N900 Advice
 

I'm looking for a internet/media device to replace an iPhone 3G and I've been pointed toward the N900 as a possibility.

I have a Nokia E72 so for calls, and texts I'm covered.
I want something predominantly for browsing, music and IM.

How good is the N900 and how is it covered for things like Facebook, Instant Messaging Clients and Music playback?

Re: N900 Advice
 

Hi chrism_scotland, welcome to Maemo.org.

The N900 is excellent in internet browsing and music playback, you won't miss your iPhone 3G at all, trust me.

The default browser, microB, is awesome and it has full flash support. N900's multitasking manages many pages in background well, and you can browse the web very comfortably, loading many pages at the same time.

The Media Player is good, music playback quality is excellent. Someone doesn't like how it manages albums and playlists (e.g it doesn't follow folders structures, only internal tags, but I think it's a good feature not an issue).

What about IM? Actually there are some services supports, and more are coming. I like how the phone manages IMs' conversations.

Re: N900 Advice
 

For facebook and IM, n900 is probably the best there is. It integrates both into its conversations mode. The music player works fine, but the playlist creation is... fiddly.

N900 is weak if you want extremely rich phone features like voice dialling or even individualised ringtones. It's a bit thin on business items - some of the obscure MfE stuff, email and the calendar are feature-poor.

N900 is great for being online, for browsing with a proper (not mobile) browser. It has a superb screen for viewing video, and TV out if you want to watch your stuff on a full sized screen. It also happily draws internet radio. It will send its sound output to your car-radio via an fm transmitter, too. And the camera will blow holes in what your iphone could do, as Nokia use Cark Zeiss lenses and good software.

Mooch around here a little - you will find plenty of threads about its weak spots! And plenty of people who are utterly happy with the device.

And welcome.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Well my main IM services I use are MSN, Facebook Chat, Yahoo and Google talk, are these supported on the N900?

Re: N900 Advice
 

Yep, they are, though as yet the front facing camera doesn't work for those services, I don't think.

Re: N900 Advice
 

All of those are supported by the N900. MSN support have to be installed though. Or you could use a separate application for it, such as Pidgin.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Sure. On one application, you can set up all these accounts (yes, the application supports msn, facebook chat, yahoo and Gtalk). When you log on, it logs all the services. By the way, the application is called Pidgin. I use it and it's great!!!

Re: N900 Advice
 

browsing and im is a lot better than the iphone.

Re: N900 Advice
 

YES, yes, yes and YES!

All these are integrated seamlessly with the text messages and the conversations app.

Re: N900 Advice
 

I used pidgin at first before we could integrate msn and others in to converations, but now I have everything integrated and I love how easy they are to use. You can link all account to your friends, as all the contacts from different services are collected in to your contactbook, and as the contacts has a merging tool, it's very easy to merge contacts(as to not have doubles if you have a same friend on msn, facebook and gtalk for example.

I use pidgin for IRC though, which works very well.

Re: N900 Advice
 

It should be noted that if you're coming from an iPhone, you will not have access to an application that synchronizes your music, videos and contacts with your phone.

If you use methods to check/pay your bill via the phone, # or * followed by numbers, you're going to lack that feature as well.

But as far as the IM goes, you're well covered and none of that badly implemented stuff like on the iPhone. True multi-tasking, truly implemented into the OS... and done well.

Music, I'd say that if you're from the school of doing it yourself - I personally like to drag/drop my files as need be - then you're going to be happy there.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Is there anything you can't do with the N900?

Re: N900 Advice
 

I haven't figured out how to get it to do my laundry yet. :p

Re: N900 Advice
 

you cannot live without a charger everyday.

maybe maemo.org ist not the most unbiased place to ask about the N900 ;)

imho the most differences between iphone and N900:

N900
+ multitasking
+ opensource
+ camera
+ IM integration
+ hw-keyboard
+ screen resolution!
+ IR Transmitter
+ FM Transmitter!!!

Iphone 3GS:
+ weight
+ height
+ appstore
+ battery life

Re: N900 Advice
 

My iPhone is just about constantly connected to my laptop through the day for charging, thats why I have my E72!!!!!
I travel a lot so I'm kinda prepared for needing a charger / usb cable to keep it topped up.

Re: N900 Advice
 

I was able to open www.cnbc.com on my N900 in the same format like on my laptop. But in the past few days when I type in the url www.cnbc.com it now takes me to the mobile version and I don't like it.

How do I get the browsing back to the real cnbc.com web page??

Re: N900 Advice
 

Thanks for the replies folks, I will take a look round the site, want to get a feel for whats available on the N900 and what it can do!

Re: N900 Advice
 

Yep, to be honest, the ipod touch and iphone also pretty much suffer from 1 day death after being constantly used hehe.

But in layman, yes the N900 is definately worth it!

Re: N900 Advice
 

former iPhone user(tried it for 2 weeks) didn't like it.. like everyone else.. and moved to n900(it's 2 months on me now).. i love the phone mostly the web browser.. and you'll surely like it if you choose the n900.. =)

Re: N900 Advice
 

Cheers folks I'm going to go into Vodafone today and see if I can have a wee play.
U
Is there anything big on the horizon in terms of upcoming software?

