I heard and read a lot about the n900 including in the nokia world 2009 but i still don't understand- how does the fact that you call it tablet makes it any different from the n97- now that your "tablet" has mobile connectivity its just a Smartphone right? I am considering to buy it but can't buy something that i don't know what it is- what can it do that the n97 can't (besides: *opening many applications simultaneously thanks to its better processor
*and besides the new and beautiful UI)-how does it differ from a Smartphone- why did you have to confuse- just say it's a Smartphone an that's it and everybody will buy your new better then n97 Smartphone- but if you claim that it’s a tablet with mobile capabilities (something that i don't know what that means) state what can it do-if it’s a tablet aka mini laptop well can i install my pc Babylon or chess on it, can i install visual studio 2003, or any Linux pc applications (since maemo is Linux based)- the bottom line is- HOW CAN I USE IT AS “TABLET” IN A WAY I CAN'T USE N97- AND IF I CAN'T JUST SAY-"the Smartphones are now at the level of mini pcs and n900 is a more advanced than n97 Smartphone" because i am really confused about what it is- i really am so please answer it really drives me mad not understanding its difference from n97 aside the better specs (just like n97 is better than n96 but that doesn't make the n97 into a tablet).

It's a mobile computer WITH telephony features. NOT a mobile phone WITH computer features. Basically the way I understand it all is that telephony is only a small part of it all. It's main use is for other things and maybe an occasional cell call etc...

You answered your own question. N900 (Maemo, to be more precise) is a full blown Linux distro, you can run linux applications on it (in fact that's all you do ), keeping in mind the hardware limitations (screen size/resolution, memory, openGL, CPU architecture, etc).

Don't let this confuse you, it is essentially a smartphone. The smartphone moniker just isn't very appropriate anymore, since the device is so capable, that using it as a phone is only a very small part of what you might want to do with it. Of course this has already been the case with most high-end smartphones, so in the end it is just semantics and intended to highlight that N900 goes a step further into this direction.

From a user's point of view, you will not find many differences to what you would expect from a smartphone, other than perhaps that it is optimised for landscape orientation rather than portrait.

The differences are mostly under the hood, and the kind of software you can run on it. You will still use software that is specifically designed for Maemo though. The Linux base makes it easy to port applications, but it doesn't mean that you can just take your desktop application and install it on the device unmodified.

To be clear - dont expect to take a .DEB from your Linux dektop and install it right away on the N900. It wont work that way.

All apps have to be compiled for the new CPU and also layout have to be rearranged t fit the smaller screen.

So that is not the real point - the main thing is developing apps for N900 is more in line to developing real Linux apps with the differences in mind. Its more closer to desktop which the N97 with Symbian is not.

In practical terms you can call this a smartphone too - but to differentiate between the capabilities of N97 and N900 it is marketed as a mobile computer. With the N97 you are tied to the narrow confines of Symbian platform. With the N900 you are "closer" to the desktop paradigm.

A case in point - the multidesktop on N900 (Panorama desktop) is more akin to a full fledged desktop environment and gives you 4 times the real estate on a mobile handheld - whreas Symbian (N97) architeture doesnt support that. These are the gains in the Maemo OS.

The N97 is a phone with some "computer" features.
The N900 is a computer with some "phone" features.

Rather than making a new thread i just put my question on this one,

Given Nokia don't "support" host mode, it'll have to be some kind of adapter if you want to charge the N900 and power an external device --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

please elaborate this for me... so is this mean N900 cannot open usb flash drive?

jaffa also mention in N900 wiki that there is no digital compass on the N900, because i'm new here i dont know who jaffa is, so is he a nokia representative?

That is why Gizmodo has been trying to coin the term "comm" for this category of products. I liked using "Universal Communicator" too.

Heh. People are wondering if it's a phone, tablet, or smartphone, and making purchase decisions based on such arbitrary classifications.

In a .fi forum people were having almost the same conversation, except it was "phone, tablet, or communicator". Funny, people saying they will only buy it if it's Nokia's new communicator device.

Now where's the "all of the above" tickbox?