Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

No. (Stop the booing!) Buy something like the Viliv N5. That way you're not locked into MeeGo or ARM-based Linux. If MeeGo is still developed, you can always install MeeGo on it. If not you can put any OS that runs on x86 on it, plus it's already got very good Linux compatibility in terms of drivers and settings available to make the hardware work.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

hater!!......

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

i think you should NOT buy N900..............


And i always think WRONG!

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

This man does have a point though.

Check out the emulators that Smoku was porting. UAE, then PSX and the GBA one (I think). None of them finished. He jumped from one, then to another before the one he had been working on had been finished.

Then threw a paddy because he couldn't upload his unfinished crap to Ovi Store, and said he is never supporting Nokia again.

Well he weren't doing it for Nokia. Nokia was not benefiting anymore from what he was developing because people had already paid for their phones. He was doing it for the "community", many of whom worshipped the code that came out his fingers.

And he shat all over them, basically.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

Eh, the hardware doesn't care if you're running games or what -- if you don't want to use the d-nubs as gaming controls, I'm sure you can get them to move the cursor a la U820, or just ignore them. See debernardis's thread and elsewhere for examples of the Pandora playing microlaptop.

And yeah, I guess the waitlist is probably kinda long -- don't know if there's any quantity of used ones being sold yet.


For me, Atom just doesn't have the power efficiency for a solo device -- you can't leave it cranking mp3s all day, and if you suspend every time you put it in your pocket, you get poor responsiveness while it's checking mail, etc. when you open it back up to use it. It's annoying but bearable on my Fujitsu U820, but I can't see living with it as a primary device.

And you talk like ARM Linux is a dodgy thing one might not want to be locked into, but the OP said Linux was what he wanted, so... :rolleyes:

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

The reason I don't think that counters my point is that unless you got a rooted-to-begin-with Android device (I know the Notion Ink Adam comes rooted... anything else out there?) someone had to first write programs to flash/change the firmware to allow you to get those things...

Yes, someone had to package rootsh (qwerty12, specifically), but that made its way to the officially pre-enabled repository pretty quickly. Also, I'm pretty sure I could make the same changes rootsh does to the system using SSH or developer mode, or anything else that indirectly gave root access.

Actually, I'm more than happy to learn about opportunities on other devices, and I know my opinion on iPhone customizability is slightly higher than it was courtesy some things I learned from ysss and others, so: Do other device manufacturers provide you with tools from which you can flash your own device with special firmware? Or do you have to use community tools to get said custom firmware of yours on-device?

On that note, how's the shell on Android? Can you get the same utilities on there? For instance (aside from the fun stuff like compiling latest Aircrack NG, running Metasploit - which ironically last I checked iPhone could run by Android couldn't yet, thanks to Dalvik - and so on, which I realize the average user doesn't give a **** about those), how are utilities like ping, vi/emacs/etc, and so on? The more basic typical stuff? For instance, I hated that there was no mkimage for me making uboot compatible kernel images in the repos, and so I eventually just went to the Debian repositories, and grabbed the mkimage for arm package from there, stuck it into the /sbin/ (or /usr/sbin/, don't recall) directory, and it just works. Same with WOOF (web offer one file - you can look that up if you're interested in what it is, but basically, it's a python script to make a file available for x amount of downloads on the local area network the computer/device is connected to). I've also recently used modified hildon-desktop, for example, combined with dbus scripts, to create a set of keyboard shortcuts to take me directly to launcher, task switcher, and home screen, and have remapped my hardware keyboard to include 34 extra keys (counting the non-printing ones like Esc, Delete, Home/End/PgUp/PgDown, and dead accent marks); is stuff like that still doable? Is all of it root-access-install + one or two more changes away?

Anally irrelevant whether or not you SHOULD. That's not what I said my personal criteria was. If I want to do something, it's not really relevant whether or not by your criteria, you should.

