N900: Regional Differences?

[robbievienna]

Hi,
I live in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, in the Middle East. I purchased my N770, N800, and N810 (never the WiMax, though) in the US. I just wanted to know if the N900 that will be released here is the same as the one released elsewhere. Same hardware specs? Software?
The UAE is a relatively censored country. The government has been trying to have spyware installed on some of the smartphones (there was a recent scandal where BlackBerry emails, etc. were being forwarded), and I'd like to ensure that my device has not been compromised.
Thanks much!

[unkno]

It will have identical hardware aside from regional keyboards layouts (though I can't say much about government censoring as I doubt that it'll be public information).

[archebyte]

Nokia confirmed that the N900 will allow carriers (Etisalat, du, etc.) to customise the device if they wish to do so. How far the carriers would go will depend on the carrier.

[robbievienna]

Thanks!
Hrmm... If I flash it immediately, would any Etisalat/Du software completely overwritten?
I don't know much about SIM cards - is a SIM card able to prompt a device to download/install software? Can I override the command?

[archebyte]

Thanks!
Hrmm... If I flash it immediately, would any Etisalat/Du software completely overwritten?
I don't know much about SIM cards - is a SIM card able to prompt a device to download/install software? Can I override the command?

Not sure. But I would guess that if you can flash it, you would have full control :cool: Over-the-air forced-software update would be technically difficult for the carrier.

Nokia has not yet released a flash tool.

[Andre Klapper]

Nokia has not yet released a flash tool.

Flasher 3.5 beta has been available for months, but it's still... beta. :-)
http://maemo.org/news/announcements/maemo_flasher-3-5_tool_beta_for_fremantle_and_diablo_released/

[archebyte]

Flasher 3.5 beta has been available for months, but it's still... beta. :-)
http://maemo.org/news/announcements/maemo_flasher-3-5_tool_beta_for_fremantle_and_diablo_released/

I am wary of a beta flasher. The N900 is my primary form of communication :o

[jalyst]

Just wondering if there is any significant ones?
Aside from localisation relating to language/calendering etc. of course.

I know NA uses some very different cellular tech to Europe.
I often move between NA & Europe so it'd be handy to know....

Much appreciated

[jalyst]

I have seen this post but would prefer to hear from a Nokia reps as opposed to speculation from forum lurkers.

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=33148&highlight=regional

[sjgadsby]

Threads merged.

I...would prefer to hear from a Nokia reps as opposed to speculation from forum lurkers.

This is a forum, and while it is supported by Nokia, it is not an official contact channel for them. If you require an official statement from Nokia, you'll need to contact them directly.

[jalyst]

Thanks, any comment on this?

[Laughing Man]

Just wondering if there is any significant ones?
Aside from localisation relating to language/calendering etc. of course.

I know NA uses some very different cellular tech to Europe.
I often move between NA & Europe so it'd be handy to know....

Much appreciated

Not a Nokia rep (and you are unlikely to get a response from them here about this). But there's also wireless channel standard differences. E.g. America uses 1-11 while Europe uses 1-13. Not sure if that's a firmware/driver or hardware thing though.

[jalyst]

Are you aware of the best official contact channel/s for this sort of thing?

Thanks

Threads merged.



This is a forum, and while it is supported by Nokia, it is not an official contact channel for them. If you require an official statement from Nokia, you'll need to contact them directly.

[jalyst]

Pretty sure it's not hw, from my experiences w/openfw for wifi AP's.

Not a Nokia rep (and you are unlikely to get a response from them here about this). But there's also wireless channel standard differences. E.g. America uses 1-11 while Europe uses 1-13. Not sure if that's a firmware/driver or hardware thing though.

[jalyst]

sjgadsby, you see this?

Are you aware of the best official contact channel/s for this sort of thing?

Thanks

Threads merged.



This is a forum, and while it is supported by Nokia, it is not an official contact channel for them. If you require an official statement from Nokia, you'll need to contact them directly.

[jalyst]

LOL guess not, good one!

[Johnx]

@jalyst: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=nokia+customer+support

[jalyst]

yep, that one's a given, but thanks for trying!

[Venomrush]

The main differences are the keyboard layout and the language packs.

[jinx405]

Hi everyone! I’ve been reading these forums a lot the past few weeks, but never got around to registering until today :)

My question is relatively simple, and I’ve tried searching before creating a new thread but I couldn’t find any… most N900 region comparisons are between the US and EU. I live in Australia (where the possibility of getting the N900 is pretty much nil) and I want to import the sim-free unlocked phone. Where is the best region I should buy it from? I have 2 options:

A) buy from New York if I travel there for a holiday next month
B) get a friend that lives in UAE to buy it for me from there


My questions:
1) Will I be able to use the US/UAE phone in Australia? Since the phone is quad band, I should be able to, right?

