Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

This.

I get a lot of people who enjoy showing off their phones to me, since I'm kind of the local geek. Nine times out of ten I can trump 'em with my N900, and then they ask where to get one, and I have to tell them "sorry, I don't recommend these all that often; it's very much a geek device; that's what makes it so awesome for me."

For most folks, I just point 'em in the direction of the iPhone. What they want is quick and easy but still useful tools, and that's what the iPhone provides. Sure, it's not as customizable or flexible... but that's not what many of these folks need or want.

(And yes, I've had particularly anal I-can't-enjoy-my-phone-unless-you-enjoy-it-too recruiter types turn around and suggest I get an iPhone and jailbreak it. They have no good answer for my two biggest issues: 1) I will go back to AT&T shortly after hell freezes over, and 2) no physical keyboard. :) )

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Bwahaha, guess that shut him up.

OT:
Im the only one , of all the people I know to have an N900.
Every singel time I pull my N900 up from my pocket, someone asks me "what's that?`" , Nokia N900 I say. Then they shrug theyr shoulders and say " Meh, never hear of , must suck.".
Really makes me wanna punch theyr face in, but then they pull up the Iphone 3/4. then I feel sorry for them.

Anyhow, yes some apps are not the best(there are alot of great once too <3 )
I myself dont really care for "shotgun app" or "blow the candle app" I really dont see the point..
The N900 is for people thats not afraid to try something new, where Iphone users reach for the sky, we are already at the center of the universe. When I first got my n900, a year ago. I really didnt want to show my friends it. Since it was REALLY slow as stock. and theyr iphone didnt lag that much. But then I started reading up on the phone, and bumped into this site. And as I snapped my fingers, I had a 900mh/1gz ,some really nice tweaks to make it faster and smoother, and now I can run almost every phone of my friends to the ground.And now that ive learned how to really customize the N900, I have to show it to everyone. Thanks to this AWESOME community <3
I love my N900, and im sure as hell getting one more before its to late. (and yes i really cant stand Iphone :p)

Kind regards,
Futtawuh

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

You are a typical Iphone user i would say. I don't want to be disrespectful or anything but it sure seams like you don't know how to use the n900. Sure some programs have bugs and does not work well but the majority do. If you know what you are doing the n900 would pretty much double as a computer. What the stock n900 has been missing the community pretty much have solved.

The problem you explained about Wagic is not a fault of the n900. The same problem exist on all platforms.. also Windows. It's mainly a problem of closed source. How do you do when you want to pirate anything on a windows machine?

The thing with open source is that it often needs time cause it lacks the money. Many of the apps are developed for free. It takes time before it is ready for extras.

So i would say that your hate is based on lack of understanding and ability to learn how to do it right. Which means an Iphone would probably better suite you needs.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

iPhone users have much money.
Their phone is not open for the future.
If there are new possibilities they buy a new iPhone 5/6/7/..99.

I've got still my n900.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

It's partially to do with the mindset, and the distinction between what people expect from a phone and what people expect from a computer/netbook.

I mean, if you bought a netbook, and then found that to look at facebook you had to open an app, and then to look at youtube videos you had to open another app, and the search results were different, so you couldn't find that funny monkey video you were watching at a friend's house, and then instead of messing about with fun little flash games that people had made by going to their website, you had to open up a shop app and pay £1 for each one, or even download for free and clutter up your ccomputer with loads of little pointless toys would you recommend it to anyone else?

Sometimes I feel like the world is losing its mind..

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Yes, we have this preloaded with the N900. Only thing is that I don't have any other friends on Skype all the time and 3G video call would be a cheaper alternative than wifi (data service).

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

lol.. i have around.. 6000 games on my n900. :P i would like to see that on iphone.. 6000 playable games... sure iphone has some "fun games"... but.. they are no more interresting then the facebook games... in other words.. time wasters. if i want to waste my time on a game.. the only game on iphone thats good enough to end up as a classic some day is angry birds..

