This post is in response to the many negative reviews/posts out there on the n900.

I have to admit I was very nervous about getting the n900 after hearing so many reviews say how it wasn't ready, only for geeks, etc. etc.

After playing with the n900 for a week I have no idea what they were talking about.

First off, I am a newbie at maemo. I have used tons of wm phones but am not a programmer nor a tenth as knowledgeable as many on this site. But here are some thoughts from a newbie on the n900.

1) As a computer this thing rocks. Using the web is amazing and blows away any other mobile phone experience I have had.

2) Multitasking is the greatest. Yes, I could it in windows mobile but the ease in which I can go from phone, to txt, to web, to game, to music is just amazing. No real slowdowns.

3) I have not had any rebooting issues or any major problems of any kind.

4) The keyboard is ok but I am spoiled coming from the touch pro 2 which in my opinion has the best keyboard of any phone.

5) The phone functions are simple but who cares. I want a phone to be a phone. Meaning, I can dial out, people can call me, and I have my contact list. Do you really need a different ringtone for different people and etc? Sure, it may be nice to have but just look at the screen and you will see who is calling you. Whatever the phone of the n900 is missing is not a big deal to me.

6) I do wish it had support for Microsoft office as I have many files I would like to be able to view while on the go.

7)Also, as a newbie, i find some things frustrating. Yes the community is friendly and helpful but most of it is over my head and I do not have the time to really learn. I would love to setup remote access to my pc but a bit over my head as well.

8) Finally there is a lack of software/apps compared to other phones BUT there are new apps coming out everyday and most programs work pretty well for me. Yes, I would love to see slingbox mobile on maemo, google maps, and mobile office but no phone is perfect.

9) Finally, I have had no problems with the gps or ovi maps. I get a quick lock and it functions well enough. It is NO google maps but not too bad.

10) The battery is hard to judge. When I kept several programs open all day, the phone barely made it through 1 day. However, i tried actually closing many programs when not using it yesterday and I did not go through 50% of the battery. I guess this is hard to gauge review because it is so dependent on what programs you are using and how many you keep open. But to me, as long as it lasts 1 day, I am happy because I charge my phone at night.

As someone that every review I saw suggested would hate this phone and how it was not for me, I love it and could not be happier. Is it perfect? HELL NO, but it is the best damn mobile pc/phone (as a total package) that I have ever had.

Bottom line, I love it and for all those inexperienced users or non geeks out there, give the phone a shot and don't be scared of the reviews out there.

now thats what i'm talking about! some good news. Thanks.

My brother also said it's easy. He had no prior experience with the device and I just gave it to him and he immediately knew how to do things.

'Documents to Go' is available for Maemo.

Shouldn't a VNC server on the desktop and simply installing the VNC client on the N900 work?

For Google Maps, you can use the MaeMaps web application or you can use Maep.

Disclaimer: I have not checked where the apps I talked about are located. If they are located in extras-testing or extras-devel extra caution has to be taken.

If RealVNC doesn't work . Try TightVNC , it works for many person :
http://www.tightvnc.com/

thanks for the vnc help but I am having a small problem. While connected to my wireless router, i can connect and vnc works.

However, when I go outside of my wireless network, it does not.

When I go over the server, i get two ip addresses. one is 192.0.0.0,5.0.0.0

On my network, i just need to enter the one 192 ip address and it works. However, what do i enter for outside of my network? I tried both ip's as well as the second ip starting with 5 but neither worked.

You need to forward whatever port your using for VNC through your router to your desktop.

Then you would put in your public ip address of your desktop into your N900. Go to http://www.whatismyip.com on your desktop to find the ip.

Need to find the documentation on your router for port forwarding though.

Hi,

Not to much into programming/Linux/maemo/... myself. But as yourself a happy N900 owner, happy with the phone/PC as is. And knowing that it's a work in progress, eager to see what's coming!!

I am willing to test drive programs, knowing that I can brick my device, but fairly sure I can revitalize it just by reading around on the forums here. (Tip: Use the backup feature)

An automated/scheduled Backup feature (like on the 5800) would be nice.



On Topic:

The 192.x.x.x is the LAN (Local Area Network) IP address. When you want to connect from outside your LAN you need to connect to the router on his WAN (Wide Area Network= the Net) IP address and the router can route that connection to your computer on the LAN.

This implies setting correct ports/forwarding rules,... on your router. I am not familiar with those settings, so can't help you on that part, also it's a bit different on every single type of router.
I don't know if this version of VNC (free I suppose?) supports connecting from outside the LAN?

So didn't help you much there, but you might have a better idea of what the problem is that you're facing.

Greetings