On another thread I rant about the poor quality of the three DropBox clients so far available for the N9. The python script that is available for the N900 knocks socks of these apps, and that was written by a guy who wasn't even a programmer, just a regular guy who decided to learn python one day to have a decent DropBox client for the N900, and share that with everyone else, some of whom went on to offer their own additions and improvements to the script. It's actually pretty weird to use and not intuitive, but once you get the hang of it, you see that it is powerful.

Things seem to be a bit different with the N9. What we are seeing are quite a few apps, repeated again and again, with more basic functionality, like on other platforms (iOs, Android) where for some reason the dominant mentality is to make apps which look pretty but lack in functionality, even though the smartphones of today are as powerful as the fully fledged desktops of yesteryear. (Word/Office suites that lack basic functionality like auto-save - Hello data loss, thank you?) Often these apps are ones you have to pay for too, and you often can't test the app before paying for it.

For example, there are at least four apps for the N9 that give you encrypted storage of your online passwords, etc, behind a master password, one of which is a paid app. But in my view none of these is worth installing on my N9, because none of them are compatible with any other similar application for Windows/Mac/Linux/Maemo etc that I already use or would like to use in conjunction with the N9. I don't understand why these developers have chosen to re-invent the wheel (four times over!) and each develop their own database format, when there are existing solutions off the shelf out there they could just use and which would provide this huge step-up in (in my view, necessary) functionality for the user.

On the N900 there is a basic application like this, Password Safe, which uses the same blowfish encrypted database format that other cross-platform applications like Password Gorilla use which I have installed on my Mac and PC. It is a bit ugly, it hasn't been updated for a long while, and you have to be careful of a few bugs, but it is genuinely useful because of this important feature it gets right (like the important feature that DropN900 gets right). I keep the database file in sync between my various devices including the N900, and now I have a password database that is actually useful because it's not tied down to one device.

I don't want to denigrate the quality apps coming out for the N9, of which there are many, and which I am very, very happy about and grateful for. But I am just wondering if there isn't a general 'feel' and approach to the N9 that makes it a bit more like other smartphones (lots of useless or too-basic software, a few gems) and less like the N900 (not much software, but most of it good and genuinely useful). In fact, in the end we may be in the worst possible world with the N9, because of its orphaned status and limited market availability it will have very little software available (unlike iOS and Android but like the N900) and a relatively large proportion will be throwaway/less than useful, and some of that you have to pay for (like iOS and Android, but unlike the N900).

Maybe I have gotten things wrong. Maybe it was like this in the early days of the N900 as well, and we just have to wait for the N9 to 'mature'. I wasn't around in the early days of the N900, and I have heard people say that there is more stuff coming out for the N9 now than there was, comparatively, for the N900 at the same stage of its life-cycle. But that is about quantity, not quality, and I am interested in the issue of quality.

I'm also not a developer/programmer so perhaps I shouldn't harp on too much about apps that don't have what I consider to be basic functionality, as the developers have nevertheless put a lot of work into those apps and it may be that a lot of people might be finding them useful for their purposes, just not me.

Nice rant. Good luck.

N900, not enough like a smartphone!
N9, Too much like a smartphone!

Where did the go from your signature?
I liked the

noetus,

I can identify with your feeling and I've ranted about this before in another thread. Yes, I agree that a lot of apps coming out for N9 at this stage are repeats, simple or not very useful. This is not the denigrate some gems that have been released and the efforts of many good developers. But in general the gems are the exception rather than the rule.

The deficiency in quality apps is worrying as Meego-Harmattan is orphaned and so must depend on the community to survive. Very few commercial developers are interested. What is worse is Nokia making available a wizard to generate RSS feed apps with no programming skill and resulted in the store being flooded with useless feed apps. Do we need an app for 'Michael Jackson news" or "Mariah Carey news? Genuine developers may not like the fact that the visibility of their apps are practically drowned in the feed apps.

The expectation that the N900 community will transition naturally to N9 has not materialized. The N900 community is still involved in developing apps for their devices and have ported few apps to the N9.

The N9 community will take time to develop as the expected kickstart from the N900 community is not coming. One hopes that eventually there will be a pool of useful apps to round out this excellent phone and gaping holes like wi-fi analyzer, QR code reader and MS Office editor will be filled. In the meantime we can only wait and hope.

That's the only point annoying to me actually. At least they get rated down most of the time.

I haven't tried this one, but it appears to be compatible with desktop formats.

I agree that the N9 is flooded by low quality apps, the Ovi store makes me want to shoot myself, but that doesn't mean there are less quality programs.

"...there's an app for that!" :P

I think we have to wait a bit. As more countries are getting N9 on contract and for christmas, there will be more applications coming soon. Maybe paid content, but I can afford a few euros per month to support the developers to make more applications for MeeGo.

Edit: Just got a tweet about bikini wallpapers for N9...talking about quality content :P

I don't mind paying for kamasutra.

Again, another long boring post. Like a love letter. I wish I had the time to spare and work on some apps. But then it probably wont be good enough for these guys.

Back in my day, I played 8-bit games and smiled. Nowadays everyone wants better graphics, better this, better that, bla bla. Quality is never good enough. And they want it free.

Steve Jobs should die for doing this to mankind... oh wait he's dead.