Why buy a N900 now with MeeGo on the horizon?

[kenga]

Hi.
As far as I know, maemo6 will not be officially released for n900, but community supported edition is expected to be shiped.
Also, maemo6 is known to have DRM and appliation from OVI will be digitally signed to be run in DRM environment.

Does it mean, that: community supported maemo6 will not have DRM and commercial applications for maemo6 will not run on n900?

I see no any updated/new applications for maemo4, now I see the same future for maemo5.

Before DRM, there was a point to buy n900 (at least, you can use community supported m6), but now...

Seems lke n900 is already dramatically obsolete.

I don't want to be a troll, may be I've missed some points?

[maxximuscool]

Hi.
As far as I know, maemo6 will not be officially released for n900, but community supported edition is expected to be shiped.
Also, maemo6 is known to have DRM and appliation from OVI will be digitally signed to be run in DRM environment.

Does it mean, that: community supported maemo6 will not have DRM and commercial applications for maemo6 will not run on n900?

I see no any updated/new applications for maemo4, now I see the same future for maemo5.

Before DRM, there was a point to buy n900 (at least, you can use community supported m6), but now...

Seems lke n900 is already dramatically obsolete.

I don't want to be a troll, may be I've missed some points?

My advise is don't buy if you don't want to and buy if you want to. So please stop posting such thread in the wrong section unrelated to the area. Nokia N900 section is for hardware specific problems only. SO please and please stop trolling.

[www.rzr.online.fr]

Well the question is not useless, actually I plan to get a n900 because I feel this is the only gnu/unix phone that provide hardware keyboard ...

Actually a n810 w/ gsm would be enough for me ...

And let's not forget Mer or meego as alternatives to freemantle

[bockersjv]

Still a pointless post in the wrong section.

If you want one buy it now. If you want to worry about maemo6 or 7 or 8 or..... then just wait and keep waiting. It is the same with all fast moving technologies, in the end if you need it buy now, if you can wait then wait.

[viegas]

hmm, do you need the n900 now?! Then (duh) go buy one! If you're worried about all that just wait for official announcements or simply get the Droid.

[Cartoon_Head]

My advise is don't buy if you don't want to and buy if you want to. So please stop posting such thread in the wrong section unrelated to the area. Nokia N900 section is for hardware specific problems only. SO please and please stop trolling.

Why do you have to be like this? It is a perfectly reasonable question to ask. And where did you get that idea bout what the N900 section is for? "Hardware-specific discussion about the fourth generation of Internet Tablets." does not sound Anything like "Nokia N900 section is for hardware specific problems only." Stop being an idiot, your clueless, why do people have to be such d**ks to new people, are you purposefully all going round trying to put people off getting the phone or what.

And to answer the question (which trolls like maxximuscool don't seem able to) my answer would be yes, it is well worth getting this phone, Nokia supported the other platforms longer than the 3 or so months this phone has been out and they will most likely continue to support it longer, and this phone is based around the community, you can be rest assured they will continue to support it for a long time to come.

Hope that helps

CH

[Cartoon_Head]

hmm, do you need the n900 now?! Then (duh) go buy one! If you're worried about all that just wait for official announcements or simply get the Droid.

If he needed it then obviously he would buy it. Think about it and stop assuming new users are *****s.

CH

[Cartoon_Head]

Still a pointless post in the wrong section.

If you want one buy it now. If you want to worry about maemo6 or 7 or 8 or..... then just wait and keep waiting. It is the same with all fast moving technologies, in the end if you need it buy now, if you can wait then wait.

Valid question in a valid section, again, please take some time to think about what you are writing. Telling people that if they need it now then buy it, but if they can wait, then wait is just ridiculous, you are not helping anyone.

CH

[bockersjv]

No one knows when the next Maemo device will be out or if the N900 will be upgradable or to what extent. This section is for posts about the N900 hardware and not pointless speculation on the next device or firmware.
"Hardware-specific discussion about the fourth generation of Internet Tablets."
So the OP is both pointless and in the wrong section. The more appropriate place is the OS/Platform area.

Personally I do not understand people asking if they should buy a device now or wait for the next one. If you cannot make that decision yourself then I very much doubt the N900 is for you.

[DaveP1]

To slightly rephrase most of the previous comments:

If the N900 with its current software and current hardware meets your needs and price range, then buy it.

