Maemo 5 reviewed in breathtakingly granular detail
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Sep 29th 2009 5:04PM
posted Sep 29th 2009 5:04PM
- There's apparently an N920 in the works that lacks a QWERTY keyboard. We've heard rumors in the past that the N900 will remain Nokia's sole Maemo 5 phone for at least a few months, so we might look to see this in 2010.
- Process management invokes a curiously webOS-like card view which looks great. Helps when you have a beefy OMAP3 in there, doesn't it?
- The call log effortlessly aggregates GSM and VoIP calls -- a neat trick, and a tip of the hat to Maemo's roots as a VoIP-friendly platform.
- MMS isn't supported, strangely, though the platform's SMS support handles both threaded and traditional views.
- While chatting up Maemo's calendar services, Eldar specifically says that he "Palm's WebOS-powered organizer much more enticing and promising." Lack of Google Calendar synchronization sucks, but we're not sure what that's all about -- Maemo does support Exchange ActiveSync, after all.
- Eldar his the nail on the head regarding Maemo's Mozilla-based browser: it's always been good, just way too slow. The N900 cures those ails on better hardware, though "it hasn't caught up with the rest of the pack yet." Flash support seems wonky and performance isn't always great -- it depends on how many apps are running.
- The music player is pretty bare-bones (typical Nokia), though anyone happy with the N97's sound quality will feel right at home here -- it's the same hardware.
- The integrated Maps app apparently lags way behind the bar that Ovi Maps has set over on S60 -- super slow and "resource-hungry."
Sounds like pretty much what I expected from having a n800. A powerful device, just not quite all the way there yet.
omfg sex!! : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0wbLaMXeu4&feature=player_embedded#t=83
*Drools*
There is also another new detailed preview:
http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php
and related discussion at Maemo talk:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=32182
i'm done reading but it is still not in stores yet.
Thanks for sharing.
Eldar previews the device with quite old firmware. Here's a better preview with lot more detail and even the note that he is previewing a preproduction device:
http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php
He has also an ancient stolen prototype. And yes, Eldar doesn't have the possibility to do FOTA.
Did you even think before typing that? Stolen? If it was stolen, Nokia would have had the police on him a long time ago, especially when you consider that Nokia know his name and contact details...
Yep, and he pointed out:
"good and fast web browser, compatible with virtually all websites I tested it with, fully supporting Flash (and all kinds of Flash videos), Ajax, Javascript, etc."
@iLoveApple
Do a search.
Would also mention that Michal Jerz @my-symbian has also older firmware. it is couple versions older than the newest.
@IlLoveaApple
Eldar basicly confirmed himself that he uses stolen N900 in a tweet, in which he said that he's too scred to upgrade firmware because Nokia is trying to track down his N900.
You might also wanna google translate his latest journal entry which is about leak in Nokia concerning N900.
oh by the way , Eldar doesnt like Nokia mobiles anymore he is much into Sammy
Has he ever stated that? Jealous haters like yourself really do make me laugh. I can understand, though. If you're in Eldar's position, with more access in the mobile industry than any Engadget, Gizmodo, TechCrunch or Boy Genius Report editor could ever dream of, you're bound to draw out some haters.
Carry on, though.
I really like the n900 similar to iphone but with physical keyboard and of course a browser twith flash built in....but its os is power hungry???????????? I'll get mad coz im waititng for this fone and hoping its going to be fast
It's not similar to the iPhone at all. They're for totally different people. The N900 is for old and nostalgic people who like to poke things with little sticks. The iPhone is all about modern technology that improves the user experience (capacitive screens on phones). Two very different products for very different people.
@iLoveApple
I hope you're joking. I don't think there's anything about the iPhone anyone would call revolutionary. It's nice packaging but maemo from day one will be a more capable device. Will it have tons of apps? No, but given it can go to about any web page, does Skype, have OVI maps, does flash, etc... it doesn't have too. Don't let Apple fool you, the iPhone is a great product, but it is not the pennaicle of smartphones, just another evolution. Capacitive touch screen have as many benefits as drawbacks.
On a phone, the app experience is pretty much always better than the equivalent web experience. Apps provide convenience. It allows for faster loading by having the graphical interfaces of a page load natively instead off of a much slower 3G network. It also cuts alot of clutter from normal webpages which would otherwise be difficult to navigate on the much smaller screen of a phone.
No MMS..kidding right?
Coming later.
How big would you say those breasts are?
Nope. Unfortunately, it's not one of those stale Finnish jokes that you're used to hearing from Olli-Pekka Kalashnikov.
The N900 can't do MMS. Even the iPhone can MMS now for Christ's sake!
