There are a few people in the mobile ecosystem whose opinion I make sure to listen to. Mark Guim has been around the block almost as long as I have and here provides a (month) long term review of the Nokia N900, running Maemo 5, of course. If you're currently using an N97 (for example) and had been wondering whether the grass was greener on the other side, his review should answer your questions. Summary? If you live in the browser, you'll love the N900 - if you live in apps and media, then best stick with Symbian and the N97.
Read on in the full article.
Why did Nokia want to use Maemo and not Symbian for its highend smartphones? Did Nokia think that Symbian is not good enough to compete with Android, OSX, WebOS, BB, and now the new Bada?
Interesting review, but shame its got one part wrong.
"Since Maemo is still new ...." Its been around for about 4.5 years. It pre-dates the iPhone, but its only now just added telephony.
Sounds like overall its still got the web bias from the previous generation of tablets. There's always been a good range of applications for the Maemo platform (invariably of the geekier type apps, primarily down to the nature of the platform before now), but until now its not really had the processing ability to do some serious gaming - that will come soon enough now, the developer community will be having a field day.
Will have to check out the maemo garage to see whats coming along!
No Steve.. if you live in apps and media, then best stick with the iphone. 😉 oh and the browser ain't that bad eh 😊
I don't much care for your summary.
Here are some choice quotes :
"Believe me when I say the display on the Nokia N900 is sharp."
"Sharing photos and videos online is really amazing on the Nokia N900. If someone asked me what my favorite feature is on the Nokia N900, this is it."
"Maemo is refreshing to use after the S60 OS from previous Nokia devices. The interface is much nicer."
It's quite a balanced review, I find, so there are negative comments too (Ovi Maps for example) - exercise for the reader.
The final conclusion, "I need a device that has to have a good web browser AND a good camera. That makes the N900 the best device for me...better than the iPhone 3GS, Droid, and the N97."
Personally I am skipping the N97 and heading straight to the N900. I would prefer a pocket computer that can make phone calls rather than the other way around.
I think Nokia have really nailed the separation between the Maemo 5 N900 and the Symbian based N phones. As far as I can see the N900 is aimed far past the normal iPhone/Blackberry/N97 et al. It's more aimed at the people who jumped on the early Android phones, and as I see a lot more Android based phones moving down through the market segments, I see a good niche appearing for the N900 at the very high end. Given the recent spate of problems related to jail broken iPhones, a few of those people who needed the functionality the the normal iPhone lacked will also see some good potential in the N900 as well.
So yes it's a well balanced piece and I will be definitely forwarding it around! :icon14:
Unregistered wrote:Why did Nokia want to use Maemo and not Symbian for its highend smartphones? Did Nokia think that Symbian is not good enough to compete with Android, OSX, WebOS, BB, and now the new Bada?
Maemo is aimed at the higher end than Symbian, BB, iPhone or Android.
And to be honest I can't count BB as a smartphone platform. I supported a corporate BB roll out a few years back, and they're a fantastic device for corporate e-mail. Not particularly that good for anything else though.
No full blown multi tasking, apps are (still?) Java only - and pretty lousy from memory.
Android is attempting to cover all bases - from entry level cheap devices all the way up to higher end internet tablets (like the Archos). Its attempting to become the PC of the phone world, which isn't an easy task.
WebOS - as nice as it is, its not a serious contender.
"Given the recent spate of problems related to jail broken iPhones, a few of those people who needed the functionality the the normal iPhone lacked will also see some good potential in the N900 as well."
Care to enlighten me, a jailbreak 3gs users, about those problems? You mean having to change a password?
7 hours of battery where I would normally expect two days on my Symbian phone. I predicted that the N900 battery life would be poor, but that's just pathetic.
i believe this article to be very bad journalism - there are so many errors in this review it's ridiculous!
making critical comments on a pre-production handset's build quality.
making comments about the lack of multi-touch even though it's known by many that Apple are holding "copyright" on this "feature".
making light of a "bug" where it slows down your phone if you're trying to access a large amount of emails through IMAP in your Gmail account (this is really amateur, as this is the case on most phones).
the complaint about having to add the international dialling codes when using Skype (newsflash - Skype is an international dialling service).
complaining that you have to "pause a youtube video to let it buffer before playing" (this is definitely to be expected over a phone's 3G connection, and i'm going to assume that the reviewer didn't use WiFi to test this since he/she doesn't specify).
i'm so annoyed about this i'm actually gonna cross post this on the blog itself!
absolutely diabolical. no wonder Nokia has to struggle when it has to contend with jesusPhone sympathisers like this.
