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Poll: N900 vs Milestone
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N900 vs Milestone

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Laughing Man is offline Laughing Man
2009-11-17 , 22:23
Posts: 4,556 | Thanked: 1,624 times | Joined on Dec 2007
#351
Originally Posted by Holyshit View Post

1. The Droid has a bigger screen, a higher resolution, a capacitive screen, multitouch in the EU-version, it has a stronger battery, t's got an internal compass, it's got a four row keyboard, and still manages to be thinner and lighter. It includes more software, free turn-by-turn navigation in the US, almost all built-in apps support portraitmode, full flash is upcoming. It's lacking an FM-radio (who needs it when you've got stream anything u like from the web) and a frontcam (although that isnt even properly supported atm in Maemo) - but if you really needed then you can get the Saygus V1 Android Phone which includes both. The Droid also has some very nice accessoires, like a Cardock (which loads up a Homescreen optimized for in-car usage automatically) and a regular dock (which transforms the device automagically in a photostand, nightstand clock etc).
Eh, I'm not a fan of docks, it's nice that they'll charge the device for you but you have to pay for them. (Same reason why I never bought into Apple's iPods and all those docks) And the Droid doesn't have a TV output either (something I do plan on using). I'll take standard inputs over docks anyday.

2. The future for Android in 2010 is looking very promising. All this excitment about "the best browsing experience" wont be for long. The Droid (Milestone) has multitouch, bigger screen and higher resolution. So with upcoming Adobe Flash 10 support and the mobile Firefox (Fennec) the Droid will properly be a better Web device than the N900.
Android isn't as optimized for multi-tasking as Maemo is. Not to mention Android has had problems due to the way it's framework is designed (video and audio codecs for example)

And all this porting of Linux apps to Maemo: wouldn't proper ports require some serious work in the UI-department? a smaller screen, lower resolution, and touchscreen; so a developer would need to rewrite bits of his UI (such as bigger buttons) for a mobile device. The lack of a portraitmode is a serious showstopper for consumers. Everybody is used to using the phone in portraitmode. The N900 is a smartphone afterall; not a tablet? Yeah, it's upcoming - but so is Android upcoming with full flash, fennec, and even more social integration.
You don't think the same thing applies for Android? Even Android device has different hardware, different screens, etc.. if I was a developer I would just target the most common differences, not take advantage of a few devices like Droid and cut myself off from other Android devices.

Oh and if development is so easy for Maemo: where's the MMS-app, where's the portraitmodes, where's the Ovi Maps 3, where's the Google Apps?
Last I read those threads..

1) MMS-app it's being worked on but it's not a simple program and your done. It seems that it requires something outside of the device (but I just read the thread real quick)

2) Portrait modes, some applications already do portrait mode.. nobody cares to make a full portrait mode for the device (it seems they rather just let each developer decide if they want to do a portrait mode). I can't imagine it would be that difficult to do a rotation hack combined with the accelerameter considering the rotation hack has been done on the n800/n810 for a while now. The only problem is that when you do that then the applications won't look as nicely (and that's a developer issue not an operating system one).

3) Ovi Maps is Nokia, nothing the community can do.

4) Google Apps is Google, nothing the community can do about it. Lest Google sends us a cease and desist letter.

5. How free is Maemo? There's actually not a lot to choose from at the moment. You've gotta pick Nokia's N900 if you want Maemo 5. And in the software department there's not a lot to choose from just yet either. So how is this freedom? If I want Android: I can pick from 20+ phones, several carriers, and several phoneset-makers. I can choose to run GoogleNav, Sygic, Destinator, Co-pilot or whatever.If I want a music player, I can choose from 50+ programs. And 100% OSS is not even the goal of Maemo (OpenMoko is btw), but more like 80/20. They do want to keep (just like Google) several propertiery Nokia software out of the Maemo OSS-cloud.
I do believe that's Maemo's weakpoint (that Nokia will probably only offer it on their devices) and why Android will win in the long run (though it's my hope Maemo will make a big enough splash that its competitors will take notice and adopt attributes from Maemo".