@iLoveApple , S60 can do MMS even before Ipod touch came, let alone Iphone.
lets see , how long it takes for the Maemo community to develop MMS .. Iam pretty sure it wont be 2.5 years !!! lol
probably in 3 months
No MMS because of a restriction in the linux kernel. But from reading a few forums, it's been identified and should be fixed in the future.
What's hot:
* VERY high performance: powerful OMAP3430 processor, hardware gfx and video acceleration, lots of operating memory
* rock stable
* great, high quality WVGA screen (I wouldn't mind it being capacitive, but it's responsive enough for it not to be an issue)
* fully functional as a mobile phone, well integrated with the rest of the system
* all connectivity options one could think of
* fast and stable 3G/HSDPA connectivity
* great, fully integrated support for VoIP, e.g. Skype
* BEAUTIFUL user interface, powerful, intuitive, easy to use
* advanced home screen: four separate desktops, support for widgets, fully customizable
* both stylus and finger friendly control
* Calendar, Contacts, Office suite finally present on Maemo (compared to previous Tablets) and more advanced than on S60 phones
* GPS receiver is very fast and sensitive, much faster than on S60 phones (except for the Omnia HD)
* high quality camera and video recording
* hardware keyboard
* good and fast web browser, compatible with virtually all websites I tested it with, fully supporting Flash (and all kinds of Flash videos), Ajax, Javascript, etc.
* fantastic video playback, crisp and smooth.
What's not: (maybe just on the tested prototype?)
* no handwriting recognition
* storage memory for installable applications limited to ridiculous 256 MB, all the remaining gigabytes available for documents and data files only
* lack of d-pad (it's an Nseries device, so some people would like to play games on it!)
* the keyboard is nice, but could be even better (to attract Communicator users)
* the display seems to be easily scratchable; screen protector or carrying case are recommended to protect it
* lens cover does not scratch the lens (like on the N97) but it does scratch the part of the casing it slides over
* since the memory card is hot swappable, why there's no access to it from the outside?
* some sort of hardware "Home" button quickly switching to the Desktop would be really useful
* no audio equalizer
* Nokia, PLEASE, add voice dialing!
* no Java support, even just Java MIDP
* very limited support for Profiles, only "General" and "Silent", no possibility to create own profiles, no timed Profiles, etc.
* the touch display "de-calibrating" from time to time on the tested unit, probably due to early, pre-release firmware.
* no MMS support.
What hasn't been tested on the current proto and will be updated when I get hold of a newer firmware:
* synchronization
* voice navigation
* Bluetooth
* FM transmitter
* power consumption / battery life
* FM radio (if it's there, which is unclear).
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=32182
"storage memory for installable applications limited to ridiculous 256 MB, all the remaining gigabytes available for documents and data files only"
It has been confirmed that on the final product it will be 1GB and you can use also mass memory.
talk.maemo.org
I would never by a phone without MMS thats just the way it is.
I'm expecting to see it on the final firmware from day one, or to be hacked in on day two, same goes for google calendar
It's nice but the N900 is too big for me to use as a day to day handset.
The N920 intrigues me - I wonder if it'll be a slimmer unit with a capacitive screen?
If it is going to be for Maemo 6 , then you can expect Multi-Touch - Capacitive
I think it will be awhile before you see capacitive screens on the N900 since such screen would limit your ability to port some apps from Linux (read finger friendly elements don't work with all apps) plus some of the existing applications are pressure sensitive (i.e. hard vs. soft press).
If you know anybody with an Att Tilt then you know how big it is. The N900 is really close to the same size.
http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_comparison/25172-Apple-iPhone-vs-Nokia-N900-vs-ATT-Tilt
"the N900 truly impressed me with its FANTASTIC PERFORMANCE, STABILITY (it was really ROCK STABLE, take my word),"
http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php
See the Irony there ??
I think we know already that Nokia isn't capable of pulling this off. Its software is just too old and clunky.
Right. Because Maemo 5 isn't new at all.
Honestly just go and die in a fire.
Exactly. It's not innovative, it's powered by Palm Pilot era resistive touch technology and it's simply a mess to use. It is truly mind boggling that Nokia is completely incapable of doing touch devices.
Old... Its based on linux which roots are in the BSD unix. That would make OSX really old and clunky then, especially as they went with the microkernel route. Kernelwise OSX is a dinosaur or a dodo, last surviving of its kind when others have moved on to better things.
I don't see what OS X has to do with Nokia's failed mobile efforts. OS X is a desktop OS not related with Nokia.