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Either you have nfi or you have some obsession with increasing your post count.

i am tilting towards the former, as you seem to be somewhat polite

First up, please find ppl here on TMO who actually HATE maemo (OS) or the N900 (hardware) at the time of release.

Answer - not many, if any. Most here was euphoric.

Everyone here loved the concept of maemo and the n900, thats why they bought the damn thing.

What everyone here HATES is what NOKIA did AFTER the n900 was released - or rather didnt do. The n900 had such potential, but Nokia just didnt give a ****. When you piss off an ardent fan ... well they evangelise for the other team... duh.

So there are no N900 or Maemo Haters here - what we have are people who have been severely disappointed by Nokia, which is a different thing entirely.

Flame on !

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

People who love the N900: Geeks/Hackers/People who are interested in their phones/People who understand hardware. (Oh, and me :) )
People who hate the N900: Non technological people/Iphone People (Please note that the past two go together :) )/ Non geeky people.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

I've couple of colleagues on IT-area with their Androids and iphones. There are so many things which cannot be done with those, but we haven't seen anything which couldn't be done with N900. N900 is so user friendly, with its great UI and You don't need to be a geek since applications and repositories are maintained pretty automatically. I was never before falling in love with any technical gadget, but I just love my N900 now.

When iphoners keeps promoting their closed system, I just smile happily inside wondering what if they would understand what is out here.. They just act like childs but let's give that freedom for them since they couldn't have freedom with their closed things.. =)

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

I've found the irony here is that most posters on this thread talks down iOS and Android without actually knowing the platform, just like if an iOS/Android noob would talk down on n900 based on it's out of the box experience and without any mods/tweaks.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Killing him maybe a little extreme. Personally I'd make talking about technology with your friend a no go area. He's obviously happy with his I-phone your obviously happy with your N900. Leave it at that.

However what you could do is swap with him for a couple of days. Maybe you'd only confirm your likes and dislikes but maybe you'd both learn something. If he won't swap it would prove he is not as open minded as you are, or worse afraid of what he might dscover. Blind loyalty or believing what you read all the time is a symptom of a lazy mind.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

My wife has an Android phone and she's always asking me how can she do the same things I do with my N900, specially regarding UI customization (not nerd things). Most of the times, after googling a lot the answer is no, you can't.

On the contrary, I don't miss very much from her phone. Some features that most people usually complain about, are useless or very buggy. I would only like to have a better integration with Google services and some of the Google apps, but nothing really special.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

that is a awesome idea, but i had the iphone 4 before,and i sold it xD. i am totally sure that my friend wont swap the phone with me,so i leave it. I hope that he enjoys his wonderful iphone


And now I am gping to tell what happened to me last week:

The last week, while I was shopping, I entered in a mobile/acessories shop. When I entered, I asked " Do you have screen protectors?" a girl answered me " Of course, what phone do you have?" So I said her that I had the n900. She obviously unknowed which was that phone, so I showed it to her . And then, she said "We are so sorry, we don't have anything for old phones like yours"
....old...phone? what the...?

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

I'd say that the reason, why there's always haters, is this : they're unsure. Since the iOS came to the game people have seen what the UI can be and how easy using the device can be to use. Then came Android, which tries to do the same thing.

Now, if I'm right, this has never been the goal for Maemo. Maemo is for more of a "nerd" audience. As someone else already said it in this thread, you need some sort of skills to use this platform, it's not meant for everybody. Unfortunately though some users still go and buy it and then dislike it and move on.

So those, that come barging in and bash the OS, those are the wrong users for this platform. They are expecting too much from the platform and thus bash it, it's that simple. That's why we have the hate on Maemo. People just expect too much from it.

So for those users that so far have disliked Maemo (whether you've got a real reason or not) and are expecting more from the OS, I have one word for you : MeeGo.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Some people on both sides can't seem to see the forest for the trees. I fall kind of in the middle, fairly technologically competent, but not a programmer. So, I can get a lot out of the N900, but can't fix the shortcomings on my own.

I love my N900 for all that it can do, but it can be frustrating at times. Sometimes, it rings, I pull it out, hit answer, and have a nice conversation. Other times, I miss the call because I'm trying to hit a moving target as the N900 flips between portrait and landscape. Other times, it doesn't even ring.