If we're talking about what I think any device SHOULD do, it is it should give you a way of getting root/administrative access to itself (ALL of itself) - without BS like the next firmware update wiping it, without having to go through another computer to make it happen, etc. Cushy barriers to keep un-savvy users from breaking it are fine, so long as you can look up how to bypass it - preferably in some small print in the manual (with a warning about the dangers of screwing with things you don't understand), but complete lack of ability to do so is horrendously wrong. It should give you the ability to use it without being bonded to a computer (iPad, last I checked, made you do this), and even if it has the "feature" of bonding to an SD card, it shouldn't make that be the ONLY option. It should let you send files by whatever interface you want to send them, and it shouldn't come shipped with stripped WiFi or Bluetooth stacks.

And if you really want to have ourselves a debate on the topic, within my personal beliefs, there's reasons why, taken by themselves and without other urgent practical limitations, there's no good excuse for such devices to not have these features, nor any good reasons for people to be okay with not having them (this is where the practicality thing really makes the difference though, because I think it is okay for people to not care about such things, largely because I realize that people have enough other higher priority things to care about - which is why I decry iStuff and the like as not-that-good, but I don't go condemning its very existance/creation/use as negative).

But back to your point: my initial statement wasn't about whether or not you should(n't) - it was pretty much show me a device that can do what the N900 can do, or a significant subset of what the N900 can do. Yes your earlier post had said that just because you could, it doesn't mean you should - but what I said wasn't on the same exact topic. Your earlier argument was basically that the things the N900 can do are largely "geek"-ish tools that people shouldn't even care about doing/using, by-and-by. My later post was that there were things the N900 does in general (implicitly, ones that I and many others use), that other phones don't. And more over that there are limitations that many users balk at in just about every competitor.

But since you want examples: My N900 takes USB devices, and presuming it has enough power, it can run them. I haven't been arsed to do this yet, but I'm pretty sure I could plug my printer into the damn thing, and with the right debian driver, I could make it print. It can take an SD card, and then it lets me take it out, and put another one in, and the only thing I lose is the ability to access the files that were on the previous SD card. It has internet connectivity both over bluetooth AND USB, both ways. If something DOES go wrong, and I have the technical understanding of it, I have the tools to look into the issue, and kill/restart the process(es) that have the problem - now, you don't HAVE to do it, and a nice reboot tends to do the same thing, but if you want to, you have the option. It has a good enough keyboard and screen that I can and have typed essays for my college classes on it. Not just because I "could", but because it was damn comfortable and easy to do.

The fact of the matter is that the 'basic' stuff, just about every phone can do. And while some of those things the N900 sucked at initially or had to have community implementations written to make it happen, these problems have been steadily getting solved, and barring VERY rare bugs, functionality is mostly equivalent to other phones. From there, it's a matter of what you want, which returns me to the point of the N900 doing far more than any other phone does out of the things I want, and has none of the limitations I would dislike in other OSs. If the OPs initial post about it being still worth getting was motivated by an educated appraisal of the potential and strengths of the phone, then none of those strengths have been lost.

To argue that it sucks to the point of not being worth getting even if you wanted it before this announcement is horribly flawed, and pretty much ignores the last few months of development on it.

As for the comment that community support is a 'hoax', it's not a hoax, because community support doesn't come from Nokia, it comes from the community. A delusion would be an apt word if the underlying point was true, only again, it ignores everything that HAS been done by said community. Now, Nokia f'ed up a lot with the N900, no doubt about that; but to say that all the community developments that have happened are a hoax is just flawed. There's that hostmode thing, and that power kernel (which adds infinitely more functionality than just overclocking), and that backup menu utility, and that portrait-mode supporting keyboard... Not to mention all the programs that were written basically entirely by the "community".

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

It wasn't Linux I was suggesting was dodgy. I said that because there are far fewer distros for the ARM architecture than for x86. I just searched on Distrowatch and it returns 5 ARM distros including Meego (murky future), NetBSD (technically not Linux) and Gentoo (source-based distro). x86 gives 318 active distros. Having a device based on x86 I thought allowed more flexibility if a distro disappears or stagnates or ends up with a show-stopping bug on your hardware or makes a design decision you can't live with, etc. Since the user was worried about ending up with an unsupported disto, I felt it worth pointing out the selection advantage of the Atom.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, and slackware all have ARM ports; the chances they all go belly-up or useless seem... scant.

