Hpw good is the n900?

wireless101

I'm getting mixed reports

not_xanthor

standard question: what do you want in a phone?

Tom Dunne

not_xanthor wrote: »

standard question: what do you want in a phone?

Yup, that's what I would ask.

For me, as an ex-Apple fanboy, it has everything - 5 megapixel camera, GPS, cool interface, e-mail/sms and possibly the best Skype integration of any phone out there (I'm abroad, so I use it a lot). Oh, and did I mention the FM transmitter? Something I use at least twice a day on the way to and from work.

However, if you are looking for apps, apps and more apps, don't bother. If you are looking for a slick user interface, try before you buy - it is good, but possibly not as good as Android, certainly not as slick as iPhone.

Remember that it is a Linux computer that just happens to have the ability to make phone calls. You will not get a better web browsing experience on any phone, full stop. It is a full web browser that also does Flash 9. Plus it comes with a cable to connect it to the TV - I watched Inglorious Basterds on the TV via my phone there last week, quite simply because I could. It has 32Gb of memory, which is a lot.

Personally, I love it. I have started programming with it and no doubt will get many hours of entertainment out of it. However, there is a lot of doubt as to whether Nokia will continue supporting it as they are focussing on Meego, the next generation operating system for the high-end mobiles.

not_xanthor

It does a lot of things well. It does a few things not so well.

Portrait mode support is limited. There are third party portrait keyboards, but to install them properly, you'll need to do some light coding, and whilst i certainly couldn't do any better, they feel like workarounds at times.

There's also no MMS support straight out of the box. There is a third party MMS application, but it's a mite clunky at times.

If you want a phone that pretty much does everything out of the box... this probably isn't for you. If you like the idea of a phone that is customisable to the point where it's pretty much entirely open source.... then it might be for you.

TBH, i'm going to suggest it probably is not what you're looking for.

It wouldn't necessarily have been my first choice either, but was an insurance replacement for an N97, owning it is at times frustrating, at times entertaining.


Before somebody buys one, i'd strongly urge them to make sure it's what they want.

jimmycrackcorm

Its appeal is primarily to software developers and geek-like people because its linux roots are very present on the surface. In comparison, Android phones, also being Linux based, have this layer less obvious and as such are more focused on the consumer experience.

The simple answer is if you want a computer with phone capability then N900 - if you want a phone with computer functionality then android.

Whilst I haven't seen the N900 browser, I have to say that I cannot fault the android browser. The only obvious exception is that a physical keyboard would make life slightly easier (no screen coverage) although there are advantages in using something like Swype for faster input.

donkey balls

hi all im also thinking of getting the n900(i use a n97 at the mo)im due an upgrade with 3, afaik they are going be releasing the n900 along with other mobiles inluding the iphone 4 around mid july.
storage is a big thing for me at present i have about 6gb of space left on my n97,i mainly have photos/vids and about 3500 songs on the n97.
the reason i would be looking at the n900 is the storage capacity that other phones dont seem to have.
except for the iphone although its slick looking i couldnt be arsed in downloading apps etc also the fact that you cannot blue tooth pics/vids&music from the iphone to another handset is a big turn off.

PADRAIC.M

I have the N900 myself and love it ( would like to see what the UI is like on the iphone4 though) i love been able to rip or download movies in avi and copy them staight to the phone ( without converting) love the IM/sms intergtation and the sync between facebooks contacts and phone contacts..

Alanstrainor

I love my N900, but if you're not really technically minded then you may not get the benefit out of it. I love that it is essentially a computer with a phone attached rather than a phone trying to add some computer functionality.

god's toy

Yep I do love my 900 too and hands down its the best of both worlds for me, the power of a hand held computer running skype and mobile phone use too... class.

its not for everyone i agree but everyone ive shown it too wants one.

matrim

Another lover of the n900 but I'm also a "power" user and developer. The web browsing cannot be beat on any other phone I've seen and the unified communication suite is amazing (gsm, sip and skype out of the box). it is missing things but overall it's the phone for me now

not_xanthor

matrim wrote: »

The web browsing cannot be beat on any other phone...

Since i've never really used any Android phone, i've often wondered if the proverbial grass is greener on the other side where borwsing is concerned?

Is it really that big a difference?

Alanstrainor

not_xanthor wrote: »

Since i've never really used any Android phone, i've often wondered if the proverbial grass is greener on the other side where borwsing is concerned?

Is it really that big a difference?

There really is! The N900 is as close to desktop browsing as you can get these days. It's fast, responsive, incredibly stable and it can handle multiple windows. I've had 6 quite heavy sites open at the same time and not experienced any issues browsing them, and switching between open windows is quick and easy.

not_xanthor

so the N900 beats out android on flexibility (?).. that said every time i look at a desire review the browser seems just that bit faster than mine either over wifi or connected to a mobile network. am i imagining things?