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Nokia N900 Review!

Written By: DChetty

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February 9, 2010

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Posted In:

I have been using the Nokia N900 for a few days now as a test unit sent to me from Nokia. This has not been my first encounter with the device, as I did get my paws on one of them for a few minutes a few months ago at a Nokia event, but this has certainly been my most intimate experience with the N900 so far.

Here are my thoughts:

  1. Coooool!
  2. WOW!
  3. Freaking A!

It has been that great for me so far, that I will go as far as saying that it is definitely the best mobile device available. In fact, I have even wowed iPhone users while showing the N900 off.

Heres a list of what I like:

  • Large readable, bright screen with light sensor
  • Touch screen is responsive (more than the Nokia N97) and intuitive
  • Menu system is logical and practical
  • Switching between applications has never been as easy and well thought out as it is on the N900
  • The processor and ram handled 7 active applications without affecting responsiveness of the device. (Two games, a browser, an augmented reality app, mail, a YouTube media player and the contacts engine)
  • Instant Messaging integration is unchallenged as the best on any device with full contacts integration and aggregation of both presence and status messages across multiple IM platforms.
  • Contacts management is BRILLIANT! (I was able to import all my GMail and Skype contacts onto the device’s Phonebook and merge this new set of data with existing contact information. This is the kind of thing that g33k mobile wet dreams are made of!)
  • The Phonebook aggregates users presence and displays Profile pics from 3rd party services.
  • Multiple home screens. (A feature that is logically brilliant but illogically left out of the Nokia N97)
  • It runs on Linux, so you have access to a Terminal, it’ll be cheap and its open source.
  • The well built sturdiness of the device and the firm well sized QWERTY keyboard.
  • The bookmarks display small thumbnail images of the site that can be stored as widgets on the home screen
  • The browser is quick and runs javascript (even badly written javascript) really well.

Naturally, after using the device for a few days, I have found a few things that I don’t like:

  • The phone is bulky. I was a Nokia E71 user and I think that Nokia has proven that it can built powerful yet petit devices and that’s not what the Nokia N900 is. Powerful sure, but it needs a diet and a gym contract!
  • The phone is permenantly in landscape mode unless it is in call mode. This is nifty for some applications as it maximises the screen real estate, but natural tendency is to use the phone in portrait mode. It’s a bit of a paradigm shift to use it landscape mode permanently!
  • The device blocks the ability to dial any numbers that include * or #. (I tried purchasing an SMS bundle and could not as the ability to dial *111# is not allowed.) I am sure that while the devices are being tested by the networks, they will pick this up and have it fixed before it hits the SA market in any case.
  • Mail for Exchange doesn’t work for me yet. This is a problem that I had with my N97 for a while, but after a firmware patch, nagging the Mail Product manager and a few hard resets of the phone, I got it to work)
  • Only two profiles exist, General and Silent. I know that many people only use these two profiles, but as a Nokia fan for many years, I have come to use more profiles and make use of Meeting, Silent and General almost daily.
  • MSN messenger was left out as a default IM service and it currently ships with GoogleTalk, Skype and Jabber services.
  • The unlock slider position works while holding the device in landscape mode, but as a natural portrait mode phone carrier, it is easy to expect the unlock slider to be on the left of the device (the top) as this is where it is on the N97, however there you will find the power button and easily switch the phone off when thinking that you are activating the screen lock.

With that said, I have to admit that being in the fortunate position of working in the mobile industry, I have used iPhones, BlackBerrys, HTC’s, etc. And while I have always advocated that the N97 was an awesome device, I still secretly wished it had the slick interface of the iPhone with the added practicality of the N97. The Nokia N900 fits that profile and goes beyond my every expectation of a mobile handset. It truly is an awesome phone and I am going to have serious trouble getting used to my now plebish Nokia N97.

I will continue using the phone for a few more weeks, but will then have to give it back unwillingly to Nokia! :(

UPDATE:

I have managed to get Mail for Exchange to work. A little perseverance did the trick. It is now syncing my mail, calender, tasks and contacts without any problem via wifi. :) )

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About Author

DChetty

Dee Chetty is a South Africa- and India-educated web junkie. Focusing on strategy and new developments, Dee finds himself pushing the limits of innovation with his ideas. Dee loves open-source, mobile technologies and location-driven applications. He is an Apple fanboy & a die-hard Audi fan.

(16) Readers Comments

  1. Pingback: Mobiele Telefoons » My opinion on the Nokia N900 so far - http://bit.ly/b5SQUg

  2. Pingback: Mobiele Telefoons » RT @DChetty: My opinion on the Nokia N900 so far - http://bit.ly/b5SQUg (i want 1 …

  3. Justin Isaacs
    February 10, 2010 at 1:24 am

    Thanks for the review Dude. This is the first review I've read on the N900. Looks pretty good, but for now i'm still an iPhone fanboy, although Google's Nexus One did get my attention...:)

  4. Pingback: Mobiele Telefoons » I got Mail for Exchange to work on the Nokia N900 - http://bit.ly/b5SQUg

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  6. DChetty
    February 10, 2010 at 3:43 am

    @Justin - The iPhone is great media device, but a really shoddy phone. Which is why O would recommend the iPad, cos it does what the iPhone does best and leaves out what it does badly, while improving on the user experience by offering you a larger screen and dedicated UI. The N900 is a brilliant media device, web enabled widget driven device, micro computer AND its a good phone. It is unchallenged as a brilliantly awesome all-rounder and comes open source! Beat that?!