And you can't redeem lousy hardware with good software -- your choice of 318 distros with a dead battery is still a paperweight.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

@ mentalist traceur

So should the OP buy an N900 now? yes or no?

Please.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

In my experience, the people who spout BS positive stuff and then BS negative stuff have one thing in common in their opinions...

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

I already gave that answer, both in my first post here and in the latter: If the OP was already confident the N900 was a good choice before this announcement - which is what it sounds like - then yes. If the OP isn't confident to begin with, then the question is "is it worth getting the N900", not "is it worth getting the N900 now", and that's a much broader question.

The only real answer to the question asked is "It's just as worth getting it as it was before". And I said that each time. But the other stuff was relevant to the original point, and it's up to readers from there as to whether or not it fits in the "TL;DR" category for them.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

So it's a yes then!

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

I think the OP is an opposition troll anyway.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

I don't know you... but I know myself and I own 2 Nokia N900!

One at daily heavy usage... and a second at home as Backup and for some strange experiments... ;)

And after the Announcement last Friday I was two times at the Amazon page, short before to buy a third Device. But I still hope Intel could announce a compareable Device to spend my Money for.
But a Intel Subcontractor will have it hard to beat the actual Device. It's easy to put a new Prozessor in. But Hard to create such a good Keyboard, a Camera with Autofocus and the feeling to have a very solid Device. (except the USB Port)

So, short answer: YES! Buy if fast before I do! ;) :D

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

To the OP

I wouldn't touch it with someone elses barge pole. Despite what people say on here only a real geek would want to use it.

Most apps you install are required to cover the basics that are missing and most geeks don't consider them a hassle to have to install them in the first place, or the shortcomings one 'so called' app has over another.

I use it for things like VNC, but then again 'autodisconnect' kills the connection after a few minutes and I can't turn that off because the phone would continually chew battery and carrier data allowance if I didn't have it as the phone doesn't come with it as standard, etc etc.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

if you have to ask you dont need it.

The n900 is for committed users - if you have doubts in your mind so you ask here - this means you really are not the audience for this device.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/...ng&CmtDir=DESC

;-)

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

It isn't. I bought 2 N900's at the price of $400, from a bulk exporting center.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

I bought mine a few days ago (although I did own an N810 prior to that -- which I admittedly never used). Amazon is selling them new/unlocked for $350.

So far, I have to say -- what a capable device! I also talked a friend of mine to buy one as well. He bought it from Amazon just as Nokia made their recent announcement, in fact. I made sure to make it clear to him that the N900 is essentially "abandonware" at this point. But in return you get a highly refined device that's just oozing with features and which, from a hardware perspectve, is a steal at the price I paid.

In fact, it reminds me of Sony's (misplaced) slogan for their own PS3: "it only does everything!"

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

If you want a smartphone there probably are many better choices much cheaper like the N97 or others
but
for me I have a website running on 3 servers (round robin) and my N900 has changed my life. I never would want to go back to a regular mobile. my N900 is no phone but a pocket computer with a phone. With my N900 and server key auth I am SSH connected to my site, control, manage in emergencies any where even on the beach or while traveling on remote islands (I am always on the move in SE Asia)
with a true Linux device I am in direct control and connection of my servers - that feeling gives me mobility and freedom in my life I have missed the past nearly 14 yrs of publishing.
If you have a Linux OS website - GO for a N900 and enjoy mobile server control and the additional freedom to enjoy life.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

YES!!! BUY IT...I'M TRYING TO BUY IT!!! SOMEBODY SELL ME THEIRS!!! DO IT!!! DO THE ROAR. lmao

Worth buying the Nokia N900 on 2011 November?
 

I don't mean to revive such an old thread but I'm also contemplating to buy Nokia N900 around my birthday this year (November 2011). I'm also a Linux user and a programmer (though I'm still starting out on the latter - started my first job just a few months ago).

