Nokia N900 glitch leads to useful portrait mode, caught on video

File this under "it's not a bug, it's a feature" if true. According to Guyver at the maemo.org forums, some glitch in the OS caused his Nokia N900 to switch into portrait mode for everything, not just dialer and photo apps as previously allowed. We'd love to eliminate the need for two hands to run our favorite chunks of mobile software, but so far we haven't been able to recreate his trick. Try it at home if you'd like by tilting the device to launch the phone app, then sliding up the screen and closing the app. Perhaps the gang at Espoo can turn this into a legit update -- if they're awesome people, of course. Video after the break.

[MarkAnderson Posted Nov 30th 2009 5:21AM]

@JONNNathannn

Oh I know, it just feels a little unfinished but , as you point out, I guess the point is to tweak it in the tech community before going mainstream.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 29th 2009 11:14PM]

I want that phone!;)

[Satz Posted Nov 30th 2009 12:17AM]

Enough though this phones doesnt shine on things like GPS ,Number of Applications and phone part , The only feature which I feel will be the killer addition is Python, I think maemo can really reach many developers because of simpler coding.
http://bit.ly/N900-and-its-secret-killer-feature

[MacAnkka Posted Nov 30th 2009 10:12AM]

@Satz
Python has been available on Symbian phones for quite a while, too. There are some apps written with it, but it isn't that special. Python is overrated.

The "fully capable linux computer in your pocket" is a much stronger selling point.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 30th 2009 5:03AM]

And again getting told that my N900 is delayed - apparently Nokia unable to deliver these in any measurable quantity.

[(Unverified) Posted Nov 30th 2009 7:43AM]

Anyone questioning the availability of the n900 I think it is clear that there is only a limited number of them available but they are trickling out. I just got mine this am from amazon.