Nokia N900

ChopShop · 10-10-2010 9:38am

Domscard wrote: »

It worries me that a number of N900 owners are beginning to report charging problems and more USB failures on Maomo. These even include people like me who filed down all the protruding pins at the start. These problems seem to be emerging at the latter end of year 1 and some are experiencing difficulty getting retailers to repair or replace.
What is going to happen after the warranties are up? Apparently, repair is not an option in many cases and the phone is just junk if you can't charge it :eek: Has anyone had any luck sorting out this problem with Irish operators like O2 or Vodafone?

Isn't the warranty two years?

I'd be inclined to think most N900 owners would've moved onto something else by the time the warranty is up.

...although these days, i'm not so sure if my next phone is going to be an N9... or a Nokia at all.

Domscard · 10-10-2010 4:57pm

wernstrom! wrote: »

Isn't the warranty two years?

I'd be inclined to think most N900 owners would've moved onto something else by the time the warranty is up.

...although these days, i'm not so sure if my next phone is going to be an N9... or a Nokia at all.

I bought the N900 more as a mini computer than a phone - certainly paid enough for it - so I would hope it lasts a bit longer than 2 years. I know that even if the warranty is up they can be followed for something that is an inherent fault, which this undoubtedly is. But it's the hassle ...

And you never know when it might be likely to go.
There's an active thread on Maemo now where some people are experiencing this fault for a second time after replacement - this is an incredibly bad reflection on Nokia if they can't get it right after so many returns and so much publicity.

Alanstrainor · 10-10-2010 5:55pm

Have you filing down the little tabs that are on the micro usb cable for the charger and the usb cable? I did this the day i got it to help things a bit. It's definitely worth doing. I didn't completely remove them, but i did make them smaller.

Domscard · 10-10-2010 6:11pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Have you filing down the little tabs that are on the micro usb cable for the charger and the usb cable? I did this the day i got it to help things a bit. It's definitely worth doing. I didn't completely remove them, but i did make them smaller.

Yes, I did that as soon as I heard about the problem here on Boards, which was in the first few days after purchase. But even people who did the same are suffering the problem now according to the Maemo forum

Some charging ports seem to stop working overnight without being pulled out at all. Makes me feel a bit nervous, though I've been ultra careful all along.

Alanstrainor · 10-10-2010 6:13pm

Domscard wrote: »

Yes, I did that as soon as I heard about the problem here on Boards, which was in the first few days after purchase. But even people who did the same are suffering the problem now according to the Maemo forum Some charging ports seem to stop working overnight without being pulled out at all. Makes me feel a bit nervous, though I've been ultra careful all along.

I wouldn't say i'm nervous at the minute, mine seems as solid as a rock. But i've been very careful, hopefully i'll get away with it. Since i've overclocked mine and done all sorts of messing i wouldn't want to have to deal with nokia!

Domscard · 10-10-2010 6:20pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I wouldn't say i'm nervous at the minute, mine seems as solid as a rock. But i've been very careful, hopefully i'll get away with it. Since i've overclocked mine and done all sorts of messing i wouldn't want to have to deal with nokia!

Cripes, forgot about that! I've overclocked to 850 and did a few minor tweaks. Nothing too advanced as I'm not techy enough. But will this affect the warranty for a faulty port? :eek:

Alanstrainor · 10-10-2010 6:31pm

Domscard wrote: »

Cripes, forgot about that! I've overclocked to 850 and did a few minor tweaks. Nothing too advanced as I'm not techy enough. But will this affect the warranty for a faulty port? :eek:

Afaik overclocking voids your warranty. It's whether or not they would check is the thing though.

Domscard · 10-10-2010 8:25pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Afaik overclocking voids your warranty. It's whether or not they would check is the thing though.

Is it possible to delete all/most evidence of alterations, assuming you were lucky enough to have some remaining charge in the phone? If you uninstall the relevant programmes and catalogues - I'm thinking here of rootsh, Enhanced Kernal, Swappolube and PyQt in particular - would that not cover your tracks a bit? Anything else you would recommend if the worst possible scenario came to pass? Maybe a quick Factory Reset, if there is such a thing?

Alanstrainor · 10-10-2010 8:27pm

Domscard wrote: »

Is it possible to delete all/most evidence of alterations, assuming you were lucky enough to have some remaining charge in the phone? If you uninstall the relevant programmes and catalogues - I'm thinking here of rootsh, Enhanced Kernal, Swappolube and PyQt in particular - would that not cover your tracks a bit? Anything else you would recommend if the worst possible scenario came to pass?

Well yeah, i would immediately remove the enhanced kernels, i'm not so sure the others have any bearing on warranty but i suppose there's no harm.

If you were stuck you could buy a desk charger for the battery and charge it up that way just in case there was no charge in it too. Or better yet, if you had another Nokia that uses the same battery you could use that to charge the battery.

Domscard · 10-10-2010 8:36pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Well yeah, i would immediately remove the enhanced kernels, i'm not so sure the others have any bearing on warranty but i suppose there's no harm.