Searching lots of advantages to this device is just astounding but most of my searches are outdated. As I compare the hardware to the to-be-released and newly released devices (especially those that have dual processors), it makes a bit of thinking if I should still buy this.

Looking at our local country's popular cellphone barter & selling site - the price range of a second hand N900 is around 180 US dollars to 200 US dollars more or less. Though it got me thinking why they are selling their device when the N900 pictures they posted, the device still looks almost new - but then again, I live in a more Windows OS country and I'm not sure if they don't dive into much of the geekery of the phone.

Hopefully, by the time my birthday comes - it gets cheaper and I might buy even two devices (one for development and another for everyday use).

Though I have a few questions that still keeps me pondering - is the hardware along with the features (mostly the screen being resistive touchscreen) worth it still with the newer devices in the market? Or is there other mobile computer like N900 that can compare that has native Linux OS in it mostly that has better hardware?

Edit: I know I have decided to buy this device but my mind still keeps asking this question as I google such things randomly :P

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

with nokia moving its production from opensource to windows OS for many for its mobiles, the advantage of n900 is even more apparent.
n900 is a device for professionals and NOT for apps and game fans.
I use my n900 as mobile server control unit and I NEVER ever wold allow any microsoft OS to connect to my servers!! for security reasons.
if i would have to chose now again, i would definitely chose again a n900
all is perfect for my professional mobile use, HW and SW.
for a professional tool the price also is perfect (I paid some 500-700 us$ in the Philippines)

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

I think I agree there. One of my mentors in programming owns the device for more than a year now and he still says the device is still worth it. I remember he said that he got his money's worth of buying it when he was traveling a lot and had programmed half of his project in his job using Nokia N900 via vim. That statement actually got me more or less decided I really might need an on the go mobile computer (with an additional plus side of it being a smartphone) for programming like the Nokia N900 :p

Edit: I don't play video games so I think I'm not missing anything for the games side of things of such devices (well, the only "video game" I play is Go whenever I can find time).

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

besides the fact that n900 actually has lots of useful apps,
it gives a site owner or server admin something NO money ever ca buy: peace of mind knowing that where ever you are, on the beach with family, on a remote island for work, in jungle ... you always are connected to your server via reliable Linux SSH out of reach from MS, ready to monitor server or intervene in emergencies.
its now some 2 yrs i use my n900 traveling and working from remote tropical islands in the Philippines or jungle in Cambodia. that peace of mind my n900 connectivity offers is priceless.
without such remote mobile connection, you always MAY have in your mind a background fear that something went wrong and you find disaster when back in office.
remote control allows to fully enjoy and focus on what ever you are doing while away from office and home.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

You also need to keep in mind that N900 is not a complete smartphone. The phone functionality does work but you cannot always depend on it, apart from those caveat emptor N900 is definitely more than a suitable device compared to other linux variant based handheld computers with phone functionality.

Maemo gives linux user a more direct access to linux userland tools and N900, well has all the modern functionalities along with phone functionality compared to the likes of openmoko for instance or even moblin. Mind you openmoko and moblin might be more open than maemo however their hardware is limited in one form or another compared to N900. So in a nutshell N900 is still classed as a beast amongst its peers. Android on the other hand has dalvik vm doing all the hardware work which doesn't really give one the right sort of freedom into tinkering with the hardware on a lower level.

The resistive touchscreen is amazingly quite sensitive apparently. There has been a thread of artists `doodling' very nice images with a stylus and N900 (some may have their own custom set of stylus but still uses N900).

In terms of N900's raw hardware specifications, it is already showing its age as the handheld devices these days seems to boast dualcore, double the RAM, bigger screen, etc. However they are vastly either powered by android or moblin (Aava mobile Oy had a `monster' sort of device with Intel moorestown CPU being shoehorned into the device). Again there hasn't been any proper competitor that will give one more direct access to the physical hardware compared to N900 and the latter nokia devices.

