Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Hi there, I'm Dragonalas, and I'm new to this forum. I registered purely to ask something about the Nokia N900, which I'm very interested in.

The thing is, I don't need a dedicated phone or a tablet or whatever. I need something to mess around with, but it has to be something worth buying. I've been discussing this with myself for a while now, and I'm trying to figure out whether I should or shouldn't buy this phone/internet tablet thingy even in 2012.

I know it's way out of date and barely (if at all) supported by Nokia, but that's not a problem at all for me. I like spending time customizing my technical stuff so this device seemed perfect for me. I can live with a resistive touch screen (used to capacitive), no mms capabilities (never in my life used mms) and a fragile body (after having my HTC Legend for 2.5 years, there's not 1 visible scratch on it).

To sum it all up, I want a neat little device to spend a lot of my time customizing because that's just what I like to do, and there's nothing about the N900 that seems like so much of a turnoff that I wouldn't consider buying it. So my question to you is, is it still worth it in 2012? I know there are a lot better alternatives, but I don't want those, I am merely interested in this particular one (community also seems great).

Thanks in advance.

On a side note, does anyone know if the Ebay sellers offering this phone for below 200 bucks are trustworthy? I mean I'm a student so cash is tight, meaning that if those Hong Kong sellers with 98% acceptance rate, a lot of positive comments and a lot of sales are trustworthy, I can make some serious cutbacks in the budget. I mean there's the whole Paypal buyer's protection, right? They do also guarantee you 100% satisfaction, and they seem like they know what they're talking about. Here's what I mean:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-NOKIA-N9...item5d2f150399

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Nokia-N9...item43b40d119a

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nokia-N-Seri...item3ccbf529ba


Thanks again (sorry if I blabbered on too much).

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

N900 can't compete with the devices of today, but if you don't care for the latest and the greatest you can use it for years. Much better choice than the n9.

However, video, browsing, games can't compete.

But it has a keyboard, and that pretty rare opportunity now days.

So for the right price you will be happy. Good luck and welcome!

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Quick reply...
I consider it worth it in 2012. In some aspects - user-replaceable battery, FM transmitter, stylus - it might be better than some recent models, such as N9. Its operating system is definitely beautiful. There is much being done (CSSU), and a lot to be done to develop it to full potential.
But I might be not a good judge because I am able to revere [Edit]a[/Edit] ten-years-old device.
Best wishes.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Though I generally like the 900 which I bought about a year and a half ago, I probably wouldn't go for it now. It is a big plus that you have access to the filesystem, but in my experience, if you're not a "power user" that feature is moot.

My biggest gripe at this point is with battery life. Under 3G I cannot go a full day. I have to switch to 2G for a "day's worth" of standby. I have Google Voice and a SIP client connected via RTCOMM which may or may not be a part of the problem but still the thing should not be giving me warnings after 12 hours with next to no use. It's been this way since I purchased an real Nokia battery and I have no intention of buying the huge batteries to attach to this thing. It is big enough and I don't want it any bigger. That is really my main complaint.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Hi there dragonalas,

The n900 is a great little device for sure, and it sounds like it would be right up your street if you like to customise your devices. Take a look through this thread and you will see how others have customised theirs, you won't find two n900s with the same desktop :)

You are right in assuming that nokia have pretty much given up on maemo, but the community has not. For bug fixes and updates there is the CSSU team who have done some awesome work within the maemo OS. Hardware wise though, there a few help threads littered through the forums which may help in the future?

Don't worry about the resistive screen, it is not one of the cheaper varieties. This one is pressure sensitive which works great when you consider how some have put it to good use . Zooming into web pages in the awesome microB is done with a swirl to zoom gesture.

The body of the n900 is built like a tank and the build quality is rather good on them tbh, the only real issue was the weak USB port coming away from the pcb, so you would need to be careful how you handle them. (File transfers can be done over ssh which helps to prolong the lifespan)

As for those ebay sellers, they are often sell refurbished units and the quality of parts that they use cannot be fully trusted. Many are fine but others can have obvious tell-tale signs such as having "Dexigned in finland" stamped on them. If price is an issue for you, you could always check out the buy and sell section of the boards for used 2nd devices (many can be found at half the price of your links), there is one up for sale right now.