If you were stuck you could buy a desk charger for the battery and charge it up that way just in case there was no charge in it too. Or better yet, if you had another Nokia that uses the same battery you could use that to charge the battery.

Thanks

I hope I never need to do it, but it's good to be prepared. I can just see Nokia using any excuse to duck their responsibilities. I'm still keen to know how anyone here in Ireland has fared with the problem under warranty.

vibe666 · 10-10-2010 11:47pm

new firefox 4 beta out for the n900.

http://nokiaexperts.com/firefox-4-beta-maemo-firefox-sync-awesome-screen/

This latest release is designed to increase performance and responsiveness, which is always a good thing.

You will find that Firefox Sync is included to sync browsing history, bookmarks, tabs, passwords and form-fill data so you can have a consistent experience between your PC/Mac and mobile phone.

Alanstrainor · 10-10-2010 11:57pm

vibe666 wrote: »

new firefox 4 beta out for the n900.

http://nokiaexperts.com/firefox-4-beta-maemo-firefox-sync-awesome-screen/

I installed it last night, and i'm not impressed tbh. It's horrendously slow, and i never like the UI.

AlmightyCushion · 11-10-2010 12:18am

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I installed it last night, and i'm not impressed tbh. It's horrendously slow, and i never like the UI.

I was going to install it to try it out but if this is what you think about it then I probably won't bother. The built in one and opera mini do a great job as it is.

Owwmykneecap · 11-10-2010 1:02am

So with the way nokia have treated the n900 and those who bought it...

who here would buy the n9?

AlmightyCushion · 11-10-2010 1:33am

Owwmykneecap wrote: »

So with the way nokia have treated the n900 and those who bought it...

who here would buy the n9?

It is really tempting as meego and the n9 look nice. I really want to play with android though so I'm thinking of getting an android phone soon. Saying that I was looking at android before getting my n900 so I wouldn't be surprised if I got an n9 sooner or later.

podge018 · 11-10-2010 11:32am

Reckon I'll jump to the iPhone 5 on it's release tbh, that's if I make it that far after reading the charging issue.....

LoGiE · 11-10-2010 1:24pm

At this stage I'm torn... Why does the n900 have to be so much work? Theres plenty of things to love like avi files playing natively, the web browser and skype but it doesn't make up for the fact it can crawl at times, has sub standard apps (the radio app springs to mind) and ones that require linux terminal skills to get to work properly. Then of course the lack of support from Nokia themselves.

I'm keeping my eye on NITdroid and would love to see Meego working on the N900 but I think I'll be changing device in the new year to a HTC or iphone.

ChopShop · 11-10-2010 1:47pm

Owwmykneecap wrote: »

who here would buy the n9?

My N900 was a (free) replacement for a POS N97... so technically, i never chose it.

Nokia seem to be spinning their wheels these days and unless they make a pretty impressive announcement at the Meego conference, i'll be looking to another manufacturer.

I've some doubts they'll be announcing anything at all.

Alanstrainor · 11-10-2010 5:47pm

LoGiE wrote: »

At this stage I'm torn... Why does the n900 have to be so much work? Theres plenty of things to love like avi files playing natively, the web browser and skype but it doesn't make up for the fact it can crawl at times, has sub standard apps (the radio app springs to mind) and ones that require linux terminal skills to get to work properly. Then of course the lack of support from Nokia themselves.

I'm keeping my eye on NITdroid and would love to see Meego working on the N900 but I think I'll be changing device in the new year to a HTC or iphone.

Since i optimised my N900 with the settings/apps i mentioned in the last page or two, my N900 is flying! And i experience very minimal slow down even when i'm pushing it. Menus are very fluid and quick, apps open quickly and switching tasks is no longer jittery.
I still think it's the phone for me, i can't think of any other device i'd want at the minute.

Oh and i can't wait for NITdroid to progress further so i can have it with calling properly enabled and with better power management.

podgeandrodge · 11-10-2010 6:11pm

Will the N900 ever support quicktime so I can remote view CCTV video as I did on my N95 or will I just give up on the idea?

OneWayBet · 11-10-2010 8:57pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Since i optimised my N900 with the settings/apps i mentioned in the last page or two, my N900 is flying! And i experience very minimal slow down even when i'm pushing it. Menus are very fluid and quick, apps open quickly and switching tasks is no longer jittery.
I still think it's the phone for me, i can't think of any other device i'd want at the minute.

Oh and i can't wait for NITdroid to progress further so i can have it with calling properly enabled and with better power management.

Mine flies too and I have the same setup, again for anyone who finds their N900 is not running at light speed just install the power kernel (with the 'ideal' setting) and install Swappolube with default proposed settings.