Comparing N900, there's N950 and N9. Both N950 as well as N9 are crippled in their own ways and are given even extra set of handicaps as nokia gives maemo/meego its treatment as it leaves the linux realm. N950 is a developer's only device with:

• 1GHz ARM core (Ti OMAP 3630 iirc) as opposed to N900's 600MHz
• 512MB physical RAM (??) as opposed to N900's 256MB physical and 768MB swap.
• 802.11b/g/n wifi as opposed to N900's 802.11b/g only wifi.
• slightly larger screen and possibly thinner than N900 overall.
• no interchangeable batteries.
• 16GB fixed internal capacity (older prototypes were rumoured to have at least 32GB fixed internal capacity).
• no expandable memory capacity.
• is equipped with aegis

Then there's the N9 which a bit more than a handful of countries that won't be getting N9 through the official channels due to nokia's intent to deliver the much rumoured W9 (codenamed sea ray running WP7) instead:

• No physical keyboard
• Internal storage capacity can be purchased in 3 variants: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.
• No interchangeable batteries, exactly like N950.
• Has 2 other colours apart from just black compared to N900 or silver only with N950 (I think).
• Has NFC but is only used for instances apart from electronic funds transfer.
• Has pentaband capability. N900 is only quad band.
• is equipped with aegis

Re: Worth buying the Nokia N900 on 2011 November?
 

If you really like linux, like I do, I would suggest getting a used n900. I just got my second for about $150 so that I could tinker more and not worry about flashing or bricking it as I need a stable phone for every day stuff. I would also consider getting one of the newer androids that now have about 1.2 Ghz hz dual processors processors and 1 gb ram and try installing ubuntu or debian. Your experiecnces could benefit those in the linux community that are interested in doing such. For example I have yet to see open office running on android at the same level as can be done using easy debian on N900. Although I hope I'm wrong I don't expect Nokia to provide hardware to do such in the future. Nokia's decision to not release the N950 to those that wanted to go in this direction was a great loss. There are 100s of thousands more android users so despite maemo's great advances and super community I think the numbers are in favor of advances taking place on android devices. I rather be wrong here as well, but, so it goes...

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

Thank you very much for your input on things that bugged for quite awhile :D

Sir hans51, kabayan, mura na sobra sa TipidCP ang Nokia N900 haha (I wonder if my hunch is correct X3).

Sir tuxsavvy, wow - I was actually going to start to compare side by side the hardware specs of N900 and the N9/N950. Thank you very very much for that. I have a question regarding N9/N950 though - there is really no keyboard in the MeeGo device?

Sir mscion, yeah, I just find it a bit sad ._.

Yeah, I already know the answer from the start but thank you for clearing my doubts - buying Nokia N900 on my birthday as a personal gift for myself - coming from my 1st experience of 13th month pay haha So hopefully, there are still some people selling the device at that time :D

Thank you again and I'm already loving this community :D

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

the only thing better than an n900 is two!

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

Hi to all, well I guess Im another whit the same question-doubt in my mind.. thing is that Im looking for a good phone.. and all things I read about this phone were most of the time excellent.. my doubt is about the OS of N900 .. whit all the maemo, meego, nitrodroid ( I know that still left some details to be fully operational) .. so my question is about Os.. Im a bit confused about meego or maemo .. is there any pros or cons or after buying the N900 you folks recommend another OS ?
as about myself..Im from argentina.. and Im not a guy that changes a phone very often ..and this phone has all that I want .. besides is cheap now .. ( and I dont had a looot of money :D XD )
well if anybody can give me a brief pros and cons about those N900 Os it would be fantastic..
best regards to all

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

The maemo (version 5) that comes with N900 by default is most obviously the best supported version for the device itself.

Meego and nitdroid are hacks to make it work on N900 and they both have their own issues with having no full support of the device compared to maemo nor are they recommended for beginners.

What you need to realise that N900 is not exactly a phone, it has some features of what a smartphone would have but its not a phone. For instance, there's no MMS functionality by default, the portrait mode works to some extent (with a hack and applying unofficial/community made updates), the device has a few known hardware flaws, etc.

The N900 would not suit you if you're not familiar to linux environment and/or not willing to learn and be familiar with linux environment as by default the genuine N900 is powered by linux. It is great for as an internet tablet (like its predecessors which never had phone functionality let alone the ability for one to insert SIM card and receive calls, etc) it is subpar in phone operation (as Nokia seems like they have rushed this device out onto the market with high expectations and got the opposite of what they hoped).

