[rich_enduro]

I'm just wondering how the information on-line about the N900 has shaped your View of this device? do you regard it as  the next phone up from the n97? or an internet tablet like its predecessors?

if you're planning on getting one, what will be its primary use? phone or tablet?

[axel]

Everything I've read suggests that the UI requires that you use the device in landscape mode nearly all the time, except to actually make and receive calls. That means you can't send text messages in portrait mode. There was some talk that Nokia delayed the response to get feedback from about 300 actual users or so and my hope was that one out of those 300 would have pointed out the relative idiocy of having a phone/internet tablet which doesn't allow you to text and do other phone related functions in portrait mode.... but alas, I've heard nothing to suggest that this feature was added. I can't say whether this is a problem of the UI or a hardware issue that just doesn't make it technically feasible right now.

Because of that basic fact, I won't buy the phone. I need a phone first, and then everything else afterward, including camera, video, fm transmitter, what not... If they have changed the UI and you can now text and do other things in portrait mode, I'm probably upgrading to it.

[psychomania]

I feel the same way as axel about it.  The lack of portrait mode for general day to day tasks is an absolute deal breaker for me.  The N900 would drastically change the way I use a phone in a very negative way.  For business users looking to replace E90's or E71's this probably won't be a problem but for average joe it could be.

I remember reading an interview a while ago where someone from nokia stated that the N900 was step four out of five to making internet tablets mainstream devices.  While I think the N900 is a great as a tablet (based on the positive press) I feel it will fall short as a phone.

I'm actually glad that the networks in the UK are being wary about the N900.  After all the recent bad press a device that average joe doesn't understand the purpose of could harm nokia further.  I do however believe that the networks could successfully push the N900 as an alternative to a netbook.

So I would say it's ready for the mainstream as a tablet first but still a niche device as a phone. I'm looking forward to seeing what step five will bring to the table, then i'll consider a switch to maemo. I'm more looking forward to seeing what symbian^2 & ^3 can offer next year. 

[maxximuscool]

Well as for me, I love this device. I want it bad. But bloody NOKIA decides not to release it in NZ. Guess I have to wait until it comes out in ASIA.

[rasmus]

'The lack of portrait mode for general day to day tasks is an absolute deal breaker for me.'

- Call me nuts, but, I have seen video of the phone working in BOTH landscape and portrait.  Where are you getting your info from?

Personally I think it is a phone, what the n97 should have been, but Nokia are differentiating between the N97 and the N900 calling it a Tablet, we all know it is a phone.  If they call the n900 a phone that will admit that there is BOTH an issue with the N97 and Symbian - so they call it a tablet, that way there is no conflict, after all the N97 is a perfect 'flagship' phone. yeah right.

N900 = Phone, no mistake about that. 

[psychomania]

---

rasmus wrote:

'The lack of portrait mode for general day to day tasks is an absolute deal breaker for me.'

- Call me nuts, but, I have seen video of the phone working in BOTH landscape and portrait.  Where are you getting your info from?

---

Read the various blogs, previews and reviews out there.  The phone functions work in portrait but almost everything else, including messaging is landscape only at the moment.

[rasmus]

Interesting - however, let me point out that on the N97 there is no Soft Keyboard per se, so that means messaging, email and the likes only work in landscape anyway using the H/W QWERTY.  

With v20 we got letters on the numeric keypad, but I was never any good at texting with the numeric pad (at least not with speed).  

So when it is all said and done the N97 and N900 really are not that different as far as actual usability goes.

Its a phone!!!  

Message Edited by rasmus on 11-Nov-2009 08:41 PM

[radical24]

in second or third incarnation it may become a phone right now it is and has always been a tablet with phone capabilities nothing more or nothing less. JUST. people can read into it all they want, but at the end of the day it is still the same thing it was to begin with tho human imagination runs rampant at times........................'i want to believe...........' type of a syndrome 

[imlite]

The N900 fits into Nokias high end phone model strategy. It’s principally a phone as are other Nokia products at this level; however, it’s optimised for internet usage. Its specs, OS, interface etc are designed to offer tablet  functionality when used for the internet, and smartphone functionality for other operations.

The problem for Nokia is the development of Slate multi or universal device technology. With Microsoft developing the Courier, and Apple firstly developing the iPhone and now the iSlate, Nokia is getting behind the curve on this evolving tech and as other companies produce smartphones and future slates I can see Nokia ending its days as a low end phone manufacturer or bought up by an emerging tech mega company.

The N900 may fit the Nokia business model as an internet tablet with smartphone capabilities but not the emerging smartphone and future slate market now being played by Apple and its clones.

[elliottpotter]

One thing that concerns me when I hear that "it's a tablet but also a phone" is something that I've heard from several iPhone users - on the iPhone, everything is an app, including the actual phone part - it's like an iPod touch with a "cell phone" app.  And sometimes that app crashes, but you don't necessarily know it until the day goes by and you haven't received any phone calls.

Not to say that the N900 would do that, but when the thing in your pocket is a computer first and a phone second, I wonder how much the phone part will suffer for that.  Given that phones with computer features generally don't do the computer things well enough to replace your regular computer, will a computer that's also a phone do well enough to replace your regular phone?

Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I agree with some of the other posters here - if I'm shopping for a smartphone, I want a phone with additional features, not a computer with a phone application.  It seems like a minor distinction but I feel that it isn't ...

[cpitchford]

The phone app crashing is a good point, but frankly every phone these days (including s40) will work along these methods.

