Why?
First of all - why did I want this one. I have generally not liked Nokia's devices for the past decade or so, but most of my problems have been with Nokia's attempts to make Symbian do stuff it was never meant to do. Symbian is a dog - fine for small devices but not good enough for anything approaching a "Smart Phone". While Nokia is still cautious to call the N900 a phone it is nevertheless the first Nokia device with phone capabilities that run Maemo instead of Symbian.
Why is Maemo interesting. Well - obviously because Maemo is not only based on Linux - but in fact based on Debian - which is my favorite Linux distribution. Yes there has been phones before that ran Linux, but those could roughly be categorized into two groups: 1. Not ready (there was a few attempt at development handsets - forgot the names) or 2. Just a Linux kernel with one fat proprietary application on top of it. Maemo is the first production handset that actually run a true UNIX operating system and on top of that it uses Debian's excellent package handling system (dpkg/apt).
It even comes with a xterm:
Granted, that will only attract the most nerdy of us, but then again - I must be a nerd.
Expectations
Before venturing into what the device actually is - let me clarify my expectations. My previous phone was a Nokia 5800 Xpress Music - which I have owned since that was a brand new buggy device - and I definitely did not expect the N900 to be perfect in any way. I expected the hardware part to be pretty Nokia standard - that means not sexy at all but rugged and capable. I definitely expected high end quality and performance from the hardware. As an internet device I also had high expectations but up front my expectations for this device as a phone was definitely that it would be fairly buggy and lagging in certain aspects. And since this was the first Maemo release - I was/am quite prepared to deal with a number of bugs and problems (come think of it - that's sad really - but that should be the topic of another article).
First Impressions
Hardware
First reaction - ouch - it's a bit too big. And it's HEAVY! In reality it's only about 6-8 mm wider than the 5800 and perhaps 3-4 mm thicker - but damn it does feel bulky. However - it's hard to imagine it being much smaller if the screen have to be readable and the keyboard usable, so after a while it sort of feels OK. After a few days it went from what I said before to - well - I would have liked it to be slightly thinner but the height and width is OK - pretty spot on in fact. My eyesight definitely couldn't deal with a screen much smaller and my thumbs also require a keyboard of a certain size.
It should also be said that the initial reaction on the display can be summarized in one word: AMAZING! The keyboard a bit cramped but the keys are nice and I have no doubt I'll get used to it and be pretty quick on that keyboard.
Operating System
The basic operating system in the N900 is Maemo - and Maemo in turn is pretty much the first UNIX based operating system for a smartphone. Let me elaborate a bit on that. Yes, Android is based on a Linux kernel but everything "above" that is proprietary (mostly open source but still proprietary) so it does not have a traditional UNIX environment. Maemo is different - it is also based on a Linux kernel but it start up a traditional UNIX environment all the way up to a slim X server. Only the Window manager and applications are optimized especially for the small screen and finger pointing. That Window/GUI environment is called Hildon.
So how does it work. Well it is still young but in reality it works just fine. It's quick and it feels rock solid.
The greatest difference between Maemo and other smartphone operating systems is the "desktop":
This image show one of my four desktops with a few widgets added. A RSS feed viewer, a load view, a dataplan monitor (monitors the traffic) and finally a small widget that show the current IP address.
Applications
The applications is where Maemo shows that it is young. Many of the applications - even the built-in ones still feel a bit unpolished and feels like they are still lacking features. But I have no doubt it will catch up very quick since most of these applications are open source.
Usage
Battery
Battery life is as far as I am concerned a major problem with portable devices. 10 years back in the dot-com haydays my mobile phone was glued to my ear and yet it would easily run a whole day - if not several days. But as displays got bigger, coloured and brighter and mobile phones changed from being a phone with a bit of messaging (SMS only) to full blown computers the battery life have suffered. My previous phone - the 5800 XM - wasn't all that bad. With my normal use it would run a few days, but two things would kill it: the Display and the Internet connection. Anything that caused the phone to be online or keep the display lit (like GPS turn-by-turn navigation) would suck the battery dry in 3 hours or so.
Nokia have marketed the N900 as a device that is meant to be online - more or less 24x7 (Online As it Happens - Nokia N900) but compared to my 5800 the Nokia got 4 times as many pixels, a much faster processor, faster Internet connection and more possibilities and guess what - it runs on exactly the same battery as the 5800. So, to be honest my expectations were not all that great.
So how is reality? Well - I still need a bit more time and experience with the device to make up my mind - but I would say at the moment it is so-so. Or put in another way - it's not brave new world as Nokia had promised but it is not as bad as I had feared.
Wish List
- Portrait mode
This is in my opinion by far the most important. Not having portrait mode makes it almost impossible to use the phone in one hand.
- Auto Internet
My 5800 connects to the Internet when needed and disconnect when it's done. That way it can run 2-3 days on a charge. Sure I would like to have the option of leaving it always on - but it should be a choice and I should not have to connect first before I can go online on chat.
- More Input Options
This one is not overly relevant at the moment but once - if ever - the N900 get proper portrait mode an alphanumeric input mode ala 5800 will be appropriate and necessary.
- Navigation
This one is a bit of a let down by Nokia actually. The N900 was advertised having Nokia Maps - so I think it's fair to assume it got the same features as the ones on cheaper phones.
- Email Client
In short - the email client is rubbish. I got a massive IMAP repository but neatly sorted into folders none of which are subscribed - and it is slow and take ages. In short - in it's current form it's not really usable.
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