Nokia N900 running Android 2.1, still rough around the edges

This wouldn't be the first time we've heard of Android being lovingly grafted onto Nokia's N900, but this looks to be the most proactive effort yet to get it functional enough for lay N900 users (read: us) to actually install. Eclair's now up and running on the device, complete with both keyboard and touchscreen support -- important fundamentals, we reckon -- and it looks like there's enough chatter on the subject going on over in Maemo's official forums to keep this ball rolling. Everything's being managed under the so-called NITDroid project that aims to get Android ready to roll on both the N900 and the N8x0 series of tablets, so feel free to chip in some advice if you like -- a functional radio stack would have to be high on the priority list, you can bet. Follow the break for a little video of brilliant hackery in action.

[Thanks, Nosa]

[Goc Posted May 12th 2010 3:19AM]

@jellotime91
OS2005, OS2006, OS2007, OS2008, Diablo, Freemantle(which just got PR1.2 in HK and more places will come soon), all those are versions of Maemo. Harmattan will come next but it will be called Meego 1 for mobile devices, it is stilll Maemo and the n900 will probably be updated to it.
You keep talking without knowing anything, it makes you look very knowledgeable.

[JFH Posted May 12th 2010 3:31AM]

@jellotime91

Now you are just bending and twisting in trying to make what you said sound like the truth.

MODERN Mobile OSes need community support. A mobile OS without a strong userbase that's running on a single device with no future is not a strong Mobile OS, regardless of its capabilities.

Ironically, it is that active userbase that has led to this post. Since it is a hackers device, the percentage of the user base that is actively involved is relatively large. I am sure you can understand that, you just chose not to since it does not fit your preconceived idea.


My eyes are myopic, maybe that explains some things.

It could.

Anyway what are some big devices that were launched after the N900 from Nokia? Because I can't think of a single one. And you can't deny that 50% of their devices are fodder.

"fodder" for people like us who want flagships devices, but that really detracts from the value those devices have for others. Your opinion does not matter to the relevancy of those phones. So when you say fodder, all you are saying is, it is not for me. Very different.

And again, your point on if there were any devices launched by Nokia after the N900, which is negative, is completely and utterly irrelevant.

You started of with poo, then argued it isnt powerful, then did not refute my analogy, then you only went on to make other baseless claims, then you mention irrelevant things about other devices, and you basically end up talking out of your arse to defend your initial point. Which brings us back to poo, and you have come full circle.

[christexaport Posted May 12th 2010 12:17PM]

@jellotime91 said:
"You talking about maemo?
I think any mobile OS that's been discontinued less than a year after its first implementation, leaving said device abandoned with no upgrade to the new platform mind you, isn't very powerful."

One, this is NOT the first implementation of Maemo. Remember the Nokia 770, Nokia 770 Hacke Edition, N800, N810, and N810 WiMax Edition?? Those were the predecessors to the N900, all running early versions of Maemo Linux.

Second, the N900 isn't abandoned. It is the only pocketable device able to run MeeGo, with a developer build and UI planned soon. Like WinMo, Symbian, and WebOS unofficially, it has full Qt support, alongside the same GTK, Python, C++, Flash, and other toolkit support like MeeGo for full compatiblilty. The entire Maemo community and I have had access to MeeGo, along with the rest of the world, for use on our N900s for quite some time now.

Third, a product's commercial success rarely has much to do with its "power". The N900 and Maemo's power are undisputed. I haven't met a single reputable person willing to say any smartphone OS is more capable and powerful than Linux in general, and Maemo specifically. I mean the Linux software stack, not just the kernel. Just because people prefer a carrier offered garden of simplicity doesn't mean there aren't more powerful solutions.

"It's the latest that I know of / care to know of. I know there's the N8 but that isn't released. I'm talking only of flagship devices of course, the others are mere fodder."

That's certainly understandable, but if you aren't bothered by your ignorance, you certainly shouldn't whine as loudly since you know your information is likely substandard, out of date, and outright incorrect.

By the way, the N8? Not a flagship. Nokia's flagship devices have always had a list price of $549-749 and higher, not $459. The N8 is just $100 more than the entry level 5800 XM was at launch, or near there. It may be their technological flag bearer, but it won't be near the pinnacle of what they offer. There will be the N9-00 for that, and it will be running MeeGo/Maemo, not Symbian, and should debut at around $649 and up.

[(Unverified) Posted May 13th 2010 1:35AM]

@christexaport
This N9-00 device you talk about...
Can you point to where it has been discussed in detail?
Based on where moorestown is at...
I'd be surprised if it's available this year.
But have you heard otherwise?

Thanks.

[symbian Posted May 12th 2010 2:50AM]

Sweet. When will the apps developed for android work on N900 ?

[JFH Posted May 12th 2010 2:59AM]

@symbian

Yes, in so far as they do not use the voice stack, or other parts that have not been made functional yet.

[LordDarkGoose Posted May 12th 2010 3:31AM]

seriously Nokia, just bring out an Android device...

[JFH Posted May 12th 2010 3:37AM]

@LordDarkGoose

Nooooooooooo!, well maybe one, just to make you happy.

[cashclientel Posted May 12th 2010 4:42AM]

This is a good development.
The Maemo operating system is basically dead, so all N900 owners need an alternative.
This is the most important project in the community.
NITDroid is the Arc to save us all.
Let's have no more of this:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=42285

[JFH Posted May 12th 2010 8:49AM]

@cashclientel

That is BS.

[christexaport Posted May 12th 2010 12:24PM]

@cashclientel
you are far from wrong. We are working to load any open OSes on our devices as a practice of what we intend to see in the future.

With Symbian, MeeGo, Mer, and Android, we have OSes that we can choose to run at will, as long as we can handle hardware abstraction ourselves. Most of the community does things like this to show what open software and hardware can do. Some go further, and build actual devices with a BeagleBoard or Arduino that run on various OSes.

We do this so we have the most options available, and are able to choose what suits us best, instead of the OEMs doing it for us. We all bought N900s because it is the most powerful total package in the world MOSTLY because of Maemo. Android is in no way an upgrade, just an option.

[denisx Posted May 12th 2010 6:08AM]

Ha... it'll be kind of funny when the N900 will get 2.2 faster then the most Android phones out there...

[Pdexter Posted May 12th 2010 2:06PM]

Nice. Might just try this.