Within the N900, the phone functionality (calls and messages) is handled by a new project called ofono. This is a "phone abstraction" layer. It has a driver that is specific to Nokia's phone technology and a standard interface that applications can tie into. Think of it like the network stack on a PC.. all applications can connect to the internet via any compatible network card. If you change the network card, the apps work in exactly the same way. Ofono does this, but for phone tech.

apps communicate with ofono via "dbus" If this system crashes, the entire device will more or less stop working.. so we're covered there.. If the phone application dies (as in crashes and stops running) it will be restarted so that's covered too.. The two main problems are: 

the phone application crashes and doesn't die.. this means it won't response to signals from dbus and ofono.. so you mightn't get call notifications.. and the other is ofono stops working and doesn't process incoming call info.

In both cases, outgoing calls wouldn't work either.. 

I wouldn't imagine it is bomb proof yet, but the chances of a crash going undetected are remarkably slim..

My main point is I think you'd be naive to think that the process of handling calls and the like isn't very similar across all phones.. The risk here is the maturity of the software..

 I've had phones reboot when calls come in.. and lock solid when calls and messages arrive.. Nokia and others.. With a smart phone, the kernel is MUCH more robust against such crashes and it won't take the entire device out.

The N900 is, in simple terms, a linux computer with a very basic 3G Nokia phone attached via an interface.. That, from my perspective, is a very good design approach.. 

[psychomania]

---

rasmus wrote:

Interesting - however, let me point out that on the N97 there is no Soft Keyboard per se, so that means messaging, email and the likes only work in landscape anyway using the H/W QWERTY.  

With v20 we got letters on the numeric keypad, but I was never any good at texting with the numeric pad (at least not with speed).  

---

Let me point out that the vast majority of phone users still prefer to use alphanumeric keypads, often one-handed, so that would make the N900 a difficult device for them to handle.  That was the point of my comment as I knew full well that the N97 only has hardware qwerty. 

 

The whole point is that people expect a phone to be a phone and work like a phone.  The N900 is an internet tablet and works like one but does allow you to make calls, but do very little else in portrait. It's this distinction that people need to understand and be fully aware of to avoid potential major disappointment. 

 

Also let me point out that the N97 has had letters on it's alphanumeric keypad (for messaging and system wide text entry) since day one, not just v20. You must be getting confused with the dialler which got letters added in v20 for certain regions. 

 

 

Message Edited by psychomania on 11-Nov-2009 10:11 PM

[rasmus]

Lol - I don't use the dialer for typing text, i just can't do it, the amount I use it is so little I would not have notice if there were kittens on it.

'The whole point is that people expect a phone to be a phone and work like a phone'

- amen, like when you answer a call the phone does not crash. When you hang up a call the phone doesn't crash, or the 'swipe to answer call' feature that does not take 100 swipes to answer.  Hopefully they'll get this right in the N900 and it will be MORE of a phone than the N97 was!

We'll see when Apple comes out with their tablet (or the few others coming out) if the N900 will be able to maintain it's 'tablet' claim.  A  3inch screen is not going to fare to well under the tablet category, it is too small to be a tablet. The n900 is smaller than the n97 so how is a phone bigger than a tablet?

So again, it is more of a phone than a tablet - and it will be more of a phone that the N97 was.  We all seem to agree that the N97 is a phone right?

Message Edited by rasmus on 12-Nov-2009 01:35 AM

[psychomania]

rasmus, it's a shame that you've turned this thread into yet another childish cheap shot at the N97.  Assuming that everyone has the exact same issues as you is very narrow minded.  For the record on any firmware version my N97 has never crashed or frozen when answering or ending a call and the swipe works first time every time.  I do have some theories as to why this happens to some people but really can't be bothered wasting them on you.  

[sygys22]

within the next full update the n900 will also be more call friendly, i can guarantee you that. Its a great wish in the community and maemo is a far better listener then symbian. thats also the reason why samsung has announced to quit using symbian on their phones from mid 2010.

[arnims]

I would like to address the armed and somewhat unstable-looking 'The Phone Must Have Portrait Mode!!' minority here.

We know you are used to thinking of phones as something that is a *tool* - like a toaster.   They started adding bells and whistles over the years but in your heads it's still that toaster your frame of view is stuck to seeing every handheld device as a 'phone' - a homogenous chunk of circuits that gets spit out of a factory and supported for xx months warranty.  We know you're used-to holding it like a long object and tapping on the top with your thumb.  We know you think of features as fixed and implemented by the manufacturer.

THIS is different.  THIS is much more than a 'phone', but a passport - a ticket to membership in a community that creates the N900 experience itself - at almost any level it wants.   The Browser experience is completely unlike anything i've seen - it RULES.  The hardware - (well, what can i say?) - the best.  So if you're curious about what a mobile-life-changing experience the N900 is, search the mailing lists or talk.maemo.org.  Follow a thread and see how our community really allows great ideas to bubble-up to become software that gets successively refined and perfected in a *fun* collaboration.

[psychomania]

I'll stick to a "tool" that allows me to walk down the street texting with one hand rather than a "passport" that would force me to use two all of the time.

When this "passport" as you call it allows me to do that I will change my opinion that it is a phone and not an internet tablet.

Because of this my personal opinion of the N900 is unchanged at the moment.  It's surely a great internet tablet, but it's still primarily an internet tablet that's more closely related to netbooks than it is to mobile phones.   I still believe that the N900 is a perfect business device that could give the E series a run for it's money but not perfect as a mass market device, just yet.

Message Edited by psychomania on 12-Nov-2009 03:50 PM