Hope this helps :)

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Get a 1500mAh battery, they fit in without a new back cover. I have sip+gtalk+skype connected all day as well. There is perhaps a rogue process on your device?

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

it is great device even in 2012. i agree that it is outdated but still none of the devices comes close to it. Nokia doesn't support N900 now but who cares about Nokia when we have this great community which releases frequent updates for N900. It's a great device buy go for it and you will never regret buying it.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Dave99

Yes I agree, but like I said, I like the whole customization thingy going on + I like the way it looks and operates. It might be outdated, but I still think it would be a fun little gadget.

Wikiwide

Even so, every bit of positive input encourages me to get this device.

Sondjata

Like I said, I want something to mess around with. Of course I'm going to use it for functions like Music and maybe a video now and then, but I don't suppose it's going to be that much of an issue. I mean I have a PSP GO and although I have to recharge it multiple times a day due to the crappy battery, it works for me. I guess I can live with it as long as I'm not charging it 6 hours a day for 4 hours worth of usage.

MINKIN2

Yeah price is kind of something I have to take into account here. It seems that I need to watch my money more than I thought initially, so this is going to be a hassle. The thing is though, that I absolutely refuse to have a used item. It's kind of a mental thing which makes me a very strict person in that matter, especially when it comes to years of use. Sure if someone has used it for a day and didn't like it, that MIGHT be an option. But 3 years? No thanks. I guess I'll have to save up for the new deal :) thanks for the reply and tips though, I'll definitely look out for fakes. There seem to be some originals but they're mostly over 350 USD.

vi_

If the battery seems that bad, I'll get one of those batteries. If I'm spending a lot of money on a device I might as well spend a little extra to optimize.

panjgoori

Yeah that's what I like to hear. I'm sure I won't regret it. I like how the community is dedicated not to let this phone/OS die. Please keep at it, guys! Now to just get my hands on a reasonably priced original.

Thanks for all the answers, it helped a lot with making up my mind.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

it depends on you ,it depends on your taste . There is still nothing to be compared with N900 in terms of software,but there are lapses in case of hardware but thats ignore-able .So it depends whether you want something unique and totally a free device or perhaps those new so called fastest greatest devices which apparently become boring as soon as you spent 2 months with them . N900 never let you feel bored . It is totally geeky and totally blended with open-ness ideology.
The only con i have in my mind is its slowness . Deal with it . ciao

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Hey,

I have bought the N900 2,5 years ago and still love it. Important to say is that I never owned a phone for longer than 2 years before that and always wanted something new - not this one. I have been looking at the N9 but as long as the N900 does it's job I won't replace it.

If you love tweaking your phone, the N900 will give you loads of fun and hours of configuring. I have just recently installed CSSU (thumb), which gave the device a fresh breeze (portrait mode, which I love, runs quite a bit snappier, too).

Regarding battery life I don't have IM accounts running but I am using Yappari, a Whatsapp client for the N900, almost 24/7 and it needs to ping the servers every 5 seconds. I just a couple of days ago got a new original battery for 5 € and since around 9 pm last night (it is around 4.30 pm here right now) it went down from ~85% to 57% while running Yappari, being on Wifi, 2G, light usage of web browser, auto querrying 4 mail accounts every 2 hours and alarm this morning. I can't complain about that actually, after all it is a smart phone.

It definitely doesn't come with a lot of apps, but I don't really need that. My use cases are as follows:

* chatting via yappari
* receiving and writing emails
* routing through navit (offline maps) and sometimes ovi maps frequently
* reading news on the web and looking up public transport connections on the web also
* listening to music or internet radio while in the bathroom :D
* calendar (gotten to sync that with Google Calendar with a bit fiddling around)
* sometimes using skype for chatting or phone calls
* using it as bluetooth modem for the notebook when on the go
* phone calls obviously
* texting and calling of course

I don't need the latest apps for instagram or twitter or whatnot proprietary services although I believe there are be clients for those also. It is a bit slow opening apps sometimes but that's totally ok for me, no bummer at all.

