How would you change Nokia's N900? (update)
By Darren Murph 
posted March 12th 2010 10:47PM
posted March 12th 2010 10:47PM
Update: Turns out Nokia's conducting a survey of their own. Tell them what you told us, and grease the wheels for better handsets down the road. [Thanks, Michael]
Maemo 5 didn't stand on its own for long before being mashed together with Intel's Moblin, but Nokia's N900 still stands as one of the best handhelds for web browsing. It's hardly the world-beater that Nokia (may have) hoped it to be, but that's not because the internals aren't impressive. We're guessing that only a handful of you made the effort to fork over wads of cash in order to pick an unlocked version up, but if you did, you no doubt have some opinions post-purchase. Is the display living up to your expectations? Are you and Maemo getting along alright? How's that keyboard? We're eager to know how you'd tweak the N900 if you had the keys to the design kingdom, and with MeeGo already being announced, we're forbidding you from suggesting the obvious. Or you can, but we'll be plugging our ears, closing our eyes and humming annoyingly.
@tassyguy30350
You might be on to something there, smartphone hardware that can run any OS of the users choosing. Now that would be sweet!
I've had mine sense the release and like it.
1. The software is not finished. I expected it when I ordered it, but it still is disappointing. Every part of the software has things missing. For example: the desktop needs a snap to grid/cleanup option for icons, the media application needs real organization tools, text input needs better prediction and correction (at least bring it up to e71 level), more options in the browser, etc.
2. As a tiny computer, the buttons and connections around the outside are poor. The headphone jack and USB are in the way. As a phone the buttons and connection suck. The power is on the top. It is horribly awkward to talk while it is charging. It slides the wrong way when you hold it as a phone, and the unlock switch is on the bottom. I don't care what Nokia calls it, it is a phone and should fit in your hand correctly as one because that is how consumers will use it.
3. It feels inexpensive. It is sort of solid and doesn't creak much, but it does squish and the tiny micro-sd card latch rattles (i took it off). The e71 feels so much better than the n900.
Engadget says, "It's hardly the world-beater that Nokia (may have) hoped it to be". Do Engadget editors even read any press releases or stop to look at the world beyond their desks? Nokia has repeatedly said that N900 is an experimental device for early adopters and hackers only - which part of that says it is meant to be a world beater in terms of sales?? Even the production capacity for the N900 has never been set up to be as high as a mass market device.
Its has the best hardware among rivals one of the best screen resolutions with 16m colors,supports more video formats than any other mobile phones,support flash,what more one wants from a device as a human we all want more previously i used iphone and n97 and those are really toys specially n97 when you compare it with n900 iphone beats n900 in design and in apps but i think within 4 to 5 months there will be more apps available for n900.
bigger display .. make it thinner and make the loudspeaker louder ..and battery life is pretty bad currently for heavy usage .. need more talktime
Well, more mega-pixels would be cool and EXIT OR BACK button in menu would be cool!
I personaly wouldn't change a thing on it except maybe the camera. I don't agree with others comments which I found to be quite silly. I've had Iphones and HTC phones and played with the Nexus One and comparing these devices to the N900 is really not a comparison. They feel like smart phones if best always needing a app for this or that while this phone just performs without really needing anything and the internet performance is what it is not faking like Apple in stating giving you the real internet experience which it does not do like the others. The keyboard is awesome to me but again it's a personal preference. I actually love this phone and Maemo and Nokia really delievered on this device. My biggest question now is this a real smartphone or a mini notebook? If you look at what a smartphone suppose to do then I would say it's a real example of a smartphone while the others fell in comparison. Nokia is really awesome because they don't try to follow or borrow this or that from others like using their own mapping system and not like Apple using goggle and do something different not like Android trying to copy Apple.
I was one of the earlier ones to pre-order the phone (back in early September) and have had it since about 4/5 months. The phone is overall good.
Pros:
- It's relatively fast (multi-tasking, browser, etc..)
- Screen is of good quality (videos render well and screen is bright)
- Some neat features (FM transmitter in media player, skype embedded and the ability to listen to internet radio)
- Great storage capacity (currently I have 48Gb with an internal 16Gb micro SD)
Cons:
- Size and weight (these are known, but as you open the keyboard, it has slipped out of my hands a couple of times - and I have been very careful so far...)
- Built (it's a heavy phone and appears well built at first but any fall will show... my reference to date is the samsung SGH i600. After 2 years of intense usage, still appears like new thanks to its rugged finish)
- Battery life is dreadful (with the computing power it has I am surprised they would even consider putting such a low power battery... get on emails, IM and play some music and it will barely last 6 to 8 hours)
- Maemo lacks the developer community behind it (not enough productivity aps, maps for N900 are way behind the rest of Nokia phones, etc...)
- Some features need further development (exchange support -> Ex: when you delete a calendar entry on exchange, it won't delete it on the phone, although there is no problem on creation side)
In summary the hardware is great, the platform is ok (I head some had managed to run android on the phone, I am still to try that) but the phone is really limited by the applications it doesn't have, to turn this phone into a true smartphone.