E.g. not having all apps run through java, better multi-tasking, etc..

As for choice in programs, sure if you only look at n900 specific applications there's only a small amount. More if you include what existed on the previous tablets and what's possible by doing things like running easy Debian for example.

Though in the end it goes back to the whole smartphone vs computer/internet tablet thing. And if people are looking for a smartphone I personally don't think they should choose the n900, I see it having more desktop roots than phone roots.

So even though I'm very excited about Maemo (the whole concept of it), I'm going to stick with Android for a little longer; and hope to see Maemo 6 very much improved near end 2010!
I'm on the opposite side, I wanna see Android improve before I inevitably switch over to Android. So I'm hoping that Maemo will make a big enough splash that it'll cause its competitors to change things are done.
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Originally Posted by ysss View Post
They're maemo and MeeGo...

"Meamo!" sounds like what Zorro would say to catherine zeta jones... after she slaps him for looking at her dirtily...
 
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johnkzin is offline johnkzin
2009-11-17 , 22:31
Posts: 1,878 | Thanked: 646 times | Joined on Sep 2007 @ San Jose, CA
#352
My one and only reservation about taking the plunge into Maemo 5:

I'm still not aware of any way to keep it sync'ed with my google contacts and/or google calendar. I don't mean with erming, I mean with the native Maemo 5 contacts and calendar. If it supported true/full SyncML, it would be a no brainer -- GooSync. But, Maemo5's SyncML support is lobotomized/castrated for some unknown reason (BT/USB only).

I might be able to do without the calendar syncing ... but not without the contacts syncing. It'd be rather annoying to not be able to directly make phone calls with a phone ... always having to look the contact up in gmail so that I can then manually dial them. That would be rather pointless. (and, google will always be the current/authoritative source of my contacts, thus Maemo5 must accommodate that, and not dictate that I make something like Ovi be the authoritative data source, nor something else equally inane).
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DaveP1 is offline DaveP1
2009-11-17 , 23:46
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#353
Originally Posted by Laughing Man View Post
As for choice in programs, sure if you only look at n900 specific applications there's only a small amount. More if you include what existed on the previous tablets and what's possible by doing things like running easy Debian for example.
Still, I know of no capability that all the ported and soon to be ported Maemo apps have that does not also exist on Android and many of the ports I've seen on previous tablets (like my N810) are pretty rudimentary. Android may not offer a lot more but it's got a solid lead.

Originally Posted by Laughing Man View Post
Though in the end it goes back to the whole smartphone vs computer/internet tablet thing. And if people are looking for a smartphone I personally don't think they should choose the n900, I see it having more desktop roots than phone roots.
I think you're right and I think this is going to be a problem for Nokia. People who buy the N900 as a smartphone are going to be finding a number of things that other smartphones do better and cheaper. On the other hand, people who are looking for a PC in their pocket can pick from a number of MIDs and UMPCs that come closer to that experience.

Originally Posted by Laughing Man View Post
I'm on the opposite side, I wanna see Android improve before I inevitably switch over to Android. So I'm hoping that Maemo will make a big enough splash that it'll cause its competitors to change things are done.
I''m orthogonally opposite to both of you. I want to see the next generation of devices before I take the plunge. I'd like Maemo's flexibility running on a big screen phone with a gigahertz or more CPU under the hood. The N910 maybe?
 
Rushmore is offline Rushmore
2009-11-17 , 23:58
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#354
Droid is a good phone centric device and works great with Verizon 3G- wish it had Flash now rather than June/July. Still, I am returning Droid and will keep the N900 due to:

1. Keyboard SUCKS and d-pad is a dysfunctional waste of space.
2. SD card blocked by battery
3. Re-encoding videos to play on Droid is time consuming
4. Low app space
5. Not many great apps except what shipped last year and the New Navigator. Tons of Lego-like duplicate apps (due to high level SDK- apps are kind of like lego builds)
6. The camera is weak and not so sure software will fix- lense seems below average and capture speed is slow.

