Nokia N900

[tzsm98]

If you are curious about Maemo cruise over to http://maemo.org/ (http://maemo.org/) to see what is going on.

I spent a few minutes going over bug reports for Maemo 5. Interesting reading, especially the bug concerning excessive swapping when the device is tethered to a laptop.

Buy.com is back in stock of their pre-order for the Nokia N900 (http://www.buy.com/prod/nokia-n900-unlocked-maemo-internet-tablet-3g-phone-panoramic-desktop/q/loc/12435/212003401.html)as of 09:53 CST 7 November 2009. I ordered mine 01 November and now I'm glad I did. I was thinking of waiting another week.

Over on phonescoop (http://www.phonescoop.com/search/results.php?q=N900&action=Search+Site)if you search using the term N900 you get some interesting tidbits about Nokia's stance on carrier branding for the N900. Can I get some powedered sugar for these waffles?

I'm very much looking forward to sticking my SIM into the device and seeing how it goes. It'll be interesting to see how much faster 3G is compared to EDGE.

[Guaner]

I'm very much looking forward to sticking my SIM into the device and seeing how it goes. It'll be interesting to see how much faster 3G is compared to EDGE.

Have you found a difference? I too would like to know what you find.

[tzsm98]

The device still hasn't shipped so I haven't seen a difference - yet.
After I get it up and running I'll report back.

The N900 has finally arrived. Here are my numbers using T-Mobile 3G
0.57 Mb/s download
0.23 Mb/s upload
330 ms ping

http://speedtest.net/result/675313960.png

[Guaner]

Cool, I'm looking forward to what you find.

[tzsm98]

The SAR values for the N900 are pretty good.
http://members.cox.net/tzsm98/D900stock/SARVALUE-RX-51.jpg

All the values are below midpoint of maximum allowable except the last. I guess this means I won't fry my head as quickly as the government might allow me to when I'm using this.

Table is copied from the SAR report available at the FCC website.

[tzsm98]

The Nokia N900 is now shipping. Originally expected in October, then early November, it is now on the way.

See the PRESS RELEASE (http://www.nokia.com/press/press-releases/showpressrelease?newsid=1353921)from Nokia.

[tzsm98]

Buy.com is currently out of stock but is offering a $50.00 rebate (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=212003401)for units purchased until the end of the year. The rebate form is available here (http://ak.buy.com/buy_assets/retail/pdfs/09Q4/1116-1231db-lb_50nokia.pdf)

[Guaner]

Good post - hopefully people can take advantage of this during the holidays.

[thomasz]

nice looking cellphone...I like it very much....

[tzsm98]

The N900 has an Internet Radio application. It has the capability of having stations added to the the list. Although this is aimed directly at adding stations from the somaFM family of stations the basics are applicable to adding any station.

To Add A Station to the N900 Internet Radio

Tap Media Button
Tap Internet Radio
Tap Internet radio stations
Tap Add radio bookmark
Tap web address entry field
Enter http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8850 (http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8850/)
Tap down caret with line under it to finalise entry (upper right corner)
Tap Name entry field
Call it whatever you want
Tap down caret with line under it to finalise entry (upper right corner)
Tap Save button

At this point the N900 will bring you back to the list of entered radio bookmarks. An information bar will appear across the screen informing you the media bookmark has been saved.

Scroll through list of bookmarks until you find the one you just created, based upon what you called it.

Tap the bookmark - enjoy!

Substitute any of the URLs below for http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8850 (http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8850/) in step 6 the routine above to add additional stations.

In no particular order:

http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8300 (http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8300/) Doomed

http://205.188.215.227:8014 (http://205.188.215.227:8014/) Space Station

http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8850 (http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8850/) Suburbs of Goa

http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8900 (http://voxsc1.somafm.com:8900/) Digitalis

http://temp.somafm.com:8090 (http://temp.somafm.com:8090/) Indie Pop Rocks

http://207.200.96.230:8014 (http://207.200.96.230:8014/) Boot Liquor

http://streamer-ntc-aa03.somafm.com:80/stream/1018 (http://streamer-ntc-aa03.somafm.com/stream/1018) Groove Salad

http://streamer-ntc-aa04.somafm.com:80/stream/1073 (http://streamer-ntc-aa04.somafm.com/stream/1073) Lush

http://streamer-dtc-aa01.somafm.com:80/stream/1032 (http://streamer-dtc-aa01.somafm.com/stream/1032) Drone Zone

Not a somaFM station but one I was requested to add
http://emf.mp3.lee.miisolutions.net/klove_high-02 K-LOVE

In general, get the Internet Radio station you want on your N900 to play in Windows Media Player. Go to File|Properties and the Location listed in Properties will be the URL to enter in the routine above. This will yield the URLs for thge stations I haven't listed.

[thomasz]

excellent info... thanks

[tzsm98]

Well, here is my speedtest results for my N900 on 3G in Oklahoma City.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/688225101.png

and
http://www.speedtest.net/result/688224031.png

Here are the 2G results obtained by switching the phone from Dual to GSM.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/688246443.png

http://www.speedtest.net/result/688252698.png

As can be seen there is a world of difference between 2G and 3G. During the 2G tests the icon displayed 2.5G.

The 30 minute gap between the 3G and 2G test was while I attempted to run this on my Nokia 5800, which does not have 3G capability with T-Mobile. It was not able to handle the web page. So, I had to figure out how to diable 3G on the N900.

[Guaner]

Interesting results. Thanks for posting!

