Video: SNES runs beautifully on N900, makes our hearts flutter
By Darren Murph 
posted September 30th 2009 9:53AM
posted September 30th 2009 9:53AM
[Thanks, Sathish]
posted September 30th 2009 9:53AM
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Spell check on title.
spell check doesn't work four grammar....
also, there is no spellcheck for numbers.
know kidding
new that.
@ Joseph
spell check doesn't work FOR grammar....
@ FNG
That loud whoosh sound you heard was Joseph's comment flying over your head
Or a large pigeon
nice. now that I read his second post I see what he did there. I mean... their... or they're
I'm the new guy.
didn't sea that coming
Cool idea, but I am betting that he ripped off the ROMs.Unless you *OWN* each cartridge, keeping the ROMs on file is illegal. Not that he would get caught, but Nintendo has successfully sued the pants off a ton of people who stole their ROMs.
> Spell check on title.
There is a good spell check program Spell Check Anywhere (SpellCheckAnywhere.Com). It works in all programs, including web, and blogs.
Don't worry, You are not the target for this phone.
EPIC win!
Anybody still worried there won't be enough cool apps for N900?
Yes. I like what (little bit) I've seen so far of the N900. But show me:
1. A good GPS Nav App w/ Turn by Turn Directions and Voice prompts.
2. Good FB and Twitter clients. (and not just websites in the built-in browser.)
3. Calendar app that supports multiple calendars and syncing to GCal.
4. Good IMAP mail client. (w/ push support would be even better.)
Emulators are nice, no doubt, but I need my device to be more than a toy.
I'm not knocking the device (I used to be big Nokia fan).
Don't worry, if something is not available now I'm sure it will be shortly after launch since Maemo community is quite active.
1) Not there yet, but may eventually come to Ovi Maps. But seriously, this is a brand new platform...how long did it take to get that for the iPhone? Patience my friend.
2. I know that several are in the works by independent developers, but I wouldn't be surprised to see something officially released by Nokia either at launch or shortly thereafter.
3. I believe this is already in place with the current calendar program.
4. The current mail program handles IMAP very well and you can use the Mail for Exchange to support push gmail.
@ Randy:
1,2 and 4 will be taken care of by Nokia sooner or later, and going by what happened to N770 and N800/N810, its going to happen. 2 will be taken care of by the community
it is also capable of playing HD quality games, even via the TV-out!
check out this video demo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBzUNe5ov_o
oh and there aren't any development restrictions for the maemo platform, unlike apple's iphone os...
i feel that this is truly going to be the next big thing. and not in the n97 style of next big thing either!
Maemo is 'true Open Source' unlike Android.
FSVO "true" since Nokia still has closed components are part of the official firmware that are required to drive the hardware.
Someone will hack it open. Anyone remember the s60v3 Signing policy?
I think that value falls somewhere above Android, but below OpenMoko. Which isn't a bad place to be, considering the nature of cell phone companies paranoia and the fact that OpenMoko had, at best, GPRS.
@ZeDestructor
It's not closed in that sense, but in that some libraries and binaries are closed source and only available in binary form from Nokia. It should be possible to replace them via reverse engineering and rewriting, but unlikely to be a fast process.
@microlith
Thanks for the compliment. To quote Dattebayo, "We take internet seriously"
I didn't know Nokia had put proprietary binaries, so thanks for telling me, but sooner or later it will be hacked. Hell, Nokia might even Open-Source Maemo like it did with Symbian (I hope they do)
@ZeDustructor
Unfortunately, (except for the understandable worry about battery charging) the fault isn't Nokia's. It's the 3rd-party vendors they have to rely upon like Broadcom, Imagination Technologies and TI. Fortunately, Nokia has a proven track record with getting vendors to open up (the STLC45xx specs from STMicro, OMAP3's improved openness from TI, etc.).
@Ryan: Thanks for explaining (I'm learning stuff on a NEWS website..AWESOME!!!)
Anyone have any ideas on Nokia Open-sourcing all the binaries except really low-level parts in which a bug might brick the phone?
I think it's better than this
http://www.google.com/mobile/android/privacy.html
Someone had their awesome sauce this morning, that is pretty cool!
LOL. You don't have any clue what Maemo is, do you? Or Android, for that matter.
N900 is looking better and better as my next phone/gadget. Pity about the three-row board though, and lack of D-pad. No dpad==less awesome SNES emulation when you are on the road.
Yeah, I'm sold. I was sold on this thing already, just now more so. And I take it that it could run a Sega emulator just was well, being that I prefer Sonic to Mario.
You fool. That's assuming it has Blast Processing.
Ha! So he tweaked it to run on a TV with the Wiimote. Now if he could only stick it in a dedicated box with power so it didn't run off of batteries.
Nintendo could make a ton of money selling it... We could call it the "Wii".
wake me up when you can stick your Wii console in a pocket, without a need to carry a phone and/or a laptop with you.
lol sarcasm fail
I've heard many an accusation that Engadget sucks up to X hardware manufacturer, but making out with one of their products? Scandalous!
Wait, so you have a Wii, and you hack your phone to play SNES?
If by hack you mean run an app. It's no more a hack than installing itunes in Windows is a hack.
Maemo supports open source development - and has HID bt profiles and tv out built-in. That's what's impressive.
I wish the PSP-Go was a phone with Maemo on it.
YES!
Ok, that's awesome.
OK... That's all folks. I am getting this phone.
Anybody up for some Super Mario Kart?
"Somehow or another, Konttori managed to get his palms around an N900 of his own"
If you look just to the right of his blog post, you might see a clue how he got one ;)
You have a point there, but i think we all get by with WASD in our pc FPS so i don't see why we shouldn't (with some practice) be able to on the N900
good job, you managed 3 serious responses.
My nokia N810 has been running a snes emulator for some time now, and with the same beautifully smooth results. But never thought about hooking up a wiimote for better controls (the default controls are quite terrible). So I think I will try this.
Does this mean that the OpenPandora is no longer "the most powerful handheld gaming device there is"?
Well, they use essentially the same CPU, so I'd say about tied. (Technically, the Pandora's is a less-efficient version that burns more power to hit the same performance; it was available from TI earlier, which would have been why they'd have beaten the N900 to market if they hadn't had endless unexpected delays...)
There's much more difference on the input side; on one hand, the N900 hasn't so much as a single phone-style d-pad, so it needs a Wiimote, USB gamepad, or similar for hardcore classic gaming, but OTOH, the Pandora lacks accelerometers and direct 3G access.
Actually, the n900 uses the OMAP 3430, while the Pandora uses the OMAP 3530. Essentially the same soc, with the 3430 having easier to add/more cellular components. So neither is technically more powerful than the other, but you've got to remember that the n900 is a phone/internet tablet first, and the Pandora is a gaming device first. And, of course, the Pandora creams the n900 in controls, until you get into using external bt or usb controllers, then they're the same really...