I'm still pretty happy with the N900 and might consider the N9. NITDroid is interesting and I've tried it a few times but with the missing dedicated Android buttons and lack of capacitive touch I'm inclined to think NITDroid will never be as good as much cheaper dedicated Android phones.

vibe666 · 11-10-2010 10:03pm

i paid full whack for my n97 to get it in my grubby mits the day before launch day (the first boardsie and very likely one of the first in ireland) and regretted it almost every day till i got my n900 (which i won and didn't actually pay for.

at the time i was mid-way between buying the n900 and the google nexus one, but i think the nexus one was winning after my bad experiences with nokia and the n97 and i'd have got that if it wasn't for the competition win making my mind up for me.

i'm 95% sure my next phone is going to be an android one and nokia is going to have to work damn hard to bring me round to anything they have to offer, but one thing i do know is that i'm not going to be an early adopter/beta tester for nokia any more, i have totally lost faith in them.

ChopShop · 11-10-2010 10:22pm

vibe666 wrote: »

at the time i was mid-way between buying the n900 and the google nexus one, but i think the nexus one was winning after my bad experiences with nokia and the n97 and i'd have got that if it wasn't for the competition win making my mind up for me.

Now that you mention it, the N95 8GB wasn't exactly a hassle free phone either.

Woeful battery life until they got new f/w out... several months later iirc, horrible browser, and the USB socket died as well.

The last Nokia i had before that was the 6630...and that had to go back too.

I've just been looking at a review of the Desire HD's camera... and whilst it's not fantastic.. one of my main concerns appears to be resolved.

However good the N9 turns out to be hardware wise, it will a while before Meego develops any critical mass that will make it a contender.

If it develops that critical mass at all.

So yeah, Nokia i'm more than likely giving a miss this time round.

god's toy · 12-10-2010 12:34pm

I've already moved over to android and it pains me to say this but I really do think its better in many ways.
The android Ui is very slick without having to hack anything and it just does everything I need right now.
Yep miss the fm transmitter but that just the way it goes.
Still use the 900 for podcasts, fm transmitter and skype in the house but really the android OS just does things better, faster and sicker than Maemo ever could.

Don't hate me I still love my 900 but I've learned the hard way its not a phone when you need it to be.

OneWayBet · 12-10-2010 1:49pm

god's toy wrote: »

I've already moved over to android and it pains me to say this but I really do think its better in many ways.
The android Ui is very slick without having to hack anything and it just does everything I need right now.
Yep miss the fm transmitter but that just the way it goes.
Still use the 900 for podcasts, fm transmitter and skype in the house but really the android OS just does things better, faster and sicker than Maemo ever could.

Don't hate me I still love my 900 but I've learned the hard way its not a phone when you need it to be.

I think it's all down to personal preference, some people (like me) enjoy hacking around with the phone and appreciate the flexibility that the N900 offers. Others prefer it to work the way the want out of the box and dont care about the flexibility. So, I think techies will continue to appreciate the N900 but non-techies will get frustrated by it (e.g. people who dont want to or couldnt be bothered to install power-kernel etc to boost the performance).

Alanstrainor · 12-10-2010 2:27pm

OneWayBet wrote: »

I think it's all down to personal preference, some people (like me) enjoy hacking around with the phone and appreciate the flexibility that the N900 offers. Others prefer it to work the way the want out of the box and dont care about the flexibility. So, I think techies will continue to appreciate the N900 but non-techies will get frustrated by it (e.g. people who dont want to or couldnt be bothered to install power-kernel etc to boost the performance).

This pretty sums up the N900. I wanted a device that i was free to hack around with, and that had a powerful web browser. Phone functionality came second to the above, so i really haven't had any problems with it as a phone.

If i lost my N900 tomorrow, i'd buy another one...well provided the price was right!

Jicked · 12-10-2010 6:51pm

I've never had any problems with my N900's battery life, but yesterday I uninstalled some Apps that I never use, and now it's running through an entire charge in a couple of hours (that's with almost no use, wi-fi switcher on which I'd usually get a couple of days out of) Argh :mad:

Alanstrainor · 12-10-2010 11:30pm

Jicked wrote: »

I've never had any problems with my N900's battery life, but yesterday I uninstalled some Apps that I never use, and now it's running through an entire charge in a couple of hours (that's with almost no use, wi-fi switcher on which I'd usually get a couple of days out of) Argh :mad:

I take it that you've rebooted it? There may be something funny running in the background.

vibe666 · 14-10-2010 8:54am

oooh, some more good news for n900 users!

http://thenokiablog.com/2010/10/13/nokia-n900-pr13-dual-boot-meego/

Word on the net (the Meego blog to be specific) is that PR 1.3 update is coming soon and that you’ll be able to dual boot between Maemo and Meego.

looks like they didn't forget about us after all.

or maybe they're just using us as beta testers again.

either way, it bodes well for a final release of meego for the n900 when its finally out.

Alanstrainor · 14-10-2010 9:24am

vibe666 wrote: »

oooh, some more good news for n900 users!

http://thenokiablog.com/2010/10/13/nokia-n900-pr13-dual-boot-meego/

looks like they didn't forget about us after all.

or maybe they're just using us as beta testers again.

either way, it bodes well for a final release of meego for the n900 when its finally out.

Awesome!
Nokia uses pretty much all their users as beta testers these days. I'm used to it.

Nokia N900

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