If you are looking for software that doesn't exist yet to run on the N900, then wait until it is officially announced for the N900.

Don't buy on rumor. If you want a device that will run Meego or Maemo 6, don't buy the N900 until Nokia says that Meego or Maemo 6 will run on it.

If the N900 meets your needs and you buy it, nothing new might be added to it but if anything is added in the future it will be a positive.

[Cartoon_Head]

No one knows when the next Maemo device will be out or if the N900 will be upgradable or to what extent. This section is for posts about the N900 hardware and not pointless speculation on the next device or firmware.
"Hardware-specific discussion about the fourth generation of Internet Tablets."
So the OP is both pointless and in the wrong section. The more appropriate place is the OS/Platform area.

Personally I do not understand people asking if they should buy a device now or wait for the next one. If you cannot make that decision yourself then I very much doubt the N900 is for you.

The question relates specifically to both the hardware and the software - the whole point of the question is so the poster can establish if it is worth buying the N900. Posting in the OS/Platform area asking if people think he should buy an N900 would be the Wrong place. I am surprised you don't understand why someone would ask if they should buy the device now or wait to the next one, it seems like a perfectly reasonable question to ask given all the current news of new OS's and the fact it is not certain that the N900 will be supported. And i don't think he is asking people to make the decision for him, i doubt if you said buy it he would immediately whip out his credit card and buy it. I think he is asking peoples opinion, which is completely reasonable on a forum.

Sorry to anyone reading for going off topic so much.

CH

[nappleton]

Can i just add my five pence worth in :0) And no i'm not a troll just a newbee (female) who has lots of questions and who has posted on here a few times for advise which has been gratefully appreciated.

In my mind cartoonhead and davep1 have the right attitude. I as a newbee would come here to ask questions which i can't seem to find the answers to and look to experinced people who like me have the n900 for further advise.
To me the poster of this thread clearly has been thinking about buying the N900 but is a little put off by the reports he is reading and is seeking advise from more experienced owners of the n900 on this forum.
To me they came to the right place its a maemo community and its for the n900 devise so how he at all in the wrong for posting here?
He just wanted abit of advise and reassurance to help him make his choice is that not what you all are here for?

[rahulg247]

Can i just add my five pence worth in :0) And no i'm not a troll just a newbee (female) who has lots of questions and who has posted on here a few times for advise which has been gratefully appreciated.

In my mind cartoonhead and davep1 have the right attitude. I as a newbee would come here to ask questions which i can't seem to find the answers to and look to experinced people who like me have the n900 for further advise.
To me the poster of this thread clearly has been thinking about buying the N900 but is a little put off by the reports he is reading and is seeking advise from more experienced owners of the n900 on this forum.
To me they came to the right place its a maemo community and its for the n900 devise so how he at all in the wrong for posting here?
He just wanted abit of advise and reassurance to help him make his choice is that not what you all are here for?

I agree. When you're new (which I also am) it's easy to post a question in the wrong section when the question especially when it is not totally clear where the question should go which is the case with a question such as this one.

I can also understand why OP is asking this question and I think that if you're looking for something where its going to be easy to get a lot of games/apps/etc then this might not be te phone for you but if you're willing to read up a bit etc to find a solution and want full internet then this is the phone for you.

If you know anyone who has one try it out and see what you think. As people have said before don't buy it hoping that it will get the new maemo6/meego when it comes out because currently it is not relevant. I don't know why a lot of people get hung up on this, if the phone has all the features etc you want then buy it its not going to suddenly stop working the day the new Maemo 6/meego comes out.

[kenga]

smee again.
I don't ask "do you think I should buy N900?". Sure, this is personal.
I ask about future. I have N810 and I see the future of OS2008 -- in 2010 no updates, no software. Thanks nokia, community do it's best releasing Mer, porting useful apps and so on. But seems like nokia dumps it.
Ok, fair enough -- they aim to shiny new maemo5, maemo6.. oh, wait, no maemo6 on n900? drm on maemo6? And I afraid, n900 will be dumped as well as they did n8xx/os2008.

And n900 is expensive enough (ok, here in Russia it costs TWICE as in USA) to buy it's just for realise you have a brick with no ability to use new software from ovi.

May be I'm too emotional here, but I think this what many of us thinking of. No?

Again, may be I missed something? May be Nokia said "relax, guys, we have a plans for n900/maemo5"? "You still can buy music"? "We assure you can buy game from ovi"?