2) Are the Middle East GSM/UMTS standards the same as EU/Asia/Australia?

3) What differences will I find between the 2 region phones? From what I have read so far, the keyboard, and charger plugs (US=110v) will be different. Is there anything else, like 3G freqs?

4) Wifi bands 12-13 missing in US model – how much of an impact it would make if I don’t have those bands in the phone?

5) Someone posted in another thread that there has been some sort of censorship in the UAE phones before, is this true for the unlocked N900?

6) Anything else I should be wary about? Anyone here following my footsteps?

Note that buying from US (Amazon after $50 rebate) is about US$200 cheaper than from the UAE, which has got me quite interested.

Thanks in advance!

[sjgadsby]

Threads merged.

[jinx405]

Threads merged.

thanks! i wasnt sure if i should've posted in this thread or made a new one, since my question was more Australia specific :)

[agogo]

I have the middle east version,
the only diffrence is the tag in the box, everything is the same inside.

[Johnx]

Hi everyone! I’ve been reading these forums a lot the past few weeks, but never got around to registering until today :)

My question is relatively simple, and I’ve tried searching before creating a new thread but I couldn’t find any… most N900 region comparisons are between the US and EU. I live in Australia (where the possibility of getting the N900 is pretty much nil) and I want to import the sim-free unlocked phone. Where is the best region I should buy it from? I have 2 options:

A) buy from New York if I travel there for a holiday next month
B) get a friend that lives in UAE to buy it for me from there


My questions:
1) Will I be able to use the US/UAE phone in Australia? Since the phone is quad band, I should be able to, right?

2) Are the Middle East GSM/UMTS standards the same as EU/Asia/Australia?

3) What differences will I find between the 2 region phones? From what I have read so far, the keyboard, and charger plugs (US=110v) will be different. Is there anything else, like 3G freqs?

4) Wifi bands 12-13 missing in US model – how much of an impact it would make if I don’t have those bands in the phone?

5) Someone posted in another thread that there has been some sort of censorship in the UAE phones before, is this true for the unlocked N900?

6) Anything else I should be wary about? Anyone here following my footsteps?

Note that buying from US (Amazon after $50 rebate) is about US$200 cheaper than from the UAE, which has got me quite interested.

Thanks in advance!

1) Almost certainly, but don't take our word for it. Check what frequencies for GSM/EDGE and 3G (CDMA) your carrier supports and compare them against those supported by the device. At very least the phone and basic low-speed data will work, but there's a chance high-speed data (3G) won't work if your carrier doesn't support the right frequencies.

3) All N900s shipped support the same 3G frequencies. One thing to watch out for is that not all keyboard layouts have 4 arrow keys. In fact, if I recall correctly, only US, UK and NL keyboards have 4 arrow keys.

4) Differences in number of wifi channels is determined by software, and as far as I know the device automatically changes the number of wifi channels available by detecting your location.

5) I don't think so, but if it was really good censorware/spyware it should be impossible to detect. Your decision about how paranoid to be. ;)

6) Just double check the 3G frequencies your carrier supports. The info might even be on wikipedia.

-John

[jinx405]

I have the middle east version,
the only diffrence is the tag in the box, everything is the same inside.

good stuff! i'm sure you're loving the device? :)

tag in the box - which tag? so physically everything's the same? from your other post, you mentioned that the keyboard is the same (ie English and Fn characters) too?

you said you got it for $500++ with 2 years warranty - is that US dollars? how'd you manage that? the Nokia centre I contacted yesterday in Abu Dhabi said that they're selling it for 2999dirhams, which means about US$ 816. that's pretty darn expensive :(

[agogo]

good stuff! i'm sure you're loving the device? :)

tag in the box - which tag? so physically everything's the same? from your other post, you mentioned that the keyboard is the same (ie English and Fn characters) too?

you said you got it for $500++ with 2 years warranty - is that US dollars? how'd you manage that? the Nokia centre I contacted yesterday in Abu Dhabi said that they're selling it for 2999dirhams, which means about US$ 816. that's pretty darn expensive :(
Just the model tag next to the barcode.
Keyboard is English with fn charcters, the vendor promised that they will be replacing them with English + Arabic keyboards in 2 weeks for free.
It costs 580 USD, 2200 dirhams, with few shops if they have it in stock, some shops are selling it for 2500 dhs after re-stocking. Prices in Dubai are similar to Abu Dhabi, 2999.

