...as a computer or a netbook.

I had been posting my experiences in the owners thread (my first impressions here, starting from this page forwards: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=34678&page=21 - go there for detailed notes) but since several threads from disgruntled users started popping up, I guess I need to post my experiences in a separate thread as well - to balance things out. As my experience clearly differs from those.

First, let me tell you that I am an Apple fanboy. Been a long time, always will be one, I guess. I have skipped the iPhone (other than testing), though, due to carrier restrictions, but I have an iPhoneOS running iPod touch as my main music machine (running some other apps too) as well as a bunch of other Apple machinery. I love their design, I love their sense of style and simplicity. I love Steve. They truly make remarkable machines. I write this on a new MacBook Pro.

Nokia, I think, makes good phone hardware, and for a while made the best smartphones out there (and in the 90s I think the best GSM phones overall), but that was past and now is now. N97, which was my previous phone, was OK in many ways - but mostly because Series 60 was so familiar to me and I needed a QWERTY hardware keyboard (a pretty good phone for S60 fan who needs both touch and QWERTY hardware), clearly it was outdated in the software side of things.

Enter N900 and Maemo 5.

First off, let me tell you that by no means does the N900 suck. I love it to bits. But one also should calibrate their expectations. Unlike some say, this is not Nokia's flagship phone. The N97 still carries that title. N900 is still a developer edition and was never meant to catch this much fire, I guess it surprised Nokia too that it did. Maemo is still at least that one release short of the consumer edition. And while I love the N900, I wouldn't recommend it for casual users. It is not for them. Maemo is not for them yet.

Did Nokia drop the ball with the development of S60? Yes they did. They had a great button-based operating system there, but times moved on and Nokia was slow to follow. Therefore Nokia is also somewhate late with Maemo, but at least the big giant is now finally moving in the right direction. This, I think, is the greatest contribution of N900 - alongside it being a one heck of a mobile computer. It is finally moving Nokia in the right direction and it is easy to see that. And we all get to tag along.

Second, about perspective. If you want an iPod/iPhone killer smartphone? Don't buy this one. If you wan't an iPhone killer mobile computer, netbook or whatnot all rolled into one and you embrace the potential of open source and freedom to do as you please on your phone, I don't think there is anything quite like the N900 out there. Not even the Google offerings are as open as this. And the iPhone is simply no match for the N900 when looking at it as a mobile computer or an open netbook.

So, two things: expectations and perspetive.

Let me tackle perspective first and use that age-old iPhone comparison.

- N900 kills the iPhone with screen resolution, the latter is useless
- N900 kills the iPhone with ability to multitask (no more Skype shutting down for something else)
- N900 kills the iPhone with freedom to install whatever you want
- N900 kills the iPhone with hardware keyboard and precision-pointing stylus
- N900 kills the iPhone with all-showing, all-doing browser with Flash
- N900 kills the iPhone with freedom to replace built-in functionality with third-party software

These are things that matter on a mobile computer and iPhone simply can not answer.

Then, the expectations.

Clearly there are a lot of people here who bought the N900 to replace a smartphone, even the iPhone. Actually, I replaced my iPod touch when I noticed how smoothly the N900 works with music too. But just because one can do this, doesn't mean this is something the N900 is fully capable or ready for. I wouldn't recommend it to a non-tech-head friend, in fact, I recommended against it just yesterday. Nokia is releasing this for the developers and tech-heads, the next round of Maemo was meant for the regular consumer. I know this is unlike, say how Apple does things, but this is quite normal from an open-source/community perspective. N900 is there to activate the community and to help mature the platform, not yet the end-result.

What, I personally think - just my opinion, one should expect from the N900:

- Open platform to install whatever, experiment, develop, watch Maemo grow
- Solid Linux with a good browser, but incomplete accompanying software...
- ...which, again, you will see grow and improve in the coming months
- Good hardware with great keyboard, iPhone killing camera and stylus for precision use
- Solid innards with great processor, graphics and memory
- An open, growing, rough-around-the-edges mobile computer that can also work as your phone

If that is not for you, then clearly, it is NOT for you. But approaching from a mobile computing perspective and calibrating ones expectations to see the potential and to be a part of this, very late, but new start for Nokia's smartphones - then it is a good and exciting place to be.

Nokia's roadmap clearly states that Maemo 6 is the consumer release. Agreed, that may be late time-wise, but at least they are moving. Maemo 6, I don't think they can afford to miss, but anyone thinking Maemo 5 would release as a final product simply didn't read the big print in my opinion. This manifests itself in things like missing OVI support, missing features, Maemo is still short of the final Qt user-interface etc. This is all public info! Because of my relatively low expectations, the N900 absolutely blew me away when I got it. It is really, really good for what it is. And actually obsoleted my iPod touch which I wasn't going to obsolete. The music-playing experience in the N900 is great, other than for the playlist management which I don't use.