I hope you've got the point of my post (not, this "ah, decide for me should I buy it?")

[ARJWright]

Hi.
As far as I know, maemo6 will not be officially released for n900, but community supported edition is expected to be shiped.
Also, maemo6 is known to have DRM and appliation from OVI will be digitally signed to be run in DRM environment.

Does it mean, that: community supported maemo6 will not have DRM and commercial applications for maemo6 will not run on n900?

I see no any updated/new applications for maemo4, now I see the same future for maemo5.

Before DRM, there was a point to buy n900 (at least, you can use community supported m6), but now...

Seems lke n900 is already dramatically obsolete.

I don't want to be a troll, may be I've missed some points?

The point to purchase now is the same that it was to purchase *then* - the device meets your needs now and in the future and/or you are a developer of mobile-oriented software and/or services and would like a deeper understanding of the upcoming impacts of Qt-oriented software.

So no, you aren't a troll, things just don't seem as right since some about what's next is known.

[qwazix]

of course the future does matter when you decide to buy a new electronic device. There is rumour that winmo apps will not work on winpho 7. That's a decision-driver: someone needs backwards compatibility and he's gonna go for HD2 sb else wants to benefit from future things and he's going to wait for HD3
The OP stated his concerns clearly and asks for an opinion. Pretty valid

My opinion:
1. Uncertain future for the platform,
2. pretty much powerful even now, you can find pretty much all the needed things if you dig a little bit (and fiddle a little with the command line)
3. Awesome if you get excited by things like controlling the N900 with pc keyboard and mouse with synergy
4. MicroB itself (ok, backed up by the resolution) is enough to buy the device
5. Nokia generally does not release new OSes for devices but still supports them with fixes apps etc.
________
COLORADO DISPENSARIES (http://colorado.dispensaries.org/)

[nappleton]

do you think they'll update the phone so its abit more like a phone tho or is it a done deal it'll be as it is for its lifespan? Eg text in portrait mode and more options on the phone re profiles etc

[NokiaRocks]

I'm so happy with my N900 and would every buy it again.
And till Nokia will stop supporting the N900 in 1-2 years, im sure I've got the next Nokia Device already :)

[gabby131]

even though this is a post in a wrong section, what i can say is, N900 is just on its bloom...there are many updates to come,

if you dont wanna miss anything on maemo 5 that "maybe" not be available in future maemo OS, i suggest you get one.

[buurmas]

Does it mean, that: community supported maemo6 will not have DRM and commercial applications for maemo6 will not run on n900?
That's a plausible scenario.

I see no any updated/new applications for maemo4, now I see the same future for maemo5.
It seems like you're assuming that most Harmattan/MeeGo apps will be DRM'ed. Time will tell, but I was not assuming that. I think there will be F/OSS apps created with Qt 4.6 that will trickle down to your N900. And Nokia appears to think this as well, based on multiple statements.

[lemmyslender]

Something else to keep in mind:

I believe the next device will be capacitive screen. So if you want to use a stylus or use things like gnumeric or spreadsheets easily, the N900 with its' resistive screen may be a better choice.

[Matan]

Regardless of the software issues discussed here, I think you should read this thread carefully before deciding to buy an N900:

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=37107

[Flandry]

http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=539396&postcount=28

[sondjata]

Among other things the issue with the USB port is a HUGE concern to me. Each time I think about just going for it, I recall those posts. I would be VERY upset to have the USB port fall out 3 months after obtaining the device.

[smoku]

Does it mean, that: community supported maemo6 will not have DRM and commercial applications for maemo6 will not run on n900?

I see no any updated/new applications for maemo4, now I see the same future for maemo5.


My experience shows that it is good to assume the worst case scenario.
If it comes true - you are ready for it.
If it comes up better - you have a nice surprise.

So, assuming the worst case scenario, described above, I still pre-ordered my N900 two months before the release. I use it daily from the moment I got it. I got rid of my mobile phone and use N900 for GSM. I have tons of fun hacking the OS and software. Love it! Love it!

But... thats just only little me.
Your mileage may vary.

[isocoma]

I just ordered an N900, because it suits my needs today. If the next gen hardware/software provides a feature that is useful at a price I can afford, I will consider purchasing it. I feel confident that my N900 will fill a technological need for me far into the future.

