Just a quick discussion aimed really at the speed of app releases the variety of apps available and upcoming.

I would of thought the app development and range of apps to be a lot bigger by this point for the N900 but on the other hand the device seems to be in a transition stage where PR1.2 and Meago could be just around the corner.

Is this having a negative affect on developers, uncertain if they want to put vast ammounts of time and work into apps that may need a lot more work when updates or meago become available?

If this is the case it would put my mind at rest with the 900 because a transition period is just that.. just a period of time until we have more certainty towards the future of the OS / Firmware updates.

Thoughts anyone?

yeah i thing if i was a developer the stage were going through now would put me off sligtly. but in saying that in terms of what the n900 stands for this is only the begining and i think that patient users will be rewarded in the long term.

Reminds me similar in ways of the Blu-Ray / HD-DVD phase of who will be the prime choice of the consumer...

Until a secure choice is made in the community on release and tested phases have blown by i don't see us seeing the apps that the 900 deserves some of the community based stuff is fantastic and its grea to see a strong backing from owners on here but i believe we are missing out until a primary choice is made and people are prepared to put time and effort into more apps.

Given that I had stopped posting for like 2-3 months only to come back to the same situation(s) - PR 1.2 still not yet released, MeeGo not yet released, apps with no updates since the release of the N900... to be brutally honest, things look downright abysmal for the N900 in its current iteration.

That might all change with some key announcements. But so far, hasn't happened. I'll be back in 2-3 more months to see if things had changed. But I seriously doubt it.

PR1.2 is just around the corner yes but MeeGo is everything else but around the corner.

The current state of available apps count and upcoming may be decreased by the fact that this model (N900) is a first start of on the market with a NIT capable of doing phone-calls and having cell-data connections. Several closed apps are not properly pushed as the main goal is something else. If the hardware and the module (driver) stack is working out we may receive a surprise as "now we got time to do more then just bugfixes and minor enhancements".
Compared to other devices the NITs and the N900 are a ...watch it.."community enhanced development".

Things need to change before Nokia will put more money into maemo, and the change is the 'fremantle' to a 'harmattan'. As stated by Nokia after the first few weeks of the N900 being out on the global market, the developers are moving on to Maemo6/Harmattan now known as MeeGo/Harmattan and only a few keep working with us on bugfixes and minor enhancements.

If I get this right the N900 is the reference platform for development for future MeeGo devices and the commercial developers are going to work on that and wait for it before they put their money in.

Thinks like a payment service within the OVI store don't work (THE reason why a lot of developers are on the iPhone instead of being here - now they also getting the iPad to sell their apps - great!), then there is no user base for "maemo" at the moment (yes: freaks like us - willing to OC their devices), the whole transition process from "maemo" to "meego" - and still the big picture is not so, so clear (as it never has been with Nokia; wasn’t it Anssi Vanjoki claiming N-Gage to be so successful and developers can make money out of it, the same guy now claiming the death of DSLR and seeing the first HD phones in the up-coming 12 months – Mr. Vanjoki: did you already see the Sony Vivaz?)...
So yes: I can understand why a lot of people are not putting more of their (free) time into this...

You are right and wrong at the same time.

Maemo as it stands will be replaced by Meego. BUT the next firmware upgrade will allow apps developed to run on Meego to run on the N900. There is even the possibility that Meego might be available for existing N900's, but that appears some way off yet.

Developers have been waiting for this cross-compatability so there has perhaps been a delay in progression and range of apps available.

The other thing to consider is the user profile of the N900 who are not your typical gamers, not your typical business users, etc., etc. That said, N900 has been an unexpected and widespread success for Nokia. Demands are now being made of the device that will no doubt stretch the original design brief and development roadmap to the point where Nokia will either have to review their policy to the N900 or abandon it.

I don't think that is likely. Besides, many members of this community consider the N900 to be emminently suitable as it is.

Like many, I have gone through a transition period with my new N900; it is unconventional after other devices but the more you use it, the more you see the logic in its design.

having used my wife's new N97 Mini yesterday, there's no way I'd go back to a (current) Symbian device - something I thought I'd never say.

More apps are on the way from both Nokia nd the community and there is a good choice of USEFUL apps already available - search this site for more info.

What do YOU want out of the N900?

MeeGo will be officially available for the N900. @qgil confirmed this here

I bought my n900 back in December last year and still not updated the firmware.

At them moment I am happy with my n900 because it is a portable Linux computer then phone (from my point-of-view).

As far as I understand maemo-based apps will run on the n900 version of MeeGo because gtk is still part of the platform. This means software before the 1.2 update can still be used in MeeGo.

I don't think there is any reason why people should hold-off writing software for maemo especially before the 1.2 update.

The major aspect of PR 1.2 is that it will include QT. This means when MeeGo is ready then moving an app from maemo to MeeGo should not be a major problem.

As far as I understand the n900 is still selling very well so it makes sense to write software that can run on both platforms.

My only issue now is that the phone app is still closed-source. The phone app currently implemented has disappointed many people and a few users have abandoned the n900.

If the phone app in MeeGo is going to be similar (and closed source) then people will still complain about it.

If Nokia are willing to open up the development of the phone functionality (including battery management) too then MeeGo and Nokia devices will stand a better chance of being taken serously.

The n900 in its current state is not exactly usable, unless you are a developer or a Linux Guru. It has some great pros like a superb browser, flash support, opennes.

The downsides however are numerous. There arent many applications that are practically usable, and until MeeGo is out there probably wont be. Applications coming from the community are always welcome, but a device like the n900 needs high-end apps.

Another downside is the lack of decent maps and navigation. I travel a lot and i expected the device to have at least some decent map applications. The calendar is amongst the worst i've used.

Seeing as Maemo is being left behind,and there are no updates, 1.2 has been "around the corner" ever since February, the future
for Maemo isnt very bright.

However it's still one of the better devices out of the box.