For everyone who says how many apps the N900 has, think about how many times you've seen warnings on having testing or devel enabled. Enough to scare a normal user or even a slightly techy user away. Without those enabled, there are far fewer apps to install. Think about how many you'd have installed if you only used extras.

Many of the most annoying things about the N900 (for me) involve the closed Nokia apps for which there is no alternative, which makes it no better than (or possibly even worse than) iOS or android.

A lot of people dismiss the number of apps available on iOS or Android, while proclaiming how many linux apps are available. I enjoy golfing, and would like to track my scores, or use GPS to see how far from the hole I am. Apparently not a lot of linux developers golf. It's a simple apps that are useful, that people are missing despite the vast quantity of linux apps available.

Personally, I think there were a lot of people that looked a specs, thought the N900 would be a great phone and got one. Or, saw it and figured it's a Nokia, so it can't be that bad. Let's face it, it's not a great phone, not even mediocre. It's so much more than just a phone. IMO Nokia really dropped the ball with support and focusing on MeeGo (which looks to me like it will be incredibly slow getting out of the blocks). So, many people came in with high expectations, and were disappointed, and as such have some "hate".

For me, I'll hang on to mine, because it is more than just a phone. In the meantime, I picked up an Android tablet to fill in the gaps on the N900. Next phone likely won't be a Nokia either.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Nokia's almost dead in the water right now. Symbian's becoming obsolete and Meego's going to be a flop. Yes, I know I will be flamed for predicting the demise of Nokia. I used to like my N900 but it was too clunky and too fat to be my daily phone. I have now switched to a Palm Pre Plus and can't be any happier. I don't hate N900 or Maemo, I have move on to a better phone that works for me. Maybe all of you should too.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Don't worry too much. While it was quite different in the past, it's now basically impossible to have an opinion without at least some people strongly ... disagreeing for lack of a better word. So, you know, just carry on, and stop worrying.

warning, long rant.

As for Nokia, it's far from dead in the water. At the tonnes it has, the momentum itself will carry it for a while longer, while they still try and peddle as fast as they can. The brand name still means something and that's what keeps them alive.

Nokia as always had superior flagships in the past, and that name has sold the lower phones. Car makers understand this, that's why companies, every now and then, put out a limited edition jewel, compete in high-profile races, things that put them on the map. Even if the Cayenne SUV makes up for almost half the sales, when one thinks Porsche, one thinks the beautiful and classic 911. With the twin turbo.

And Nokia has sold a lot of phones in the past, innovative, good quality phones, and people bought them because Nokia was synonym with total dominance - quality, build, innovation. No matter what you had, it always had some advantage over everyone else.

This momentum is starting to drag. N900 is a beautiful thing, but it was abandoned. 5800, another attempt at innovation, was a cheap-side, simple touch. All the 5800 XM I ever saw had at least some fault. Screen blinking, light sensor, touch screen, software. Wifi has some issues.

Right now, Nokia is proving to everyone they can't play in the big boy's sandbox. And unless they can put out a device that slaps everyone back to their place, it will never be what it was.

Personally, I think it's bordering impossibility.
* Any phone must be pocketable, so the screen can't be much larger that iP4, and more resolution would go to waste.
* Batteries are limited, and even if they weren't it's easily adaptable so by tomorrow everyone would catch up.
* Since N900 works fine with 600 MHz (if it were correctly optimized), there isn't a massive gain in CPU. Heat and consumption is what it is.
* All phones nowadays are touch, so they all look slab-like. Some have keyboards that slide or flip. that's it. Design-wise, it's kind of ceiled.

So what now? They definitely can't write code like the big boys. What will they do now? I don't think there's enough room for improvement here. New phones already have ridiculous cameras, some way above what optics can handle, and they already crammed BT, radio, TV out, accelerometer, light sensor, IR, WIFI, a-GPS, stereo speakers, USB in it. Some even have compasses and temperature sensors. What else could they possibly add that would put them at a big advantage? A barometer?

