OS since day one so 99% of the Apps have been written by others. They were/are hobbyists and junior programmers and the poor quality and usability of these Apps reflect that. I upgraded to the latest version of Maemo OS available for the N800/N810 and it is still horrendous.

I bought the N800 primarily for Internet browsing, emails, and VOIP and it does that somewhat, but the browser is horrible. Even with a highspeed connection it is as slow as molasses. It doesn't utilize cache memory efficiently so every time a webpage loads you have to wait until it completely loads every byte including every ad, before you can even scroll down the page. If you then go to the next page where it will again slowly load everything then return to the previous page you just viewed it has to load every byte all over again.

Unlike the N810, the earlier N800 has two SDHC card slots instead of just one. That seemed like a great feature as you could definitely load it up with tons of music files, which I did. The problem is there was not then and is not now an App that will sync the music files to the library so guess what...you can't create a playlist from files stored on the memory cards. This means you have to individually select each song every time unless the music is installed on internal memory, which is limited. I have searched high and low for a solution and still haven't found one.

Now then, the N900 uses a newer version of Maemo with more bells and whistles and they probably have improved on previous Maemo Apps. Of course, Nokia says you can't install the new Maemo OS on previous devices so they have already abandoned N800/N810 users. Bottom line is don't be fooled as based on Nokia's previous track record you'll suffer similarly to all of us that stepped up before you.

Also, very few Apps from other devices are compatible. At least Skype works but the version is stripped down so can't even use the built-in webcam for video calls.

My advice is to leave the N900 turd alone as you'll be sorry later than sooner as Nokia won't change their spots just for you. I myself am considering an Android OS based phone as it will be heavily supported with much higher quality Apps.

You've been warned. Good luck!

I got mine about 2 weeks ago on a £35 per month 18 month contract from Vodafone via mobilephonesdirect.co.uk.

Looks like I got a bargain.

Shit hot device as well, although it will take a few firmware updates and a couple of months for the applications to start showing up before it is solid.

Already got SNES emulator running perfectly while plugged into TV with a Wiimote via bluetooth as a controller and its a pretty sweet toy.

Um, someone hasn't done their homework...the N900 has been flying out the doors at Manchester's Nokia store for the past two weeks.

... when the gPhone is introduced and prices are announced.

$/€/£ 500 won't be the price this device will sell for.

I'll be in the 300-400 range soon.
Or maybe 250?

Depends on what price ticket and features the Nexus One will have.

I was planning to get the N900.
Not so sure anymore.
I will wait an will have a look at the Nexus One before I make a buying decision.