[tzsm98]

After five solid weeks of use I am ready to review the Nokia N900 (Type: RX-51)
Overall I am quite happy with the device. Since I received it the OS has been updated twice, the Ovi Store has opened in β. It has locked up on me requiring the removal of the battery only once. Reception is excellent, voice quality is superb. Except for MMS, which I do miss because I used it a lot on my 5800 XpressMusic, it does all the phone stuff very well.

This device is far from perfect

The good news is that everything wrong with the N900 is a software issue except for the physical keypad issue. That means almost all of my complaints could actually be fixed and then this would be the hands-down best device to date.

Browser-
· One of the big selling points for me was the browser with Flash 9.4 that was supposed to be very close to the desktop browsing experience. Usually pages will render very closely to what they look like on your desk top. Looks are one thing, functionality is another. Maybe in the next update it will be closer. Right now it is a bit more frustrating to use than I like.
· Opening links is difficult because sometimes the link is not detected and other times the link is detected but the browser doesn’t act on it. This is mostly true for click-on graphics. It is also true for some text based links.
· Scrolling lists within a web page is difficult. The browser thinks you are trying to scroll the entire page rather than the list within the page. When the scroll buttons on a frame are used you have to work slowly or the browser thinks you are trying to zoom in or zoom out on the entire window.
· The back button leads to a visual history of where you have been rather than simply backing you up one level. I’d like to see a simple back button for the browser that simply returned you to the previous page.
Keypad-
· Good luck entering the numeral “1” using the physical keypad. The genius that put the shift key that close to the other keys apparently never had to enter a capital A,Z,Q or 1.
· Some of the blue paint on the shift key flaked off the first day.
· The symbols are assigned willy-nilly to the various keys. This really needed another row like a real keyboard. They would have had to allow the slide to move more to fit it in but it really is missing that fourth row.
· Unless having to access the above mentioned keys the keypad is quick, has excellent feedback and despite the small keys it usually is easy to be accurate.
On Screen Keypad-
· Automatic word completion assumes you are using the physical keypad which has arrow buttons that are missing from the on-screen keypad. You’ll be looking at exactly what you want to type in and have to physically enter it if you are using the on-screen keypad because it lacks those arrow buttons that would take you out to the end of the string.
· The “Enter” key is in a weird place, not at the right edge and middle like it is on every other keyboard on the planet.
· The on-screen keypad is fast and it too is easy to be accurate on when using.
Address Book-
· Tags are not editable in the address book.
· Imported entries that do not have a match for a tag are changed to “unsupported”. That means you now have to remember if that is the private number or the FAX number by adding a note.
· Oops, adding notes to contacts is not allowed on device. It will import the contact with the note, and then you can edit it. To add a note you have to use PC-Suite Communication Manager.
· Otherwise it seems to do all an address book should do.
· Scrolling through the address book is difficult. Sometimes it scrolls too quickly, sometimes too slowly. Rarely does it scroll in a manner that allows ready access to the exact contact you want.
· Sometime when trying to scroll through the address book you’ll accidentally select a contact instead.
Media Player –
· You will want to do all of your play lists off device and then transfer them. Setting up a play list on the N900 is very limited. If you want to add all of an artist’s songs, all of an album, all of a genre then you’ll be okay. If you want to mix it up a bit you’ll have to do it off device.
· There is no equalizer which means you are stuck with whatever sound your headphones naturally reproduce. If you have good headphones this is not an issue as the sound is excellent.
· Internet Radio is very cool. Adding stations is easy once you figure out what URL to use.
· Video Player doesn’t play back some of the videos that you can download from the N900 Ovi store.
· FM radio is an add-on application that will have to sit on one of your desktops. It is not native to the Media Player.
Maps-
· Ovi Maps 3 for S60 is so much more capable that the maps program on this device. Turn by turn voice navigation is not there. Synching your landmarks and saved places with Ovi is not there.
· It does allow you to set a Route between places and it will show the route. It will also provide a list of directions
· Signal acquisition in GPS is incredibly fast and accurate.
PC Suite Support-
The support for this device via PC Suite is limited as noted below. Some features work flawlessly.
· Nokia Music doesn’t recognize it in any connection mode.
· Communication Center works for contacts, and the calendar but not for the messages. If you have to add a note to a contact, this is the way to do it.
· Nokia Image Store does not recognize the device.
· Nokia Video Manager does not recognize the device.
· Nokia Application Installer doesn’t recognize the device.
· Nokia Software Updater supports the device. It also bricked my Nokia N900 the first time I used it to update the OS. I had to resort to other methods to restore the phone to usability. The good news is I was able to fully restore the device using a command line flasher program.
· Nokia Connection Manager works perfectly.
· Nokia PC Synch works perfectly.
Game Play-
· Bounce is a fun “proof of concept” game using the accelerometer to have you move the character through its universe.
· Angry Birds makes excellent use of the touch screen and the computer power of the N900.
· I have no complaints with how games play on this one.
The Wrap

Overall this is a fun device to use that shows some room for improvement. Unless I am directly trying to do one of the things I can't do as listed above this is an amazing device. It is fast, I've never seen the "out of memory" message, there are numerous applications for the device. Some things, like the physical keypad, will never get better. The rest is a matter of someone writing better code to address the shortcomings. Maemo 5 is an open source OS so it is possible that some or all of the shortcomings may be addressed and installed via automatic Over The Air updates. I’m hoping.

[Guaner]

Nice review!

Here is a picture of the phone for everyone to see.

:)
http://tech-digit.com/wp-content/uploads/nokia-n900-300x222.jpg