"I think we know already that Nokia isn't capable of pulling this off. Its software is just too old and clunky. "
->Maemo is linux
->linux is based on BSD unix
->software based on BSD unix is old and clunky
->OSX is based on BSD unix and therefore is old and clunky
I wouldn't bother with Lundmark - he's a tool who likes to slate everything non-Apple mainly by typing badly formed posts on his iPhone which he gets wrong a lot due to his inability to use the keyboard properly.
Plus he's a child toucher.
That's really mature, Mark.
"The call log effortlessly aggregates GSM and VoIP calls -- a neat trick,"
I believe S60 3.2 already has this.
Not VoIP (so far as I've heard). I've never used it myself so I'm not sure...
@iloveapple
Total tool. all bashing with no facts. Sounds like a fanboy to me.
Worth pointing out that as this is based on Maemo which is already mature:
If you want to sync with Google Calendar.. there's an app for that.
If you want a decent PMP.. there's an app for that too (canola 2)
Most of the weak areas are ones that there are already third party applications for.
I would be surprised to find most still actively developed apps (like Claws Mail and Canola 2) not already being ported to Maemo 5.
Another Detailed Review:
http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php
that review says it's TWO GB...
its seems like its playing welcome home by coheed and cambria...funny cause im listining to it right now.
Forgive me for being a layman and for possibly missing some key factor, but can anyone explain to me why ANY phone manufacturer/mobile OS developer, especially NOKIA, is omitting MMS support? What is this - 1994?? I seriously just DO NOT understand the thinking here. I was absolutely in love with the initial reports I saw on the N900, and I was likely going to buy one retail - but there is no way I'm going to now.
I think Noka would argue because it does full email with attachments and can automatically upload photos/videos via pixel pipe integrated into the apps photo/video app. No excuse, but MMS isn't exactly next generation technology.
Sincerely, I couldn't care less about MMS - I don't use it, but it's just me.
I can understand it being incovenient to not being able to share media with that, but a Maemo device truly is a portable computer. It's like a netbook being lame for not having MMS - i think people are missing the point a little with Maemo: it's not a linux based OS like WebOS or Android, it's a full-fledged linux, with root access, debian and ubuntu software packages and all.
Oh, anyway, the official Nokia answer for the lack of MMS is that just low in the priorities list, just that.
It's not like it's something impossible, or abandoned, jut something not that important compared to all the other cool stuff they spent time doing for Maemo 5.
MMS isnt part of the Linux kernel, guess it takes time to write it from the ground up and test.
Not that i care, never use it. I played with the N900 for an hour, every other phone is dead to me now.
It will come soon enough. And as Verythrax says, with full Email+Online sharing, MMS isn't exactly useful
please explain this "-- and the good news is that by the time you get done reading this review, the N900 should be on store shelves for you to try yourself."
Some of the Nokia flagship stores have them to play with.
Go to Chicago store and ask nicely. They have one hidden in the back. Don't be a hog though... play quickly or you'll have the device prayed out of your fingers (like I did :-) )
Thanks Rob of Chicago store for giving me the joy.
Eldar is full of BS until he says exactly what FW version he's using.
He is the only reviewer point those kinds of problems so far.
my-symbian review FTW. Michal is much more objective when dealing with beta stuff.
The detailed review is here http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php
and Eldar has already stated that he has old firmaware so I would read Michal's review for more accurate review.
take a look at this full 4-page review done by Michal over at www.my-symbian.com
here is the link.
http://my-symbian.com/other/preview_n900.php
I saw the thread on Mameotalk and the first thing I thought :
It's a "diner de con"
Those who have seen this famous french movie will understand.
I thought Maemo5 was open : yes
I thought Maemo5 community has an open mind : no (due to some stupid comments on this thread)
Open OS + some stupid minds that cannot accept any criticism = ?
Go on, guys, you honor Mameo5. N900 is the best device, so far and forever...
Its worth the price tag for just the photo and video quality! , I just hate OVI , and the apps are so limited.
I thought I remembered hearing that this phone supported T-Mobile's 3G band. Is that true? If that is the case, that would seem to be a pretty strong indication that T-Mobile would be picking up this phone, but I have to say that I still feel pretty skeptical about that. I hope I'm wrong though!
Has anyone actually seen any confirmation or evidence that T-Mobile will, in fact, be picking this up? I'm trying to decide whether to just buy an unlocked/unbranded one in a few weeks or to wait on T-Mobile. Thanks. =)
--Eric
Who the fuk is Debroah Lurie? "Welcome Home" is a song Coheed & Cambria. Very inept to be used in that "9" movie.
Typical engadget..put in a mention of an 'in the works' n920 on the sly...one vague mention in the vast expanse of over 500 exabytes of the internet..and it finds its way onto engadget..give the fins a break for god's sake
Lets not buy the n900 yet..we'll wait for 920 930 940 1000 2000.....