I love the 3G with Verizon though and wish the N900 worked with their service.

Added:

In spite of all of this, the Droid would still be my second choice (for now)- due to Verizon coverage and speed in my area.
Last edited by Rushmore; 2009-11-18 at 00:02.
 
sorodoros is offline sorodoros
2009-11-18 , 00:16
Posts: 344 | Thanked: 73 times | Joined on Oct 2009 @ Los Angeles
#355
Demo'd Droid at a local Verizon store today. Just not in the same class as n900 (at least in view of all the n900 videos showing off its features). KB not as bad as some reviews state, though the blank/dead keys are weird. Browser decent. Included apps okay. Didn't see any particular advantage to the capacitive screen. If the n900 actually performs as it appears to, then I really don't see any worthy comparison at all. Build good. It'll all seem dated in just a few months. FTM, n900 is 2nd to none.
 
Laughing Man is offline Laughing Man
2009-11-18 , 01:16
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#356
Originally Posted by DaveP1 View Post
I think you're right and I think this is going to be a problem for Nokia. People who buy the N900 as a smartphone are going to be finding a number of things that other smartphones do better and cheaper. On the other hand, people who are looking for a PC in their pocket can pick from a number of MIDs and UMPCs that come closer to that experience.


I''m orthogonally opposite to both of you. I want to see the next generation of devices before I take the plunge. I'd like Maemo's flexibility running on a big screen phone with a gigahertz or more CPU under the hood. The N910 maybe?
Yeah, I see the n900's competition more as the MIDs and UMPCs with cell phone capability than smartphones that try to have PC functionality.

I would be waiting for the fight (that was my plan) but I've decided that with how busy my life is (I underestimated how busy grad school + work + a 4 hr commute both ways takes time out of your day) I need to get a device like the n900 soon just to keep on top of things.
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Originally Posted by ysss View Post
They're maemo and MeeGo...

"Meamo!" sounds like what Zorro would say to catherine zeta jones... after she slaps him for looking at her dirtily...
 
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johnkzin is offline johnkzin
2009-11-18 , 04:04
Posts: 1,878 | Thanked: 646 times | Joined on Sep 2007 @ San Jose, CA
#357
Originally Posted by Laughing Man View Post
Yeah, I see the n900's competition more as the MIDs and UMPCs with cell phone capability than smartphones that try to have PC functionality.
That might be an accurate dividing line.

Android is a linux based evolution/application of the smartphone.

Maemo is a linux based MID, evolving to develop telephony.

They're aiming toward the same point, eventually (growing toward the middle, from opposite ends of the spectrum) ... and they're both starting with similar code bases ... but their starting points are definitely at opposite ends of the spectrum.
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sjgadsby is offline sjgadsby
2009-11-18 , 04:20
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#358
Originally Posted by johnkzin View Post
I'm still not aware of any way to keep it sync'ed with my google contacts and/or google calendar. I don't mean with erming, I mean with the native Maemo 5 contacts and calendar.
Maemo 5 includes Mail for Exchange. While MfE suffers a list of limitations, it will sync one calendar (your choice) on the N900 with one Google calendar (the first one). It also syncs the names and email addresses of contacts.
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johnkzin is offline johnkzin
2009-11-18 , 04:32
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#359
Originally Posted by sjgadsby View Post
Maemo 5 includes Mail for Exchange. While MfE suffers a list of limitations, it will sync one calendar (your choice) on the N900 with one Google calendar (the first one). It also syncs the names and email addresses of contacts.
That's good to know (and, thank you for the info) ... but I'm more concerned about (names + phone numbers) than (names + email addresses). Of course, all 3 would be the best.
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sjgadsby is offline sjgadsby
2009-11-18 , 04:43
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#360
Originally Posted by johnkzin View Post
That's good to know (and, thank you for the info) ... but I'm more concerned about (names + phone numbers) than (names + email addresses). Of course, all 3 would be the best.
I've no idea if there's even an open API to use, but there's an open request for jaffa to add better Google contacts syncing to Hermes.
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