Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Needing an physical adapter is "supergeek"? Frankly, that may be the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

So, those consumer devices that let you plug an Express Card into a USB slot ... that's "supergeek", even though some wireless ISPs use them as standard equipment for use with their wireless cards?

Or, those business people who do international travel, and use power adapters for their laptops... according to you, they're no longer "corporate suite" types? Even though they know next to nothing about geek topics, they're now "supergeeks" because they have physical adapters on their electronic gear?

And, it's a phrase coined by a joint team of Intel, Microsoft, and Samsung, to refer to a particular class and generation of devices which, not very coincidentally, specifically use x86 hardware and the Windows OS. Further, they have a particular size and performance profile (8" and 7" screens).

The more generic term (both in terms of size, CPU, and OS), which also includes Linux devices, is MID (also coined by Intel, and later clarified by Intel to be a super-set of the both the UMPC and netbook markets).

Even if you want to go with the more casual use of the terms, UMPCs are regarded as larger devices than MIDs. Again, UMPCs have 7" - 9" screens, are not aimed at the pocketable market, and attempt to be desktop replacement types devices (running desktop OSes, in desktop user interface configurations). Smaller than that, and more optimized around being pocketable devices, are the MID and/or smartphone markets (depending on the device's exact capabilities).

Welcome to the tradeoffs of the mobile market. Smaller, lighter, cooler, longer (battery life) == slower. Period. If you want to increase the speed, you have to give up one or more of the other factors.

And, the Nokia NIT platform is not considered by the mobile market at large (not even by the windows oriented faction) to be a "dawg", they're considered to be one of the market leaders. They were the first MID on the scene, they have one of the best mobile UI's on the scene, etc.. Perfect? no. "dawg"? Not even close.

Compare it to your beloved UMPC market, where the CPU's predate the Atom (such as the Samsung Q1 Ultra), and you're looking at devices that are actually SLOWER than the NIT overall (more MHz, but still slower devices), and have half the battery life ... at best. Yet, they also weigh 2-4 times as much, and have UI's that aren't even closed to optimized for the mobile market (most of them are just running the desktop XP or Vista environment, unmodified).

From there, if you want a device with one of the faster Atom processors, you're most likely going to be carrying around a heat generating battery sucking device that either has a battery bigger than the NIT itself, or has a pitiful battery life (or both).

If you want to keep trying to argue this, you might want to do a bit more research on the topic. If there's one thing you've made clear, it's that you don't know have even half a clue about what you're talking about.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

I think the shortest thing I can say about any new device is this: I won't buy anything with a micro-SD slot. Normal-size SD or no deal, ever.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

I have a feeling you won't be buying the new device. I can't think of a mobile device that has shipped from Nokia since the N800 that had a full sized SD slot.
I just want an N810 with a better processor and 3G so it looks like I am all set ;)

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

I'd prefer the exact opposite. My pocketable device should have a microSDHC card slot.

Full size SD card slots are for netbooks, UMPCs, and larger devices, and they're intended to receive any size SD card (micro, mini, or full size) via adapters where necessary. That latter requirement isn't necessary (nor, even, really appropriate) in a pocketable device.

MicroSD cards are cards that can be put into any device, and take up as little room as possible. Both of those, but especially the latter, are highly appropriate for pocketable devices.

Though, I wouldn't consider either direction to be a "deal breaker". However, I would be greatly disappointed to see Nokia do another miniSD slot.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

It's true that if all Nokia come out with will have micro-<something> slots, I won't be getting any Nokia again.

Even if everything went 'micro' I wouldn't buy it, simply because micro-SD cards are physically too small: I will lose them. They're small enough to fall out of whatever I try to keep them in. There's no way I can keep them safe. Even the wallet coin pocket won't hold them - there's typically a little gap there. I can just manage to keep my full-size SD cards as it is.

But I don't expect that such a change will actually happen until we're way beyond NAND flash: full-size SD format will keep walking up to 2TB and will keep the size until they're there. After that things could change, but we've hopefully something better than NAND by then.

Micro SD is _TOO SMALL_. It only works for devices where you keep a single card permanently inside the slot, forever. As you would do with a phone. That's where Nokia is heading, apparently: The phone folks there have taken over, with just too limited imagination.

EDIT: I don't _mind_ a microSD card in a phone. I do mind in a NIT/MID/UPMC device though.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

So,

1) buy a bunch of MicroSD to SD card adapters (watch out, all of these adapters will make you a supergeek).

2) put the adapters into your wallet/carrying case/etc. Just like you do with full size SD cards now.

3) when you take a microSD card out of a device, put it into one of the adapters (and make sure it's properly seated in the adapter). Now you've got a microSD card that is just as safe to carry as a full size SD card, just as hard to lose as a full size card, etc.

4) when you want to put the microSD card back into your N900, pull it out of the adapter and put it into the N900.

:-)

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

"Google plans to release a mobile app called "Star Droid", which uses a combination of GPS and the phone's camera to label the stars above your head.

"Once they've attained a GPS lock, users will be able to point their phones' cameras toward the night sky and have star data—probably pulled from the same sources as Google Earth's Sky—superimposed over the image."

http://gizmodo.com/5250393/google-st...l-nerd-updated

Cool background:

http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/20...h-the-universe

Video:

http://phandroid.com/2009/05/12/goog...ndroid-market/

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Will they have a mapper program to plot a navigation path for your space ship?

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Yes, you just go to google maps, enter the star chart information, click on "get directions", and enter the other star chart information, and it will give you the sublight astrogation information you need. There may also be an option for entering warp, hyperspace, wormhole, star gate, and other translight astrogation instructions.

Last, if you click on "public transportation", it will also give you information about locations where you can make yourself a likely "alien abductee" for hitching a ride to the desired location. Hopefully it'll also give you an indication of the "costs" of each mode of alien travel (being a guinea pig for organ transplants, genetic manipulation ... probes... the usual).

:-)

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Great, I won't crash my space ship in the moon next time! (Never schedule the maiden voyage of a spacecraft on the night of the new moon, folks!!!)