As I've said before on a few other threads to keen/new owners of N900 that it is a geek's toy. Everyone has their own opinion of what a geek's toy is but in my case it allows one to tinker the toy to their hearts content knowing full well that the toy may not operate properly in the process of tinkering but its all for the sake of learning. N900 is not really suitable for you if you do expect it to function as a full blown smartphone and should maybe have a look at N9 instead.

Aboveall N900 is a great device if you choose to use it after you have done your homework on what its flaws as well as limitations are and have chosen to live with it due to its `half baked' design. This is coming from a now proud owner of 3xN900 whom has two with SIM cards and is used at times as a smartphone.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

buy it. Just be extremely, overly, trmendously (add more adjectives here) careful if you are planning to buy a used one. I have a new and a old one here and the new is massively faster, maybe it's because it doesn't have so many apps but I think it also has to do with hardware age. Also the usb port is fragile and you don't want it to fall out now that nokia doesn't fix them anymore (they do honour the warranty but some folks here ended up with N8's and E7's).

So if you can get your hands on a new one get a new one.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

I've bought mine in perfect condition for ~140$ (few months ago) and I would definitely do it again now. Judging by current state oh such devices (non-existant)market, I would probably do the same even +1 or +2 years from now ;)

don't worry about operating system. Maemo is all You need (it's based on Debian), with chrooting to Easy Debian, if You need really specific things (well, running full fledged GIMP or Open Office on You "phone" isn't a small feat). Meego is rather for developers now, and Nitroid for people that need some Android applications. To be honest, I *never* felt any need fro Androids "apps" - You got everything for Maemo, and it's much better than any Android adware crap You may find. There is nothing for Android, that we can't have ported to Maemo.

/Estel

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

The average price of new N900's has gone up for some months now. The price new in Greece now is as high as I bought it on Dec 2009. 565€ and it had dropped as low as 330€ about a year ago (but vanished from stock in less than a day)

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

one thing that needs to be underlined is the fact that if you use the N900 with its original Maemo 5 / Fremantle (maybe with a few useful applications like unlimited history, individual ringtones, recaller or so) the N900 is a perfectly fine phone;
not quite as elaborate as a N95 or a 9500, but certainly better then an iPhone or any ANDroid device, as far as (phone) functionality and having your phone fully under control are concerned.
start adding power-kernel, Community Seamless Software Update (aka CSSU) and the like & get ready to have the device crash / reboot in the middle of a phone conversation :mad:
ultimately it is up to you to decide whether you want a phone (which seems to be what you are looking for (?)) or a geek's toy, indeed.
keep in mind that the phone is over two years old and that the last firmware update (PR1.3) was released nearly a year ago: the CPU runs @ 600MHz, it has only 256MB RAM and the browser only supports Flash9 and doesn't support JAVA, to give a couple example

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

wooho! thanks to all of you for your answers and patience! :) ,..
yesterday I had a birthday party and I was out .. its a very nice surprise to see all this answers.. thanks again to all of you.
first of all I understand that its a pc whit a phone and not a smartphone .. and thats what attracted to me :) , also is a full Linux inside :) and also,. it has a good camera whit flash :) -_- I like taking pictures ..and listen music, audio is pretty good too regarding some reviews),and it has a full qwerty keyboard!,..and I really like the (¨in mine opinion¨) good construction quality, but aside of this ..
,... the capabilities of this pc+phone .. and the Linux running , its very appealing to have it ;).. sadly ,I have a win xp pc mostlly because I need for my work ( I need to run Photoshop and corel painter and other programs ) .. I was a long time thinking to swich to linux and start to learn ( thats why Im going to buy a second pc with linux :) :P ).. .. - About the apps .. well yeah,, android has .a lot ... I like their huuuge variety , but to be honest how many of those, I would reealy need and would use? maemo offers a good variety of apps.. and about myself.. I will use skype, internet connection , and some others,.. , and I would love to link to my pc while I m out of home .. but since my pc is a win xp ¬¬ and the ( linux users hide your smiles ,pleass :DDD ) I dont know n900 would be capable of link to my pc ,since its an xp :P -_-.. but this is not a obstacle to do not buy it .. I also was always think that big modern hardware are mostly for gamers.. ok I like to have 1 or 2 games in a phone .. for just in case ^^ buying a phone just for play games its a nonsense to me .. if Maemo has a good community support , and I will take care to do not over stuff it whit a lot of dumb apps .. I think is a good thing to go! :)

