Another October phone - Nokia N900

[directhex]

The N900 is a high-end, Linux-based smartphone which may (fingers crossed) kill Series 60 from Nokia's high-end devices, in favour of their home-grown Linux-based OS Maemo. Previously mentioned here: News - Nokia unveils Maemo-packing N900 handset



800x480 screen; 32 GiB disk; 256 MiB RAM; 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 (CPU from iPhone 3GS & palm Pre) w/ PowerVR thingy.

Why am I bugging you about it? Well, there's (FINALLY!) some info on UK availability, beyond the £500 SIM-Free direct from Nokia. And it's by a mile the most tinkerable mainstream device out there - much moreso than Android or Pre or WM - which will run pretty much anything a desktop Linux system can (which means a rather larger pool of software than you typically get on a new phone OS)

MobilePhonesDirect (who own Nokia stores) have it from the end of the month. Available on Vodafone PAYG for just under £400; Available on T-Mobile or Vodafone on contract (free on a £35+ contract).

I reckon this one could be a VERY interesting device - but the highly limited rollout means it's a right bugger to even try one out... fortunately there's a Nokia store in Banbury

[McClane]

Before I was looking to get an N97 but Orange don't offer it so I was pretty disappointed. After seeing this I instantly forgot about the N97. I'm hoping Orange are going to offer the N900 but knowing my luck they won't. This could be the first phone I'm willing to pay for.

[DeludedGuy]

I dont like the keyboard layout.

[McClane]

For anyone that's interested, there's a very in depth preview on my-symbian which can be found here:
http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php

This has sent my excitement levels through the roof!

[directhex]

Originally Posted by McClane

For anyone that's interested, there's a very in depth preview on my-symbian which can be found here:
http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php

This has sent my excitement levels through the roof!

A little TOO in-depth - I want to know about the phone, but this was tl;dr for me

[kingpotnoodle]

Anyone know if PC Suite will be the same for this as other N-Series, so I can use it to access the internet via my laptop ("tethering" in iCrap speak)??

I'm trying to decide between an N900 and a Pre... and "tethering" is a big feature for me, particularly if it works over Bluetooth (my N78, E65, N80 and prior all did)... I'd hate to have to pay for and carry a seperate dongle for mobile broadband...

[directhex]

Originally Posted by kingpotnoodle

Anyone know if PC Suite will be the same for this as other N-Series, so I can use it to access the internet via my laptop ("tethering" in iCrap speak)??

I'm trying to decide between an N900 and a Pre... and "tethering" is a big feature for me, particularly if it works over Bluetooth (my N78, E65, N80 and prior all did)... I'd hate to have to pay for and carry a seperate dongle for mobile broadband...

It will 101% have the *ability* to tether (it's pre-rooted Linux, after all) - but no idea on the software end of things

[DeludedGuy]

The look and colour theme of the menu is reminiscent of the old HTC winmo stuff, it’s a bit dated.

[fiish]

I look forward to being able to try one of these out. Not seen what Maemo is like and would love to see how such a powerful device can keep a good battery life with a pack the same size as my 5800's.

Too bad my 'new phone' fund is a little short for me to afford a £500 device

[directhex]

Originally Posted by fiish

I look forward to being able to try one of these out. Not seen what Maemo is like and would love to see how such a powerful device can keep a good battery life with a pack the same size as my 5800's.

Too bad my 'new phone' fund is a little short for me to afford a £500 device

Costs the same as a Hero on contract

[fiish]

I was thinking about the outright purchase price ~£500 is a bit steep versus ~£370 for the Hero. Admittedly it's more powerful hardware.

As for contracts, choosing an operator to be tied to for 18 months (I won't consider 24 month contracts, they're just too long!) is not a fun choice to make. I'd be happy spending a few minutes in the Nokia store playing with it. That being said, the last phone I played with in a Nokia store I ended up buying a week later...

[TAKTAK]

Cheers for this Hex, it ticks all of my boxes by the looks of things (i was after the HTC HD2 but with a full [ish] KB plus non windows), this may be the one for me

Best get reading

[muppet_hat]

Wow... as cool as it looks that phone looks ginormous....

[badass]

Originally Posted by directhex

The N900 is a high-end, Linux-based smartphone which may (fingers crossed) kill Series 60 from Nokia's high-end devices, in favour of their home-grown Linux-based OS Maemo. Previously mentioned here: News - Nokia unveils Maemo-packing N900 handset



800x480 screen; 32 GiB disk; 256 MiB RAM; 600MHz ARM Cortex-A8 (CPU from iPhone 3GS & palm Pre) w/ PowerVR thingy.

Why am I bugging you about it? Well, there's (FINALLY!) some info on UK availability, beyond the £500 SIM-Free direct from Nokia. And it's by a mile the most tinkerable mainstream device out there - much moreso than Android or Pre or WM - which will run pretty much anything a desktop Linux system can (which means a rather larger pool of software than you typically get on a new phone OS)

MobilePhonesDirect (who own Nokia stores) have it from the end of the month. Available on Vodafone PAYG for just under £400; Available on T-Mobile or Vodafone on contract (free on a £35+ contract).

I reckon this one could be a VERY interesting device - but the highly limited rollout means it's a right bugger to even try one out... fortunately there's a Nokia store in Banbury

Bet its still rubbish at making and recieving calls

[directhex]

Originally Posted by muppet_hat

Wow... as cool as it looks that phone looks ginormous....

[JimmyBoy]

im pretty much sold by this but im slightly put off by the fact i can find nothing about how easy it is to send sms / make calls. anyone got any info / pics / vids?