Does Nokia intend to create another Ovi store for N900? Since N900 is a highend smartphone, it must have enough usable applications for it to run on. How will Nokia support two different Ovi stores, assuming that symbian and maemo applications are not compatible. If there is insufficient applications that can run on N900, then it is going to fail...
Unregistered wrote:Does Nokia intend to create another Ovi store for N900? Since N900 is a highend smartphone, it must have enough usable applications for it to run on. How will Nokia support two different Ovi stores, assuming that symbian and maemo applications are not compatible. If there is insufficient applications that can run on N900, then it is going to fail...
wrong on two counts: the N900 is not a smartphone, it's an internet tablet with phone functionality.
and secondly: the N900 will not fail in it's target market - the N900 is running a Linux based OS, and has Debian features such as apt-get. porting Linux apps shouldn't be too hard an issue.
oscillik wrote:i believe this article to be very bad journalism - there are so many errors in this review it's ridiculous!making critical comments on a pre-production handset's build quality.
making comments about the lack of multi-touch even though it's known by many that Apple are holding "copyright" on this "feature".
making light of a "bug" where it slows down your phone if you're trying to access a large amount of emails through IMAP in your Gmail account (this is really amateur, as this is the case on most phones).
the complaint about having to add the international dialling codes when using Skype (newsflash - Skype is an international dialling service).
complaining that you have to "pause a youtube video to let it buffer before playing" (this is definitely to be expected over a phone's 3G connection, and i'm going to assume that the reviewer didn't use WiFi to test this since he/she doesn't specify).
i'm so annoyed about this i'm actually gonna cross post this on the blog itself!
absolutely diabolical. no wonder Nokia has to struggle when it has to contend with jesusPhone sympathisers like this.
Whilst there may be issues with some aspects of the review, your last comment is diabolical, and ever so typical of keyboard warriors in this day and age. Jesusphone sympathiser???? Did you see the name of the site? Its the NOKIA BLOG. Thats just the place to find iPhone lovers, sure ....
clonmult wrote:Whilst there may be issues with some aspects of the review, your last comment is diabolical, and ever so typical of keyboard warriors in this day and age. Jesusphone sympathiser???? Did you see the name of the site? Its the NOKIA BLOG. Thats just the place to find iPhone lovers, sure ....
i'm sorry, i must've imagined all those comparisons to the iPhone in that review*rolls eyes*
Unregistered wrote:Does Nokia intend to create another Ovi store for N900? Since N900 is a highend smartphone, it must have enough usable applications for it to run on. How will Nokia support two different Ovi stores, assuming that symbian and maemo applications are not compatible. If there is insufficient applications that can run on N900, then it is going to fail...
Not sure how any app store will work.
If its anything like the previous internet tablets, there can be a couple of methods.
Go to a website (like the maemo garage), find the app you want, and click "Install". Or go to a website that lists the various repositories, click to add them, then ....
Go the app manager, which will have the various repositories installed, and list the applications within categories - games, business, video, media, etc. And install direct.
Worked really well on the 770.
Although the Ovi branding will be interesting - the maemo system works quite well at the moment, not sure that hitting it with the Ovi look would help in the slightest.
davidmaxwaterma wrote:I don't much care for your summary.
Agreed. I found it to be a pretty well balanced review as well, and I don't get all the attempts to promote a severely flawed product such as the N97...
oscillik, Apple may have a patent on multi-touch, but that doesn't mean others cannot and have not integrated it as well. The Google Android platform supports it and the HTC Hero and others have it on there by default. The Palm Pre and WebOS devices have multi-touch as well and Microsoft is rolling it out in their new OS in 2010.
Unregistered wrote:7 hours of battery where I would normally expect two days on my Symbian phone. I predicted that the N900 battery life would be poor, but that's just pathetic.
I've been using the N900 for a long time, and I get through a day (from home->work->back home again) most days and I'm a very heavy user (constant push/pull email (M4E and IMAP), IM on, GPS on, wifi/3G on, Twitter on). Having said that, there aren't too many days when I actually *have* to make it through the day...there are many chances to plug it in, but I don't need to. It's often a close call (gone red when I get home), but hey, I can always carry a second battery (I don't though).
oscillik wrote:wrong on two counts: the N900 is not a smartphone, it's an internet tablet with phone functionality.