  7. Gregor George
    February 10, 2010 at 3:55 am

    I've been using my n900 in SA for the past two month having picked one up while i was in the USA in November. I strongly recommend you add all the maemo extras repositories because they will solve all your gripes, namely: USSD -> install the USSD widget, u can dial and check all ur *123#, airtime queries etc MSN integration -> there're a couple of plugins that build MSN, AIM and other IMing services natively into the contact manager Unlock Slider -> tap the power button on the phone twice to avoid using the slider, this locks and unlocks the phone, you won't accidentally switch if off. The new firmware allows browsing in portrait mode which you can activate with ctrl-shift-o I like your simplistic review, but for further indepth technical information check out all the developments @ http://talk.maemo.org the community is really driving this device and I'm very happy. Comparing maemo5 on the n900 to symbian used in SA's 'flagship' n97 makes you see just how awesome a device this is.

  8. DChetty
    February 10, 2010 at 4:07 am

    @Gregor George - Welcome to my blog and thanks for the comment. I will definitely check out the additional repositories. Where do you recommend I get them and which app listings do you recommend? I am currently using Maemo Select and Ovi (default set up on the phone) and they are both very limited.

  9. Gregor George
    February 10, 2010 at 4:15 am

    Step by step instructions to getting new repositories: http://theunlockr.com/2009/11/22/how-to-get-more-apps-on-your-nokia-n900/ Add all the repositories there, but be extra careful of extras-devel apps, they're still in the development phase and may contain memory leaks... That said i run quite a few apps off extras-devel without any gripes, your best would be to follow the Apps thread on http://talk.maemo.org and get wind of new apps as they're made... Also follow the mybroadband thread: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php?192055-When-is-the-Nokia-N900-landing-in-S-A for info about other users... I hope you've read this too: http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/01/29/firefox-for-maemo-now-available/ Mozilla released Firefox mobile final version first on Maemo5, download that by visiting http://firefox.com/m from your Maemo device to get it!

  10. Gregor George
    February 10, 2010 at 4:29 am

    How to add additional repositories: http://theunlockr.com/2009/11/22/how-to-get-more-apps-on-your-nokia-n900/ word of warning, apps in extras-devel maybe unstable, that said I've got plenty of them running that work great, feedback to the app creator helps in developing a final stable version... your best bet is to follow the Applications thread at talk.maemo.org to get the latest updates. Try Mozilla firefox mobile if you haven't already. the first device to get this piece of software is the n900 with maemo5: http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/01/29/firefox-for-maemo-now-available/ download it by visiting http://www.firefox.com/m with your device. Be sure to follow @maemoexperts on twitter too

  11. joelus
    February 10, 2010 at 5:26 am

    Enable Maemo Extras for the extra IM services (including MSN and Facebook Chat)

  12. Mike
    February 11, 2010 at 1:31 am

    So I am equally fortunate to be using the N900 as an evaluation device. My style of evaluation may be somewhat different to yours but technically agree with everything that you have said. I choose to evaluate any device I use from a "man in the street" persepctive. I won't go into very much detail here (I will be creating my own evaluation on my blog) suffice it to say that I have been impressed by the device. I don't have the Exchange Server working yet, but will persist this weekend to see if I can get it to work. In terms of Nokia this is a great device, except for the stylus (I hate these as I alwya lose them!) I not sure that I agree that the screen is responsive enough and there is the irritating habit that if you touch too gently it actually launches the application instead of scrolling past. I will concede that with the stylus, this almost never happens. Suffice it to say that currently I agree that the device is the best that Nokia have made. I still remain unconvinced though as to whether it beats my iPhone.

  13. Pingback: Mobiele Telefoons » My Nokia N900 Review - http://bit.ly/b5SQUg

  14. Anton
    March 4, 2010 at 4:19 am

    Has there been any indication of when the N900 will actually be available from MTN or Vodacom? Last time I heard it was "probably in the second quarter of 2010", which could mean anything

  15. Giles
    March 30, 2010 at 4:27 am

    Well, it's the end of March now and I'm still waiting for SOME indication of if/when this device will be released in SA. In december there was word that Nokia would bring it in the second quarter of 2010 but I've not been able to find anything since...and I search regularly. I've been into numerous MTN outlets and asked but have had nothing better than blank stares from MTNs clevers. I'm so attracted to the open-source-ness of this device and I would like to get it on my MTN contract rather than importing it. News, anybody?...

  16. Pingback: Airtime innovation from Flexicell! | DChetty

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