Also it takes ok pictures, sound quality when listening to music is pretty good and also plays your videos if you like watching movies while on the go. What else do you need? :)

Since I knew from the start that the USB is probably the most fragile part of it I have always been careful with that. For quite a while I have been using the port a couple of times a day and I charge it every night and after 2,5 years it still doesn't seem to cause me problems.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

I'll add one more thumbs up post here. :) The N900 is essentially the last of Nokia's "Internet Tablet" lineup (the N9 has more up to date hardware, but sacrifices a lot of the features of the N900), and as such, is pretty much the only general-purpose computer in a cell phone form factor even today.

Every device released in the last couple of years has been, in my opinion, either an iPhone or an iPhone clone -- beautiful to look at, but designed with innumerable walls stopping you from performing any "unauthorized" activities. The N900 is truly open; not only can you customize the look and feel, you are given access to every feature of the device. Full access to the file system! No limits on adding your own software. No limits on removing or replacing software either. :) Heck, replace the kernel itself!

Nobody makes devices like the N900 any more... :(

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Plenty of storage (32GB + up to 64GB cards)
endless ways of customization (system, appearance, O/C)
skype, msn, etc etc.. the whole deal
dual speakers
irda / bluetooth / wifi / gps
fm transmitter
fm radio
notification led
quad boot
tv-out
virtual mouse mode on the browser
fantastic microB browser with flash 10
a good carl zeiss camera with dual led flash and great autofocus
numerous videogame emulators (the qwerty makes the difference here!!)
great music player via headphones
camera lens cover & kickstand
qwerty with plenty of keyboard shortcuts (pc-like)
x-terminal
and last but not least:
the CSSU project that keeps updating the phone with new features
and .... Maemo5 which has a PC-like multitasking.
greatest multitasking I've ever seen in a pocketable device.


so yeah, the N900 is a great device even now.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Then you should probably check out this item: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nokia-N900-3...item27ccffe37b

Allegedly new, you might get this one for less than the $ 350 other sellers are asking. They ship worldwide.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Hi,

I am looking to get out of windows, but since I last checked there was no mobile device that could sync contact/calendar/files/tasks with thunderbird (or similar program,) without putting all the info into google's cloud.

Right now I am using Palm Treo Pro with windows and outlook (total drag.) However there are features that I can't do without: qwerty keyboard, 3.5mm jack, spreadsheets/calendar/contacts/tasks/office, and it syncs with outlook (I am not at all attached to outlook and would prefer and open source version like thundirbird).

Is there an option out there in the open source world (without the cloud) with these features? I'm hoping to stay under 200$ (for the phone device), but I would look into anything if necessary. Also I need something pretty easy to use because I am not very tech savy. Also I am not going to hook up the phone to tower connection, and don’t use wireless in my house, so the sync has to happen over USB.
Do you think the N900 is the answer? Are there any other solutions that are more up to date? Also, can the N900 run android apps?

Thanks!

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

It seems to me that if you want a great smartphone
a) with a hardware keyboard and
b) not place your life in the hands of Google (which is what Android acutally means),
no better choice has come up yet.
N900 is slow though, too weak hardware. A number of community fixes are available from CSSU to power kernel, overclocking (which I don't do) and Thumb2, but still I regularly get situations that it doesn't handle well (and I'm not THAT much of a power user) - the most annyoing being incoming calls that I can't take because the phone app just doesn't show on screen before it goes to voicemail, the phone keeps ringin while I just standby helplessly, feeling very stupid. More than like 4 apps open or the wrong suffice to make this happen.
You can actually find lots of other devices with hardware keyboards, all of them android. Blackberry has gone all touchscreen as well, it's just sad...