They basically have everything a PC/laptop has and still fit in a pocket. What now? PCI-E? RAID? Wait, you can do RAID if you wanted.

I know this is basically what you said, it's dead in the water, I just expanded it a little.

They did their best with N8. Superb multimedia, but tempered with a lower end CPU and OS so that it didn't cost as much as a car, since it has to sell.

N8 was far from a flop, but far from a resounding success. And just to throw some dirt over the body, mine has weird, weird problems. Connects whenever it wants to wifi, widgets sometimes don't update, jumps from portrait to landscape as it darn well pleases. Battery is soldered. It's not stable enough to have a soldered battery.

N8 was the opposite of N9. Minimal geekyness, maximum simplicity and multimedia. And frankly, if you Frankenstein them together it'll probably be too expensive to catch on. Not that you could get 720P on Maemo with all those processes going wild in there.

And this isn't even mentioning the gap it has when it comes to software. As much as I like Nokia and N900, every time I get my paws on my girl's Android, I can't put it down. It's simple, it's fast, it has most of the features N900 offers, plus a few more. A phone is meant to be fiddled with, if you want sales. And boy you can fiddle with an Android.

N900 may have features, but it's the most elegant solution that has the trophy, not whoever duct-tapes more features in a phone that struggles to breathe.

I'd still buy N900 if I were to make the choice again, NOW. But the N900 is standing still and everyone else is moving forward, learning from its mistakes. Like don't abandon platform, users will be unhappy. Like, better to add later than to have it buggy. Like provide at least basic Office. Like users want games. Like it matters how finished the UI looks.

Not to worry, technology is making great strides, soon mobile platforms will have the power to run even better software, desktop software if we're lucky, emulated or otherwise, and all software advantages will be lowered.

They still have a shot at making hardware. Well, design anyway, since chipsets/addons will be TI, ARM, Intel and whatnot. Performance will mean integration, so more and more will be pulled on the SOC/board. The board will have CPU, RAM, bus, most likely wifi and BT/radio, possibly sensors and accelerometers.

Right now, laptops and sub-notebooks have little to do with manufacturers, and a lot more to do with features, chipsets and price. And frankly, when the big boys come to play, it's gonna be rough. Wait, they already huffed and puffed (Dell Streak) once and the result was something better in almost every respect. Including support ("The versions released previously have had Android 1.6 installed, with Dell offering unlocked Streaks with Android 2.2 (Froyo) in December 2010" - Wikipedia). Streak is 9mm thick, N900 is 20mm. Plenty room for a keyboard, maybe a better battery. Perhaps a little smaller and it's there. Hmm, PDMI.

Oh well. Greater giants have fallen. Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi!

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

People say that there aren't many apps believe the hysterical warnings not to try apps in devel or testing. True, if you follow that advice your N900 has few apps and is no fun.

You have to know how to reflash and how to restore from backup. When you learn that the N900 is paradise. Then you should judge it by what it can do and not by what it doesn't do.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

My girlfriend wanted a new phone and she said, "Why don't I just get the same as you?" (N900) and I said, patting her lovingly on the shoulder, "Once you've tried to work out how to use your E73 for more than calls and texts, maybe sweetheart. Just maybe."

The N900 is a beast not for the 'unknowing'. I can even remember my first Extras-Devel install (AutoDisconnect) and closing my eyes and being scared to open them again. Silly AndyNokia232!

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Lemmy, you hit the nail on the head to how I feel.

It's a great device to travel with and watch movies on long flights, use free wifi while overseas to avoid expensive roaming rates and to do some of the more geeky stuff which many other phones can't do. Great UI also and web browsing experience for a handheld device.

However, where it falls apart is the lack of support from Nokia, which the community have not been able to help because of closed source applications ie Video Call over 3G, Flash 10 - which as time goes by, web browsing with the n900 would become obselete.

If PR1.4 came up with the above solutions solve, I'd have a love-love relationship with my phone and consider marrying it...

As it stands, I have love-hate relationship with my n900.

