Did not charge. Put battery in, turn on, first thing I did was call my other mobile number. Worked OK! THANK GOD! Then I plugged it in to charge for the first time. Call again while charging. Worked. Sound quality is the same (I can't really tell the difference) Hope it helps. Also I'm using the N97's charger to charge. Doubting the N900's is not good a build and might fry the internals.. I highly recommend everyone follow my steps or risk frying your mic. DO NOT CHARGE FIRST THEN TURN ON YOUR N900! I'm going to pop out again for a meeting. Will be back in an hour to check other defects :\