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

best device ever. I have two spares. i use it secondary to my work device, as i love the social integration, web browser and customization. you will love it.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

I am not too worried about processing power. I won't even be using it as a phone.

all it has to do is:

have calendar (with reminders), contacts, music, and spreadsheet. other stuff would be nice, but if it can do that stuff then I would go with it.

What program do you use to sync with it?

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

am i reading it right ?:eek::eek: you love N900. great.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

yeah..
it's the N9 hate that keeps this gimmick running

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

just gave up my last N9 for free. hate is understatement. Jussa would be in Siberia if I was his boss

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Spreadsheet app is Gnumeric. There are other choices, but I haven't tired any of them.
I sync Mail for Exchange with Google using Nuevasync.com, it works fine. Calendar sync only is free, too.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

If I or we only could get a five inch screen n900...

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

I would have been satisfied with a 3.7 or 3.8 inch screen.
keeping the height of the device as it is now.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

No, it isn't that bad but if you go heavy on the usage you will not make a day.

I don't have any rogue processes running (I keep advanced power monitor and CPU applet running so I can see these kinds of things. I also have the battery patches installed (which helped a bit), but I simply cannot go more than 5 hours with a 3G connection and no WIFI. It will die. WIFI will extend the life which is why I think my connection to SIP and GV may be a part of the issue.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

You've got a process or IRQ keeping the CPU awake. A properly tuned N900 can go for 4 days with WIFI connection or 2 with FB/Skype polling the WIFI.

Search for Powertop and battery issues on this forum.

To OP, you can get a N900 second hand for about US$100. Bargain. Yes, they're sluggish compared to iPhones and Droids with 10x the specs. But they're still fast enough and you can do anything with them.

The main problem apart from the USB port is the time you have to spend tuning them. Then again, some people like that. ;)

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Alright guys, even though this device sounds fantastic, and like the perfect phone for me, my financial situation doesn't allow me to spend this much apparently (jobless student with little to spare isn't the best position to be in) and asking my parents for 350 bucks for a phone I don't need would be a bit too bold from my side.

Being too paranoid to risk buying a way too cheap, possibly fake one from Ebay, and refusing to use a second hand device, I have no choice but to wait a couple of months to see if I manage to somehow be able to afford it. But when it comes to it, I will surely try and join the "developer's team" (Software Engineering student baby).

Thanks for the answers once again.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

I managed to get my hands on several second-hand N900 which were in pristine condition when I bought them for about 150 bucks each.

Just sayin'.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Quick reply...
I got my N900 as a winner of "Mozilla Mobile Add-ons Challenge" (it was held two years in a row, ten winners each year). However, I cannot even find a page with a list of winners any more, much less a similar competition.
Best wishes.
__________________
Per aspera ad astra...

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

If you're in the UK, ebay item 181032062769.

I bought a beat up one off ebay a while ago with exactly the same intention as you - to mess around with. The cavat has been the broken USB port. I've been using it with an external charger I had anyway.

I wonder if I should get the soldering iron out.

OK... had a go and the contacts are ripped off the board. Not sure what I can do about that? -drill? hmm...

The N900 is much more linux like than Android imho. The keyboard is much more useful for linux. The hardware is built solidly - the actual ohone could have been much smaller in my opinon. The hardware, although old now is still good.

The operating system seems easier to get into than Android. This is something I'm still learning though - it's difficult without having it plugged in - can I somehow charge the battery directly without the USB socket?

How open is the hardware? One problem we keep having on Android is the modem(radio), GPS and a few other bits being closed. This has put a chilling effect on development. Can you give me a primer on the n900 being hopefully better than that?

The main thing I wanted to do with the n900 was have it constantly ready to go war driving. Unlike Android the drivers are direct in the OS.

I still need some sort of big overview/ tech intro to Meemo and Android though coming from linux. Something just to tell me how to find info in /proc, or the filesystem, or how to look into where apps are or find a file inside an app. Just those things you do on linux normally anyway.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Yes! that's my prob too. Battery life period is too short without a serious warning.

I am 42y & my interests are different, but I've been satisfied to mess around with its applications.
Look, at least, there's a nice forum here to share experiences. Even some others have forum but not useful like this.

regarding age and interest I confess that N900 was my best friend during last 4 years and still I am using it but not as a phone!!?!