Cheers,
Fred

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

For me there is only one thing missing on N900 that you can guess by reading my status. That only thing could make me use even less apps I currently need.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

I get this a lot. Anyone has a good fix for this? Disable to touchscreen for call answering? What are the other touchscreen phones doing to solve this issue? (it should be inherent for all touchscreen devices, right?)

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Other touch screen phones use swipe to answer, even nokia`s symbian line uses that, nobody can fix it since the app is closed, and nokia has stopped supporting just a year after the phone was launched. Community support is really great for maemo but the semi closed state prevents them from fixing these killer bugs..

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Well, a swipe makes sense...but still could be prone to mis-handle the call. I kinda still like the idea of a button to answer/close call.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

This has been around for awhile (use search!) but not so surprisingly on device that was build from bottom-up to be used in landscape only, setting phone app only in landscape mode tend to help little.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

My suggestions to your list of probelms: permanently set your phone app in landscape mode as suggested above. Also, installing any contact/phone related apps would cause delay in answering; if you got some real impatient intimates/bosses/girlfriends/wife who can't wait for more than two rounds of ringing, remove those apps, or remove the relationship with these rushy dudes. ;)

On the side note, if you found the screen go on and off during incoming calls that you'd probably need to check the proxmity sensor. Some protective screen would really block the sensor and cause it behave strangely.

I think that's the merit of N900 rather than disadvantage. I don't think a normal user would care to install extras; If you're going for extras and beyond you definitely not a normal user; AND if you think you're a normal user that was scared by the warnings, you definitely not normal. ;)

I miss layer as well. However, I fail to see how it's N900 or maemo's fault for not having the apps you wanted in other platforms. It must be you who choose the platform to use, not vice verse.

Again, it's hardly an excuse to hate a phone simply because it fails your expectations. It is you who set the expectations, am I correct?

As to Nokia, I wondered what expectation others would put onto it. I always think their phones are bulky, heavy and overpriced. I've always been dreaming of someone making phone like N900, and I didn't expect Nokia made it first, but really they did.

So N900 may not be the reason I'd hate Nokia, but it'd definitely the reason I stop hating them. :D

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Folks; it should be portrait mode right?

(instead of permanently set your phone app in landscape mode)

I think portrait is more phone like-ness. Any advantage of having it in landscape mode?

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

I meant to say landscape mode.

Please look at #56 on the delay problem in flipping modes.

N900 is not (just) a phone. It's a pocket-size tablet-computer. ;)

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Sherlock, I presume?

At least one pretty obvious advantage is..*drum roll*..no need to rotate screen. *Woohooo*

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Screen rotate issue has been fixed in 1.2 or 1.3 IIRC, with the sliding and the blinking. I have sped up the rotation animation A BIT and have zero issues wirth portrait phone.

I used to have, true, but with all the oil Swappolube and OC brings, this is simply not an issue.

Also, I'd like to remind you that lack of support is not why we have no slide to answer. It has been asked from day one and we were refused before PRs started rolling. It appears Nokia feels that making it work cramped its style.

There is an app out there that locks phone on ring so you need to swipe to answer.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

You tell me if the following is correct or not:

Brands convey distinct personality and image, backed up by their track record in delivering a certain kind of product/service/experience to their customers.

IE: Porsche. Ferrari. Tiffany & Co. Mc Donalds. Pepsi. Levi's.

When you read their name, you conjure up an image of them. An expectation of what to see/experience.

Who is setting the expectations?

Bonus question:

The brand 'Nokia'...

Is the n900 in line with their brand image? ...of what you expect from a Nokia?

