Looks like Nokia N900 is something new in the smartphone class, or even a first step to a new class. The Nokia N900 is a mobile Internet device and phone from Nokia based on the Maemo platform, superseding the N810.
Maemo is a software platform developed by Nokia for smartphones and Internet Tablets. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution.
N900 is evolved from N810 Internet tablet device. It’s a first computer device which fits your pocket and is so compact that might be mistaken for a mobile phone. Well, actually it can be used as mobile phone. So how is it different from a regular smartphone?
You can easily browse the Internet with this device, it uses Linux version of FireFox, so all Web pages are displayed correctly, it runs quite fast even with several applications at once. Moreover it supports Adobe Flash and other FireFox addons which makes a significant difference from other smartphone devices.
You don’t have to wait for any compatibility applications to be released or mobile page versions like it was with iPhone and Android, you can use any Web site as is with full Flash and Java support.
For example this device is compatible with grooveshark, last.fm online music services or Google Docs.
And like a real computer it has QWERTY keyboard, with keyboard shortcuts support. It’s such a small usability feature, but usually forgotten when it comes to smartphones. But it’s much easier to use Ctrl + A to select all text then copy it with Ctrl + C, it’s so simple to switch between apps with Ctrl + Backspace and paste with Ctrl + V. You can even create your own custom keyboard shortcuts, for example you can create a custom shortcut to open a browser window with Ctrl + W.
Another great Linux feature is software installation, you just need to open program manager and you’ll get a list of available software, sorted by category, ready for the one click installation. After you choose to install any of them, it will automatically download the necessary files, install them and put a shortcut to your program menu, and yes almost all Linux software and games is free.
When it comes to games, ARM Cortex A8 600 MHz CPU, PowerVR SGX GPU and 3,5 inch (800×480) is impressive, it’s something new and unexpected even compared to iPhone.
Most important, that running on Linux this hardware will make a better performance than Intel Celeron netbook running on Windows XP! You can easily start a game, minimize it and open a browser, load a YouTube music clip and browse the net while still listening to the clip, running Skype, Google Talk, Facebook and several other services.
You can open three FireFox tabs, load some large pages with a lot of content, graphics and flash banners, it will make no difference. Sure it has a limit, sometimes it takes one unoptimized application or a Web site to use all available CPU time, luckily I did not ran into any of these yet which I cannot tell about my iPod touch app’s and games, where hanging software is quite common.
OS
Maemo is not only a fast OS, but it has one of the most friendly user interface. In fact, all of the great ideas implemented in Symbian UIQ by Sony has their analogs in Maemo and even more comfortable, smart controls like a totally new media center. Generally speaking it’s one of the best user interface that I had ever used. Everything is where I like it, it’s very intuitive, except for camera, it still sucks compared to Sony Ericsson, but everything else is very thoughtful and well built.
Calling
As already mentioned before, it might be used as a mobile phone, but it’s not as comfortable as regular cellphone. You know how uncomfortable is to call from your PC using Skype? Well it’s almost the same, and I couldn’t find anything in my phonebook when it was merged with my Gtalk and Skype friends. All together there was a few hundred of names, fifteen of them was “Tom”. You can imagine how hard it was to call or even find anyone there.
Texting
Similar SMS and IM tones and looks makes it even harder to use, how would you like to get few hundreds of SMS’es daily? And you can’t split Skype chat’s from regular, so if you don’t want to have this mess, you shouldn’t use Skype at all, or you can use alternatives like “Fring” which even supports video calls and keeps your contacts separately.
Ergonomics
Nokia N900 display orientation is landscape only, so you always have to use both of your hands, what’s even worse, the display stays on when you’re on a call so you can accidentally tap “end call”.
Battery
When it comes to battery life, usually cellphones last much longer than computer devices, this device is not an exception too. You can browse the net for about 6 hours with your Wi-Fi on. It’s impressive compared to regular laptop or even iPhone (4h). Anyway, on my regular daily routine it lasts for about a day and a bit more, when N97 used to last 3-4 days, SonyEricson G900 used to last a whole week.
Camera
I will not expand on the camera review, it’s a regular 5Mpix camera, which is much like N97, nothing special but should enough for your daily needs. It is worth to mention quite good macro function and high detailed video recording 848x480px @ 24 Fps 3,14 Mbps.
Nokia N900 probably will be the first handheld computer device which fits your pocket but is also as functional as regular Linux netbook.And the price is almost the same, and I think it’s not too much to pay for for a smartphone which also gives you fully functioning Internet browsing, quick multitasking, good camera, friendly user interface and much more.. Maybe this time they really do not charge for OS ? The power of free Linux ? Most important that this free Linux (Maemo 5) is one of the fastest and easiest to use, so they will really beat all these Windows Mobile.. N900 fits your pocket, but it fills it with a lot of gadgets which does not yield iPhone touch. To sum up, N900 is a great alternative to your pocket PC with Windows Mobile or iPhone, because it’s much faster and easier to use. It will not replace a cellphone like N97, because it can’t last even few days, and answering calls is not very comfortable.
