Video: SNES runs beautifully on N900, makes our hearts flutter
By Darren Murph 
posted Sep 30th 2009 9:53AM
posted Sep 30th 2009 9:53AM
[Thanks, Sathish]
Please note: If you're a current Engadget commenter, you do not need to re-register. Simply login and you will be prompted to select a username.
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...
I know the blinking red dot is from the camcorder, but I couldn't help thinking it looked like HAL was watching this over his shoulder. (Maybe, thinking, "M'eh running an snes emulator but can it destroy humans!?" or not.)
is the guy playing a robot? robotic laser eyeballs.
If only the d-pad were on the left and there were shoulder buttons...
Too bad there's no official US carrier supporting this phone.
A Nintendo phone (rumored back in the day with a strange patent) could be really great. They are not the best with UI development, though, which is a major factor in phones. Just a dream...
Hold up, a freaking phone, playing freaking mario, controlled by a freaking wii-mote, connected to his freaking tv?!? That can only spell win!!! Can't wait for mame with wii classic controller support!
Yes the N900 rocks.
It's speculated that a PSX emulator is also in the cards -- the hardware is capable of handling it. Also, NEW, mame, Game boy advance, Genesis, Game-gear, and ScummVM emulators are available for the N810 so there's a HUGE likelihood that they'll be ported to the N900 (some are being ported now). I wouldn't be surprised if an N64 emulator is just around the corner; I think the hardware can handle it.
For those interested in the discussion, or even joining the development effort, visit: http://talk.maemo.org
A few other things:
* You can fit a CRAP load of roms in the built in 32G (even a few full ISOs). But please purchase your content!
* The system is open, so you don't have to worry about these apps being 'approved.' You have full control
* Mauku is an open twitter/jaiku client that is being ported
* Yes the N900 will have push email, via modest (IMAP-idle, I believe -- the N800/N810 had this)
* It's little known that the N900 has a IR transmitter, so you can use it as a remote to control your TV/VCR/Tivo.
* The N900 has a built in FM transmitter to play music over your cars stereo
* Quake 3 has been ported and reportedly runs at full speed.
This phone really is like a computer in your pocket.
Oh my god, I just came. I cannot wait for this phone.
Does anyone have any recommendations for an AT&T subscriber? I want 3G :( any word of a device with the AT&T bands?
Now get it to run MarioKart64 and I'll get one in a heartbeat :D
i want this phone
just 21 and a half months until my contranct runs out, can't wait :\
could this run on my n97 =(
GRRR. My ipaq 2210 ran most SNES games flawlessly at full speed *IN 2003* (using MorphGear). WHY, oh why, are phones only now catching up to what PDAs could do six years ago? (I had it overclocked, I believe I used xCPUScaler or something like that) So frustrating. At least Maemo will be open -- say what you want about WinMo, but it's the best mobile OS i've ever used ... not because the OS itself rocks, but because it's completely open (in terms of being able to run anything you want), the development tools are free and easy to use, and it's very hackable. After using S60 and iPhone OS, I'm *so sick* of crippled & locked down mobile OSs. I also appreciate Maemo because it makes porting desktop apps to mobile extremely easy -- WinMo used to have this advantage, back when it shared most of its GUI widgets with the desktop, but it looks like microsoft will be caving on this point in future releases. Personally, I'll take easy ports of fully-featured desktop apps over finger usability any day of the week ... (check out http://madabar.com/exailemaemo/ ... practically a direct port)
In fairness, that SNES emulator was developed on the N800, which came out back in January '07. So they're not _quite_ as far behind as they seem -- the N900 can surely do things that would bring your iPaq (or my Axim) to it's knees.
OTOH, the N800 and N810 essentially _were_ modern-day PDAs running Linux, so even if the N900 is well ahead of PDAs, it still is one of the first to really come out ahead. I agree that it's coming late, but at least it's here now.
I would like to believe that because it is Linux-based with root access someone will get KDE or GNOME to run on it, especially if Maemo gets ported to x86
my n97 runs snes and gba perfectly fine. wats the big deal about this? engadget u want me to make u a video of me playing pokemon emerald whilst on the fone to my gf?
And I thought LJP for Palm OS 5 was cool... wiimote in was there long ago... but TV out?! Whoa.
I was really expecting this to be out for the pre a month ago.
I'd love to get this phone, but then i know the Bates 1000, i mean N1000 will probably come out a few months(weeks?, days?) later.
How about using the built-in accelerometer to turn the phone itself into a direction-sensing controller?? (i.e. tilt forwards to accelerate, tilt left/right for direction etc.)
Totally getting this phone. Usually when I upgrade I compulsively get the best phone going. Slightly contradicted myself getting a Blackberry 8320 rather than the iPhone last summer, but boy am I glad since the 3GS came out. I would have been screwing otherwise.
So it's approaching end of contract time and the N900 just knocked the iPhone off the top of the pile for me, and purely because of the SNES emulator. Actually scratch that, it's down to Maemo. Too exciting - too many possibilites. I can finally cut my PSP, BB and iPod down into one device.
The VGBA emulator can use the accelerometer for up/down/left/right. Apparently works well on Sonic :-)