Flame reetardant: of course if one follows tmo, then they should already know what to expect from a maemo (not yet step 5 of 5) device.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Einstein, don't forget to rotate the phone when you bring it up to your ear, unless you handle your phone like a walkie talkie. *yipee*

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Yep

"_Any_ advantage" you asked.
--> OS doesn´t have to rotate screen
---> No jumping of buttons across screen and no black out
(Nothing new here)

Still...if you happen to watch flash video from youtube and same time you are multitasking another stuff and phone app starts launching/ringing I would not be surprised if it took awhile before you are able to answer....fact is that you are given free hands to take N900 to knees. Of course I would recommend to mostly only single task if responsiveness is critical.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Since there appears to be no technical issues, and from what I've seen here, guess there's no significant difference with landscape/portrait modes. I'll evaluate both ways and see which is better (for my preference). Thanks.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

The problem isn't Maemo, the N900 or the community, it is Nokia. Nokia has failed to attract a large non-commercial developer base and 3rd party commercial developers.

While the Maemo developer community has done a nice job, there has been and continues to be a growing list of apps that Android/Ios. The community here is strong, but without good stewardship from Nokia or Intel, the developer base will remain small.

Thats not to say it is a bad thing. I can see someone choosing to stay with the do it yourself, mod the heck out of your phone community that is Maemo.org. For someone like me though, the amount of time I am willing to spend doing things to my phone is shrinking.

I wish Nokia had done a better job, I'm not a hater, I see the value in the N900, I'm just sorta miffed by some things right now.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

Hey, we've got to live up to the t.m.o brand identity, man.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

@9000 - I like my N900, this thread is speculation as to why others "hate" it.

@everyone - Thanks for the advice on the answering issue. That actually brings up another reason some have "hate" for the N900. It seems some of the issues people have with the N900 can be individual device specific. What I mean is that, it seems like two people can have nearly identical setups, and only one will have an issue. On the other hand, the N900 is so customizable, it's completely possible to have a unique setup. This makes bug tracking very difficult.

I'm on PR1.3, overclocked to 805 (with a slight undervolt), using modified hildon-desktop for 6 desktops (mostly shortcuts, not widgets). Probably around 100 or so apps installed, no contact managers. But even from stock, I've always had the occasional issues with answering calls. And yes, I even flashed both 1.3 and the emmc for a fresh "from scratch" start. I believe I've tried most of the fixes, and yes even when locked to one orientation, it still wanted to flip occasionally. Having it locked to one annoyed me, so I don't. I'm not important enough that a missed call will cause doom in my life, so I shrug and move on, one of the little quirks that makes it all the more lovable :) and annoying at the same time.

I've said it before, but I think Nokia rushed out Maemo 5 (making more like step 2.5 or 3 of 5, not 4 of 5. I see quite a few things where I wonder what they were thinking, or if the even used the N900 at all before deciding things should be a certain way (not talking about MMS or portrait mode, or Flash). None are deal-breakers, just minor annoyances. Instead of leaving support there and building on it, they quickly moved on to MeeGo. Yes we knew harmattan was moving to QT, but I think a lot of folks expected better support than we got.

As to expectations, as ysss points out, based on prior brand history, the company contributes in a significant fashion to customer expectations. Customers are hard to come by and easy to lose.

So, I'm just saying I can understand some hate, it's not that hard to do if you look at the N900 from a regular point of view and not the advanced linux power user point of view.

Personally, I think it's great, but has so much wasted potential, if only......

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

This is one this I DO NOT GET.

You can write your own apps for anything. Even iPhones, the most locked down of the locked down.

And guess what, you'll still be able to answer a call when in the middle of a good 3D game.

if you want the freedom to answer calls whilst doing other things...don't get the N900.

Re: A little confuised on the N900/Maemo haters... please explain.
 

I'm genuinely sorry for you poor saps. Spending 600 euros on a brick from Nokia which managed to reach EOL within a week after release.

They then brainwash you into thinking its open, without just giving you the ****ing source code. They make great promises of Ovi Store filled with great apps, Ovi Maps, Flash 10.1 and continued support. And what do you get? A fcuking webcomic about an Angry Man.

A bunch of non paid backstreet coders with nothing better to do then decide to improve this device themselves for the community. Without these decent men and women you all would quickly realize you got professionally scammed out of your money and left with a POS. But this is exactly what Nokia was aiming for: plenty money, little to no work and no customer support; leave that to the users themselves.

Face it, Nokia played the long con on you and walked away laughing there arses off.