Now, I use Nokia C5-00: less and limited applications but I can carry it and the battery answers my need.:)

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

In my opinion, i say don't buy it...
First of all i'm a teenager that means i hang out with girls all the time and it is embarrassing taking out a huge brick phone from your pocket when all the girls carry a note 3.

Second, it is slow, sooo slow and it is sometimes so frustrating when it freezes.

Third, not enough apps, no multitouch screen, no nothing.

Fourth,and that is good news, you can hack with this tiny brick :)

That's my opinion

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Frack swag :D

For OP: Yes. It totally worth it, now in 2014.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Girls carrying Note 3 just to check social crap, now THAT is truly embarrassing

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

I remember how a friend tried to mock me in my teens when wearing jeans was all the rage and my parents bought me trousers made from some different material. Unfortunately, his attempted mockery was lost on me because I did not give a flying hoot. But it did highlight to me at the time as it does now how teenagers are so desperate to copy each other. So obviously it is "cool" to have a Note 3 and "embarrasiing" to have anything else - because all your mates have exactly the same. Yes it is sad but trust me there are a few teenagers in every decade who have the guts not fall into that trap.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

2nd that .
Fame and looking cool have become not the end all and be all for the young....but have become all important for society in general.

Frankly those who think LOOKING cool is better than BEING cool ...are riddled all through the music and film industry.
And how cool do they really look? Frankly the "cool" self-conscious navel-gazers look like idiots. Sorry Biebs :D

Anyway....you want to be truly cool..n900 is way cool.
When you finally are standing in an ocean of carbon copy dumbphones ...and you have an n900....nobody is going to laugh...everyone is going to want to be you....simply on the grounds of it being something different..not it's capabilities.... Sad ain't it?

Ach! I started walking away from the direction society was heading in...20 years ago....too much a "brave new world" today for my liking.(Don't mistake me here...walking away from society is not walking away from humanity) .

As far as fame. ...Believe me here..I've 1st hand experience....I've had my 15 min a few times over..doesn't matter the message you try to get across...
I would be leery of gaining any attentions in this dystopic age. You may not like the outcome.

On the esoteric spiritual.... Many august ... sage philosophers and prophets have said in the past... that to get out of this existence without being noticed is the preferable method of exiting.

On the pragmatic blunt end of it....It will take time...
years more than likely....but hunt...search...
and find the girl who simply wants to be happy...
not interested in the latest whatever.......
that is the one you want to pursue...
to catch ....and to never let go of.
You'll be a happy man....
Took me years....
but I got mine :D

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

As ever, depends what price you can get it for.

It's not as good as Note 3, but it'll be < 20% of the price.
Likewise Jolla's phone.
If that Neo900 is out, that will be better as only having 256MB on a fully multitasking OS is just one long sigh.

If you're worried about your phone not being pretty enough, you've no chance with the girls anyway.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

Wow, nice answers there. And yes, the easiest way to be cool is just to be yourself instead of trying to copy others.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

(SNIP)(SNIP)


I had one with a broken USB and there is now instruction here at TMO on bypassing the USB pads to other points on the board. Instead I followed instructions here and added my own on charging via the Palm Touchstone inductive charger. http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=56950
Inductive charging is really cool and I should really install it on my 'good' N900 so I am not risking the good USB port every time I charge and can save it for USB host mode or file transfer.

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

As for openness, modem is closed, as well as the gfx and other stuff. However, there is some work going on to bust the modem open. http://elinux.org/N900 shows some of the stuff being currently worked on for 3.x kernels mostly.

About /proc, etc, Maemo follows proper Linux FHS. So you should be able to apply the Linux knowledge you already have. The only thing different was the use of /opt to store application binaries (a side effect of / being only 256MB. there were other ways Nokia could have used though).

Re: Is it worth buying a Nokia N900 right now?
 

thanks guys for the advice:)... i shouldn't copy others but be myself...
maybe that's a good life skill