Originally Posted by bgrigor

My generally feeling on the N900: awesome hardware, awesome OS, but some apps are missing (e.g. a good countdown timer), some apps are pretty rough (e.g. the Ovi Maps app is not Nokia's latest best version for whatever reason) and some apps are still buggy.

Of course, apps will be written, polished up and fixed over time.

I would say the N900 is still in the "early adopter/geek" stage and the really average consumer might be advised to hold off for 6 months.

Originally Posted by Barts

I wanted a phone that could browse the internet as it is on a pc, i won't lie to you and say i wante it for x,y and z.

i'm a bit tunnel visioned in that way. but it was important to have good storage, and a good camera, as i really missed having a good camera. but since i've had the phone i want to find out more, and find out how to use the things on it, i've had it a month and only just figured out how to do rss feeds hahaha. but i use it for internet, fm transmitter when i'm in the car

use it for skype to call my dad in hong kong

love that i can view emails, browse the web, read texts and never have to shut down and re-open applications, i can have what i want on my home screens. been using it to watch movies and listen to internet radio.

i just generally use it as a phone should be used and enjoy everyminute of this device a month on, but bear in mind this is just my experience and opinion.

Originally Posted by me2000

FWIW, its not receiving any press at all in Canada. Everything is iPhone, iPhone, iPhone.

Originally Posted by bgrigor

I haven't tried VOIP. Skype chat works great.

GPS is still in need of serious work.

Browsing is surprisingly good--great for checking news or TV listings.

First and foremost, a cell phone. I don't have a landline, so my cell phone is both my personal and business communicator. The N900 has a great GSM radio with fewer missed and dropped calls than my previous SE Z710i. BTW, I'm on Fido on Vancouver Island. HOORAY N900!

Second and very important: ability to hold ALL my contacts, appointments, tasks and notes from Outlook. HOORAY! I have over 4000 records on the N900. I've never used other smartphones, but my previous regular cell phones absolutely SUCKED at this.

However, Nokia PC Suite is giving me some grief, so the picture isn't completely perfect yet. Also, the PDA/PIM functionality is still pretty basic, e.g. cannot edit a contact from within the Phone app. I am hopeful these little issues will be worked out over time.

Third, a music player. HOORAY! I have about 11 GBs of music and album art on the N900. The Media Player is basic but it works OK. Much better than my SE Z710i (shame on you Sony!). Only missing functionality is support for my Audible.com audio books, and I'm hopeful that will be added in due course.

Fourth, a decent camera. Again, HOORAY! The Camera app is pretty basic, but it works OK and the pix can be quite good, much better than the iPhone as I'm told. And it BLOWS AWAY my other phones.

As a bonus, the movie feature is also surprisingly good. There's an issue with the little chrome trim around the camera lens, but I expec that will be fixed (replaced with a black ring perhaps).

Fifth, a GPS. The N900 GPS receiver seems OK, but the Ovi Maps app is disappointing. First thing to do is download all the maps for your area ahead of time so you don't need a data connection to at least see where you are. I downloaded all of North America. However, Ovi Maps still demands a data connection to find addresses and do routing, which is rude. The "Track Me" only works with a route, etc. I eagerly await an upgrade, otherwise GPS is pretty much useless to me on the N900.

Sixth, a decent calculator. Since I've been an HP RPN fanboy since the HP-35 and HP-41, I installed Free42 right away. YES! You won't believe how LAME the calculator is on the SE Z710i.

Things I wasn't looking for, but which work surprisingly well:

- Web browser with Flash, nice! I'm not into a cell data plan, but when there's WiFi, it's nice to grab the news or check ferry schedules.

- Streaming media from all my Windows 7 media servers, VERY nice! I gather the iPhone can't do that? So I don't need to lug my laptop around the house to watch Photoshop User TV!

Integrated IM. All my MSN, Yahoo and Skype contacts now appear on the phone in one App.

- Sketch app. With a stylus and the awesome screen, there is actually some potential to use the N900 for on-the-spot llustration and artwork. This wouldn't be possible on a capacitive screen

I'm looking forward to trying the KOffice drawing apps whether they're released.

Originally Posted by ralphb

Just to check: Have you maybe heard anything about the Google Nexus One in Canada, eh?

Originally Posted by ralphb

This N900 vs iPhone 3GS vs Nexus One vs Palm Pre comparison table might help you decide.

Originally Posted by me2000

Is the Nokia app open source, ie could I add that functionality to it ?

Originally Posted by me2000

Great to hear about the music. As I stated in a previous email, I'd love to have ONE music source for a change. I wonder if I could access my music files via a shared mount from my laptop and play them on Amarok on my laptop ?

Originally Posted by me2000

I am a TI89 guy. I would love to be able to use my phone as a calculator.

Originally Posted by me2000

Does the N900 have enough power to watch youtube videos ?

Originally Posted by me2000

KOffice on the n900 ? Is that in the works ?

Originally Posted by me2000

T
What are the chances of getting Amarok running on the N900 ? Its a full fledged KDE4 app...