[jinx405]

1) Almost certainly, but don't take our word for it. Check what frequencies for GSM/EDGE and 3G (CDMA) your carrier supports and compare them against those supported by the device. At very least the phone and basic low-speed data will work, but there's a chance high-speed data (3G) won't work if your carrier doesn't support the right frequencies.

3) All N900s shipped support the same 3G frequencies. One thing to watch out for is that not all keyboard layouts have 4 arrow keys. In fact, if I recall correctly, only US, UK and NL keyboards have 4 arrow keys.

4) Differences in number of wifi channels is determined by software, and as far as I know the device automatically changes the number of wifi channels available by detecting your location.

5) I don't think so, but if it was really good censorware/spyware it should be impossible to detect. Your decision about how paranoid to be. ;)

6) Just double check the 3G frequencies your carrier supports. The info might even be on wikipedia.

-John

Thanks for your in-depth reply!

1) according to wiki, the phone supports:
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
GPRS 107/64 kbps DL/UL
EDGE 296/178 kbps DL/UL
UMTS 900/1700/2100
WCDMA 384/384 kbps DL/UL
HSPA 10/2 Mbps DL/UL

And my carrier supports
3G: 900/2100MHz
GSM: 900/1800
Source: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/net_auo3.shtml

This means that it should work in Australia without a problem :) do I need to be concerned about HSPA? Or is that a global standard?

3) Not all keyboards have 4 arrow keys? Really? What will physically be there otherwise? I’ll have to suss this out.

4) Good stuff :)

5) Haha I guess I’ll have to find out myself… hopefully it should be alright…


Just the model tag next to the barcode.
Keyboard is English with fn charcters, the vendor promised that they will be replacing them with English + Arabic keyboards in 2 weeks for free.
It costs 580 USD, 2200 dirhams, with few shops if they have it in stock, some shops are selling it for 2500 dhs after re-stocking. Prices in Dubai are similar to Abu Dhabi, 2999.

Thanks! I don’t need an Arabic keyboard, I just want the standard one. Like Johnx mentioned above, does your keyboard have the 4 arrow keys?

Whoah – that’s a pretty big price difference. Are these Nokia outlets or a regular mobile phone shop? Are you able to point me in the right direction on which shop to go to? :)

Is it normal for phone prices to be more expensive in Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

[agogo]

Whoah – that’s a pretty big price difference. Are these Nokia outlets or a regular mobile phone shop? Are you able to point me in the right direction on which shop to go to? :)

Is it normal for phone prices to be more expensive in Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

Oneline Telecom in Isa Town, try giving them a call.
Tel: +973 17686364
Mobile: +973 39003005 or +973 36000445

Mobile phones are usually more expensive here, in fact, everything is more expensive here. but this time we were lucky!

here's a picture of the label.

[Koeus]

Hi!

Just registered, because I'm really interested in finding out the possibilities of writing Swedish letters like å, ä, ö on US version phones. Does anyone know anything about this, and if anyone has a US version phone, could you perhaps check? I'm seriously considering buying a US version N900 since it's not gonna arrive until at the earliest 19th of December here in Sweden (apart from the fact that it's considerably cheaper).

What I know is that the Swedish phone will have dedicated keys for this (at the cost of up and down arrows), and that the US version naturally doesn't. However, can you still type å, ä and ö on the US version, and how do you do it in that case? (Would it for example be possible to remap the keys?)

Thankful for any answers!

[floffe]

Thanks for your in-depth reply!

1) according to wiki, the phone supports:
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
GPRS 107/64 kbps DL/UL
EDGE 296/178 kbps DL/UL
UMTS 900/1700/2100
WCDMA 384/384 kbps DL/UL
HSPA 10/2 Mbps DL/UL

And my carrier supports
3G: 900/2100MHz
GSM: 900/1800
Source: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/net_auo3.shtml

This means that it should work in Australia without a problem :) do I need to be concerned about HSPA? Or is that a global standard?

3) Not all keyboards have 4 arrow keys? Really? What will physically be there otherwise? I’ll have to suss this out.

4) Good stuff :)

5) Haha I guess I’ll have to find out myself… hopefully it should be alright…
1) Yes, and HSPA is just a high-speed version of WCDMA, so as long as the latter works the former will come when the carrier enables it.