I consider my N900 a 'phone'. If I leave it in my office, I say, "Oh, I left my phone behind.". Also, when I call my parents, I make a phone call.
I don't know where you get the idea you can dictate to other people how they should classify their device. In my mind, if it can make a phone call, then it is a phone.
I can't believe this site keeps bashing on POS N97. The world has moved on... Most balanced phones sites don't give a hoot about the N97. AAN is probably the ONLY place that keeps raving on about the N97.
If you're currently using an N97 (for example) and had been wondering whether the grass was greener on the other side, his review should answer your questions.
That's not the "other side". That's a corner of this side that has been left unkept and unwatered by Nokia since November 2007, and only recently got some attention. The "other side" is Android, and YES, it's a lot greener.
Unregistered wrote:I can't believe this site keeps bashing on POS N97. The world has moved on... Most balanced phones sites don't give a hoot about the N97. AAN is probably the ONLY place that keeps raving on about the N97.
If you dislike the content of this site so much, why don't you p*ss off to another site which has a similarly blinkered outlook.
Don't worry, when Nokia buy Palm, they'll all be replaced by WebOS devices! 😉
Steve is funny... "if you live in apps... then best stick with Symbian and the N97"
Can you Steve, with a straight face, name some good Symbian apps? Except for Gravity twitter client and your beloved podcasting application.
I, for one, can't wait to get rid of my N97 and move on to the N900. The N97 has been the biggest disappointment in my long history with Nokia devices.
Symbian and S60 in their current form should be taken off life support and disposed of. Maemo seems be a step in the right direction.
Arthur wrote:Steve is funny... "if you live in apps... then best stick with Symbian and the N97"Can you Steve, with a straight face, name some good Symbian apps? Except for Gravity twitter client and your beloved podcasting application.
I, for one, can't wait to get rid of my N97 and move on to the N900. The N97 has been the biggest disappointment in my long history with Nokia devices.
Symbian and S60 in their current form should be taken off life support and disposed of. Maemo seems be a step in the right direction.
Profimail is briiliant, as is QuickOffice and Sports Tracker, plus iPlayer. Those are the ones I use, but there are plenty more. Gravity is crap, but it has kinetic scrolling (like profimail does) so people rave about it. But Gravity is a twitter app so therefore pointless.
Great, yet another "Symbian is crap, Nokia is crap" rant from Arthur, who apparently still can't tell the difference between Symbian the OS and S60 the UI.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with Symbian which can't be fixed by some quality devices being released. The fact that Nokia have released some total dogs recently (which I agree is totally unacceptable) has nothing to do with the OS and everything to do with bad design choices.
If you can't tell the difference, then I pity you...
I think it would be wise to rename the website "allaboutmaemo.com".Symbian is dying, clues are everywhere, samsung is droping it, nokia is gradually droping it.....
buster wrote:Great, yet another "Symbian is crap, Nokia is crap" rant from Arthur, who apparently still can't tell the difference between Symbian the OS and S60 the UI.There is absolutely nothing wrong with Symbian which can't be fixed by some quality devices being released.
If you can't tell the difference, then I pity you...
Quality devices being released? But that's the problem: there are NO quality devices being released. Understand?
Talking about hypothetical devices two years down the road is meaningless. It's what's available right now that matters and in that regard Symbian is being left in the dust.
I still think you're being a bit unfair. There are plenty of good Symbian/S60 phones out there (Samsung i8910, some of the new Nokias, the recent SE Satio), it's just that Nokia's recent high-profile releases have been piss-poor. I agree with you that if Nokia don't buck their ideas up then Symbian might be in a bit of trouble, but that doesn't make Symbian a bad OS or phones running it bad phones...
buster wrote:There is absolutely nothing wrong with Symbian which can't be fixed by some quality devices being released. The fact that Nokia have released some total dogs recently (which I agree is totally unacceptable) ...
So now you see why Nokia has been running down Symbian. You do get it, right?
All the big investment has gone to Maemo. It's like MS-DOS and Windows, what was once the standard becomes a legacy system, then it's thrown overboard.