Re: N900 Advice
 

chrism_scotland, it sounds like the N900 would be perfectly suited for you, and we don't say that to everyone.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Live without it :D


That is only after you have owned one of coarse ..... so do your self a favor and get an iPhone

Re: N900 Advice
 

you can also take advantage of front camera and can do video chat over msn and google. details can be found in the forum by a quick search.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Front camera works fine for Google Talk conversations, I sue it regularly.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Battery life on the iPhone is better? You must have a seriously duff battery then as my N900 outlasts the iPhones in the office by hours.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Works fine for me - maybe a cookie setting or the site detecting browsing from a mobile network?

Re: N900 Advice
 

I charge the n900 nightly. I have never seen a low battery signal - never got off the 'green'.

My experience suggests the most battery-trashing activity is phone calls!

Re: N900 Advice
 

second that .. a 5 min call can seriously reduce the battery ..

on the topic of liking the N900 .. i am considering getting a second one if some bloke decides its not right for them and decides to get rid of it cheap :D .. it can be my test system ..

Re: N900 Advice
 

I wouldn't go that far. I spent over an hour in total (about 3 calls) on the phone on Friday, which is unusual for me. By bedtime I was down to about 1/3 battery. Most days I don't go much below half, despite my device having to spend ages signal hunting for a data connection when I'm in work.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Thanks again folks, I'm really between this and a Google Nexus One but I think overall the N900 is a better device, especially with 32GB of memory built in, its pricier but I can probably get hold of one for around £400 which seems a good deal.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Your choice should also depend an your intended kind of usage of the device. if you are a "go to marketplace and grab the newest app"-guy than you may be better of with the nexus. If you want full control over your device and even would like to participate in an opensource community, than the N900 fits well.

On battery: WLAN and screen lightning are by far my most battery killing issues.

Re: N900 Advice
 

That's how I used to get it and browse through, just like the screen shot.

Cookie settings??
Mobile browsing network??

Any remedy, please!

Re: N900 Advice
 

Hi,

I'm a newbie to this forum, the N900 and Maemo myself. Had the N900 since christmas, and would have to say that you need to think about why you want an N900 very carefully before you get one.

I've got mixed feelings myself.

Yes, the N900 is a fantastic piece of technology, and the developers here seem to be incredibly keen on making it work.

However, what it is not, and where other phones win over it (even less technically capable phones) is the user experience. It's not a flawless experience by any stretch of the imagination.

If you're looking for a tool you can make the most of, out of the box, stay with the Iphone, that device at least is geared for the end user. If you want the most of the N900 you need to be prepared to delve into Linux a lot further than the average user is prepared too.

If you are an average user, with little linux knowledge you'll find this device very underwhelming. It is not a computer in your pocket. I have a computer, if I want to extend it's functionality I install the relevant program that i've either bought or got for free. I don't have to write, port or ask someone to develop the program for me. Until Nokia get a store working where developers can get paid for their programs, why should they waste their time devoloping for a platform the manufacturer doesn't even seem to be supporting very well.

As for it being open source, all well and good if you are a developer, rubbish if you are just a user who wants to get the most out of your device.

So while the N900 has got huge potential, it is still just potential. I'd steer clear at least for a few months to see what develops.

Re: N900 Advice
 

side note: if you use 'quote and reply' instead of quick post it makes it much easier to understand what you are referring too.

First obvious check is if it works the same when using WiFi? Is this just when you are browsing using a cell signal?

If it seems the same for all sources then the next obvious step is a reboot: switch the phone off and on again.

How are you accessing the site? I know that if I just use the web link (globe) it sends parameters to google stating that I am using an N900. I have noticed that this makes some sites run in mobile mode. Do other sites show up as mobile versions or just this one site?

Re: N900 Advice
 

Sorry about that!
I get the mobile version both on my T-mobile network and WiFi.
I did a reboot, no change.
I use the (Globe) also I cleared CNBC from my bookmarks, cleared Cache, typed the link in the browser, it still brings up the mobile version and it's the only site that renders like that. I'm able to browse Yahoo finance and Bloomberg in real desk top version!

Also, I get the mobile version even in the Mozilla FireFox browser.

Re: N900 Advice
 

Well I find the iPhone too restrictive and I don't see why I should have to jailbreak to get full use of my device.
And it doesn't work that well jailbroken its very slow and can be very unresponsive.
I have always been keen to tinker with my device, something I've missed with my iPhone, as I've said its really beteen the N900, Nexus One or a Windows Mobile HD2, however most of what I have read about the HD2 has been less than favourable on WinMo and I do really like the Nexus One but I have some reservations about functionality which does not yet exist on Android.

The N900 seems to be a very powerful device and out of the box it will cover the basics, Music Player, IM and Internet Browsing, probably better than any other device out there at the moment, it doesn't really matter what I get nothing aside from an iPhone/iPod has the same extent of media integration but that can sometimes be a curse rather than a benefit, I miss being able to drag and drop my music!!!!!!!
//
Is there a list anywhere of the Apps available for the N900?

Re: N900 Advice
 

You can see the apps which have passed the QA procedure at http://maemo.org/downloads/Maemo5/. There's also those in the Ovi store (http://store.ovi.com). In addition to that, there's quite a few still in the development/testing stage.

Re: N900 Advice
 

So is there still a wide base of support for tr N900?

Re: N900 Advice
 

Not sure exactly what you mean by that. There's still plenty of new free applications being developed, and several commercial developers are starting to come onboard. As a phone-based platform, it's still very much in the early days though, and the lack of a functioning Ovi store is holding back the commercial side of things at the moment.

Re: N900 Advice
 

I really mean is there a lot of support for the device from a large user community, it seems that Nokia are very keen on pushing the N900, I just don't want to buy something thats going to be dead in 6 months!