3) Scandinavian version has åäö, and other keyboard layouts have similar accented chars on separate keys, and up/down as secondary functions on left/right.

[Jidi]

If there's anybody from US having the device, is there any chance that the charger might support 100-240V range? I know there are some chargers, including the one I have for E90 that supports from 100-240V. I know there's a difference on the plugs, I'm referring to the voltage only. Thanks

[maxximuscool]

WTF? the phone was made in KOREA???? not FINLAND?

[maxximuscool]

If there's anybody from US having the device, is there any chance that the charger might support 100-240V range? I know there are some chargers, including the one I have for E90 that supports from 100-240V. I know there's a difference on the plugs, I'm referring to the voltage only. Thanks

I'm pretty sure that all Nokia Device now range from 100V-240v support. It became standardize already since people traveling alot and its convenient to have a range of support voltages.

[TA-t3]

All the switch-mode Nokia chargers are 100-240v. The last ones that weren't were the non-switch-mode, cube-shaped, heavy chargers (heavy due to the larger transformer needed for non-switch-mode chargers). The narrow, small, lightweight ones are switchmode chargers. These are much easier to make multi-voltage than the old ones, so they all are.

[mazerB]

i dont know if its the right thread to ask but can anyone tell if the local regional keypads can be replaced by qwerty english- is it possible ??

[maxximuscool]

i dont know if its the right thread to ask but can anyone tell if the local regional keypads can be replaced by qwerty english- is it possible ??

it is possible but you have to open it up, which void your warranty. Beside no keyboard for sell lol. You will have to buy the region you believe that its the right one for u. :D:D:D:D:D:D:D

[Andre Klapper]

i dont know if its the right thread to ask but can anyone tell if the local regional keypads can be replaced by qwerty english- is it possible ??

Talking about hardware: No idea - probably will lose your warranty.
Talking about software: You can easily switch your hardware keyboard layout in the "Text Input" settings.

[jalyst]

Hmmm these specs...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N900
seem to suggest it won't work with Telstra's UMTS-based 3G network; which has a band of 850Mhz.
http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_au.shtml

It should work with other Aussie carriers for both GSM & 3G.

1) according to wiki, the phone supports:
GSM 850/900/1800/1900
GPRS 107/64 kbps DL/UL
EDGE 296/178 kbps DL/UL
UMTS 900/1700/2100
WCDMA 384/384 kbps DL/UL
HSPA 10/2 Mbps DL/UL

And my carrier supports
3G: 900/2100MHz
GSM: 900/1800
Source: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/net_auo3.shtml

This means that it should work in Australia without a problem :) do I need to be concerned about HSPA? Or is that a global standard?

[jinx405]

Whoah… I don’t visit the forums for a few days and I get a heap of replies! :)

Oneline Telecom in Isa Town, try giving them a call.
Tel: +973 17686364
Mobile: +973 39003005 or +973 36000445

Mobile phones are usually more expensive here, in fact, everything is more expensive here. but this time we were lucky!

here's a picture of the label.

thanks for the picture! I’ll (hopefully) be visiting Abu Dhabi at the end of this month, so I’ll be getting a N900 then. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to Isa Town to make the purchase though.

I noticed in another thread (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=34977&page=4) that there is also a “UAE” version sold in the Middle East, besides the “Middle East – EU” version that you have. I don’t need the Arabic keyboard and language, so hopefully Nokia in Abu Dhabi will still have the regular version for me to pick up later this month :)


1) Yes, and HSPA is just a high-speed version of WCDMA, so as long as the latter works the former will come when the carrier enables it.

3) Scandinavian version has åäö, and other keyboard layouts have similar accented chars on separate keys, and up/down as secondary functions on left/right.

Awesome stuff. anyone have photos of these accented characters and secondary function buttons keyboard?


Hmmm these specs...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N900
seem to suggest it won't work with Telstra's UMTS-based 3G network; which has a band of 850Mhz.
http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_au.shtml

It should work with other Aussie carriers for both GSM & 3G.

Hey jalyst – are you a fellow aussie? Yeah I noticed that too – Telstra uses the same 3G band as AT&T (if I’m not mistaken) but I needn’t worry about that, since I’m on one of the other networks :) thanks!

[jalyst]

I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't seem that way.
I'm not using T$ but I'd like the option to....

Hey jalyst – are you a fellow aussie? Yeah I noticed that too – Telstra uses the same 3G band as AT&T (if I’m not mistaken) but I needn’t worry about that, since I’m on one of the other networks :) thanks!