prices.. yeap its getting expensive everyday .. in ebay a new one is around 300 usd :P
N8 around 380 usd and E7:around 430 usd ( maybe there are some about 400$ usd ..)
but none of them whit the functionality and capabilities of the N900 .. E7 has a crap fixed focus cam .. all in all N900 is still a good warrior ! :) .
my fear and concern was about community support and understand what is better or more wise to use,.. Maemo, meego or some other ... but I think this was pretty clear thanks for u guys!

buying a used one ... hmmm it cross my mind .. but I think its not worth .. all the money and not be sure that its in perfect condition ..
best regards to all
Vladimir

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

Nothing wrong with having a windows XP computer, you just need to be more willing to accomodate yourself to the linux environment.

Maemo can be unfriendly at times so you cannot judge maemo as a definitive source of where linux realm stands at :). Linux has become so much more friendlier to windows converts and what not. To judge only by using a maemo linux powered device as a view on linux progress as a whole would be to undermine its reputation.

kohrime: I didn't know you had a question about what I said for meego (harmattan) based device. Both N950 and N9 will have virtual keyboard as N900 did. I was told by a few lucky developers who managed to get their hands on N950 that the virtual keyboard (on screen based) is so much more nicer than that of on N900. A few claimed that it was so nice they even forgot N950 had a physical keyboard.

Unfortunately N9 will not have a physical keyboard, unlike N950 and N900 both have physical keyboard which slides out underneath from the screen the N9 will just be like a one piece type of device.

The only reason why I say its unfortuate N9 won't have a physical keyboard is that in case if one installs beta software and the software makes the virtual keyboard not appear, you are pretty much stuck not being able to enter in words (which means chatting for instance will be a no-no). In the case of N900 it was fairly easy to lose the virtual keyboard when one installs international input such as mscim.

Without a physical keyboard on N9, it would probably leave keyboard warriors (like myself) having to fork out extra money to buy a bluetooth keyboard, to carry that extra bluetooth keyboard around and hope the bluetooth keyboard works well with the device.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

I checked some sites which offer N900 for sale and quite cheap too.... what makes me suspicious is that some say land of origin is:

1- Finland (that's ok)
2- China (hmmmmmmmmmm)
3- Germany

So my question is:
1- Where are N900 built?
2- In case different origin? Do they differ in specifications?
3- How can one know that he's holding a genuine phone in his hand.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

@Finn

i got used N900 with xp in my pc and i am comfortable with it.

Re: Worth buying the nokia n900 now?
 

1) As far as I know genuine N900 is designed in Finland but made in Korea (South Korea to be more specific).
2) As far as I know of South Korea was the only place where real N900 was produced, they have different hardware revisions but as far as I know of for production based N900 were all in South Korea.
3) The easiest way to know if the seller is actually selling a genuine N900 is to compare the pictures the seller has with your real N900. Fake N900 may sport:

• Weird designs like built-in dual SIM card slots
• Weird underside of the backside cover where there was meant to be two rectangle stickers, one is coloured white and the other is coloured blue. If you're interested, that sticker or plastic bit is for sensor to pick up whether or not the lens door is actually open or not.
• Antenna sticking out of where stylus is meant to be in.
• TV capability
• Does not look like the real N900 (you can check pictures against wikipedia website)
• Java phone, N900 does not have Java capability by default.
• Does not list maemo as the operating system or some other operating system.
• Internal memory capacity as listed does not state 32GB.
• The specifications does not match with reviews sites.
• This, does not look like a genuine N900 at all