How would I change the N900. I would actually ask Nokia to take some notes from Apple when it comes to product delivery or maybe even Google and I'm not even kidding. Just to set the record straight, I currently own the N900 and love it, but it does leave a lot to be desired.
The main reason I purchased an N900 is because of HW + OS.
Keyboard: check
Large storage: Check
Decent Camera: Check
Intuitive and context aware OS: check (in terms of UI design, I think Maemo is one of the best mobile OS's I've used).
My biggest complain with the N900 is how terrible the product delivery team is.
* The OVI store still doesn't work for paid apps. I'm still waiting to purchase the Angry Birds. Why would someone develop apps for this if you can't get this straightened out.
* Heavily advertised but limited availability. I live in Canada, I had to order it from the states. Nokia why do you hate Canada?
* No NAM ? Why is there no version that is compatible with NA 3G frequencies?
* Why is it that all the other phones get GPS capability and your flagship device gets shafted? Are you punishing me for purchasing one?
Hardware:
* They keyboard is way too small. The HTC touch pro 2 got the keyboard right. Its actually very cumbersome to type an IP address on the N900
* The headphone jack is in a really bad position. Its hard to type and listen to music at the same time.
* GPS doesn't work (yes I know the bug is fixed and the patch should be available with the next update). But seriously, how come nobody tested this?
Software:
* As far as the UI of the N900 is concerned, it is very intuitive, but there are a lot of bugs in the OS.
* Muting the phone doesn't mute system sounds (i.e. connecting to PC or updates).
* No portrait mode!!!
* Going to portrait mode and switching to other apps can cause the system orientation to go wonky.
* No official ability to completely flash device. I know there is a how to use at your own risk available.
* The OS can get slugging from time to time. Not sure if its because the chip is too slow or there isn't enough RAM or maybe the OS needs more polishing.
What made me trade away from the n900 was the completely awful battery life. Other gripes were the placement of micro USB, when using it in portrait mode the contact is on the upper side, which is completely useless when trying to use it while plugged in. The camera isn't as good as it should be. Placement of volume rocker makes them hard to use for webpage zooming with keyboard slid out.
The screen is great and the N900 is lightening quick. What can be improved is mostly related to business use. As a business user I need certain apps and I need total reliability (please Nokia, don't limit business users to E-series). So for the N900 mk II:
Hardware:
Make sure the units aren't shipping with random reboots
Make sure the micro usb connector works
If you want to increase the screen size, excellent (keep it resistive!)
Software:
A really great PIM would go a long way - specially if it had todo lists allowing multiple assignable contexts, and todo sortable by date of entry and expiry
Make sure it's possible to use this "pocketable computer" with an external BT keyboard
Voice dial
Turn by turn navigation equal to the Symbian range
Oh yeah, I forgot. Don't let designers put a chrome bezel around the camera lense as it puts a haze in the pictures. Paint the bezel matte black on the N900 mkII
Isn't this question better asked after the next firmware update? A lot of us feel like we're still awaiting final judgement.
1. Have a fire breathing 1 Ghz snap dragon in there
2. On board SSD would be cool for all the apps.
3. resistive touch to capacitive touch
4. while we are at it slot in a pico projector as well :)
5. hmm can we have micro printer in there too...not too sure if its possible
- better battery life (power management / battery capacity ?)
- thinner, lighter
- more pc-like keyboard
- usb host functionality
-Xenon flash
-swap the blue arrow and ctrl keys
-make shift then blue arrow key perform a Tab to the next field
-NO CAPACITIVE! KEEP RESISTIVE! omg people are stupid. ya, lets swap out a perfectly good, accurate touchscreen for a less accurate one that a stylus or glove won't work with
-more RAM! 512 minimum
-faster processor! 1ghz minimum
-bigger battery
-usb host
-clock and notifications should show up on the dashboard (multitasking screen)
-i would like to be able to rearrange the windows on the dashboard, but that is minor
-opening Conversations should not zoom into the first opened sms. it should just pop up its own window. similarly, opening the first sms should not use the existing Conversations window. it should open up its own window. oh, and while i'm at it, new sms should pop up their own windows and not pile on top of each other on the Conversations window.
-put the screen lock slider where the power button is
-put the power button to the right of where the usb connector is
-swap the usb connector and left speaker
-swap the 3.5mm connector and right speaker
(now you can use the keyboard while charging or using headphones
-make the ir port useful. embed it into the os as a "send via" option.
-utilize the wasted space under the screen by putting 5800 style send, menu, and end hard keys. this would help for the times my phone is so busy doing other stuff that i miss a call by the time the screen displays the answer button.
i dont know why so many people complain about portrait mode. i guess it would be nice to have to eliminate all the complaints. but i actually dont ever see a need for it. i think its more of a pain in the ass than anything else. if i turn the phone to see a picture the right side up, then the picture rotates and it defeats the purpose. if im browsing the web laying down, then the site rotates and faces the wrong way. when i get a call the phone app rotates and lags and i have to wait for the screen to adjust. its pointless. i actually TURNED OFF portrait mode on all apps that support it.
@Robbie Hottie
oh and obviously more storage room for apps