Originally Posted by ragnar

You either need to apply more pressure than with a capacitive display, yes, or then (as I tend to do) use the fingernail, which works beautifully and with very light pressure... With the added benefit of not leaving fingerprint smudges on the screen.

But yes, if you've used the iPhone, you cannot use it completely the same way.

christexaport @ Nov 16th 2009 1:09PM

I've got to call out Chris Ziegler on this review just a little. I'm so happy you decided to not compare this device to other lesser devices or OSes out there. But I still have some niggles and points I need to make.

There are various video reviews, previews, demos, and hands-on interactions of the N900 online. I'm sure I've watched them all, or at least the major ones. I must say, almost every demo talks about how responsive the screen is, and some have even called it "capacitive-like" or "nearly as responsive as a capacitive display". About the ONLY ones with "negatively tinged" reviews are CZ and Om Malik. They seem unable to get a resistive screen to work, despite having reviewed at least dozens, if not hundreds, of resistive screened devices over the years. Perhaps your nerd muscles need a workout. I suggest the workout DVD "Carpals of Steel" to get that swiping motion up to par. And using the stylus won't require less pressure. Resistive screens are like paper, and the finger is a pencil. You have to press ever so slightly for it to register, and if a kid can do it, you have to question how much skill Chris really has. Notice he has no problem swiping the display early in the video, but as soon as he gets to the display subject, he can't get it to scroll. Give him an Oscar, this master thespian is on a roll!

Chris, like Om, is too fixated on the simple feature sets of the iPhones and G1s of the world, and their reviews fail to look at the N900's precedent setting capabilities that supercede anything available in the market today. Missing was any mention of the open source ecosystem and community behind the Maemo OS to allow the fast implementation of features and apps in days or weeks instead of months and years. Missing was mention of the availability of high quality free software via the APT powered Application Manager, a veritable App Store on steroids without any approval board to control what users want on their devices. No mention of the customizability of the OS, or how all of the hardware was openly accessible to developers without limitations.

I don't think it was very responsible to make such a snap judgement based on a preproduction unit. At least you did make sure and say that it wasn't a final unit, but did you ask if certain features would be added in the final build or ever? Of course prerelease firmware would lack features. I've never heard either Chris or Om call the iPhone or Android devices feature incomplete, when we know they still lack features out of the box to this day. But the N900 is "raw"?? And how is the current status of the Maemo OS called a "hack"? Besides lacking MMS and Screen Rotation for most apps, what makes it so raw? And lacking MMS and portrait mode for most apps means it isn't really "a true smartphone"?? Are you kidding me?! So the non multitasking iPhone isn't a smartphone, but the multitasking, phone calling, 24 live apps at a time, Flash toting, plugin supporting media player packing N900 made by the inventors of the smartphone as we know it today isn't!?! I smell FUD, sprinkled with just a dash of "out yo' bleepin' mind", and its coming from Engadget.

Did you bother telling the public that Nokia has committed to adding MMS, portrait mode for web browsing and other applications in Maemo 5, well before Maemo 6? I did like the comparisons to the N8xx and N97, which set out to pack as many features into the package, are its closest comparable devices, and NOT the iPhone and "Droid", which look to streamline and control the feature set of the device. I am waiting for either Chris or Om to say how the stylus is unecessary unless using software not intended for the N900, that any solid device can work as a stylus alternative, from a finger or toothpick to a car key or corner of the handle of your eyeglasses, and is an advantage over all capacitive devices since they can never use a stylus.

You found many quirks of the N900 far different than most of the common devices out there. Did you ask the reasoning behind these differences? Like why the space bar is on the right instead of the center? I'll bet using it for a few weeks would make it pretty evident. It allows for less thumb travel and finger fatigue when typing for extended periods by placing the space bar at a position where the thumb rests, just like the space bars on desktop PCs. Another actual value adding, accessibility feature you failed to expose, even after all of the information available about these design choices and how they'll benefit the end user.

Now come on and show us the main features users will use on any smartphone, like the available apps or methods to use Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, RSS readers, email, media sharing, messaging, phone calls, and audio/video features. And maybe start mentioning that all of the high end camera phones have thicker sensors and equipment, and will usually be thicker than a typical smartphone with a middling camera.

Originally Posted by dammsaint

they said that you have to apply force to the screen to scroll on web pages but i didnt see any video applying any force.

You guys remember, this is his opinion that, if you like that phone that doesnt count, i dont like the iphone but many users love it, its your choice buy whaterver you want.

You either need to apply more pressure than with a capacitive display, yes, or then (as I tend to do) use the fingernail, which works beautifully and with very light pressure... With the added benefit of not leaving fingerprint smudges on the screen.

Originally Posted by Thor

The only thing that p?*sses me off is the lack of xenon flash, which I love on the N82, and I'm still unsure about losing that but with so many other features, it's outweighed that at the moment. I can still carry the N82 simless if I need to.