[n0_n4m3]

Hi ( would you excuze my 'poor' english, I'm french ),

Since the first review of the N900, I would like to have one, but I never have the money ( 600€ = 816$ ).

Now I have the possibility to buy it, but I've seen that Nokia will use MeeGo very soon, so I ask myself if the N900 is dead? I've read a lot of things about : MeeGo or Maemo 6 on N900, but I would like to have your opinions.

Last question : In french, there isn't a lot of website where you can see the latest apps, I would like to know if there really is a lot of app coming every days?

So should I buy it or want after the next N900-like ?


Thanks!

And again : sorry for my english

[www.rzr.online.fr]

salut y a deja un thread sur ca ...

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=45529

[johnel]

Oh great just what we need - yet another negative thread about the n900!


If you want "plenty of apps" (e.g. volume) then Android or iPhone is best.
There are thousands.
E.g. iFart, iDontCare, Google BigBrother, Google "track your every move" etc..


If you want useful, practical apps then n900 is probably better.
There are a couple of hundred.
E.g. Pedometer, VNC Viewer, emulators etc..

[slender]

IMHO.
If it was ~400 € then I would say buy it but right now I would wait at least until 1.2 update is released and come here again to read what has happened. Ovi store is not even open for paid content and too many things are half done.

Again this is just my opinion :) And what do you do with lots of apps? Any particular what you want?

[maxximuscool]

don't buy it because you'll regret later on when you find out that it doean't do what you thought it can do. So stay away from it if you don't want to maon about you had wasted 812$ for a not so usuable phone device.

i wouldn't recommending it to you nor anyone else. why? because those people will blaming me and more negatives about n900. I think you should go for android device. Get Nexus one.

[n0_n4m3]

I don't want to have all the Iphone' s*** !

I want usefull app! When I saw aircrack, my eyes just shine !

I had a Iphone and I'm the contrary of a fanboy Apple !

Ok I really like some Google apps ( especially Google Maps ) but android hardware it's ... OLD compare to the N900. I love their connectivities.

So no it's not "an other negative thread" about this great phone.


And I search apps like aircrack, a good map app ( ok like google map) I don't know if ovi maps is 'fast' enough.

[cryox92]

Oh great just what we need - yet another negative thread about the n900!


If you want "plenty of apps" (e.g. volume) then Android or iPhone is best.
There are thousands.
E.g. iFart, iDontCare, Google BigBrother, Google "track your every move" etc..


If you want useful, practical apps then n900 is probably better.
There are a couple of hundred.
E.g. Pedometer, VNC Viewer, emulators etc..
Yet another fanboy...thought i had seen fanboys on the Apple forums,but i take my hat off to you gentlemen.
As far as my advice goes...dont get an n900,but if you do want one,you should wait a bit to see how things`ll play out.As for now the n900 is uncertain and definetly not very bright.If you want a phone now get a "Nexus One",or the HTC HD2.
And if you want a phone with a good map application,DONT go for the n900,ovi maps arent even finished yet,and they are not going to be until Maemo 6/MeeGo.

[ossipena]

no, it wont be DOA. it will offer at least the same functionality than now even after 10 years (if there is no hw failures). so visit a place where you can thorougly test the device and voila, problem solved.

[maxximuscool]

I don't want to have all the Iphone' s*** !

I want usefull app! When I saw aircrack, my eyes just shine !

I had a Iphone and I'm the contrary of a fanboy Apple !

Ok I really like some Google apps ( especially Google Maps ) but android hardware it's ... OLD compare to the N900. I love their connectivities.

So no it's not "an other negative thread" about this great phone.


And I search apps like aircrack, a good map app ( ok like google map) I don't know if ovi maps is 'fast' enough.

ANDROID NEXUS ONE hardware is not old. Nexus One has the latest ROM, CPU and RAM, Compass, Capacitive multi touch. But if you like the N900 then feel free to buy it :) we are not going to make you buy the N900 though we knew what people will come back and cry about it later. we gave you the best choice of what to choose from. It is up to you to pick, which side are you on? The darkness or The light!

[johnel]

Yet another fanboy...thought i had seen fanboys on the Apple forums,but i take my hat off to you gentlemen.
As far as my advice goes...dont get an n900,but if you do want one,you should wait a bit to see how things`ll play out.As for now the n900 is uncertain and definetly not very bright.If you want a phone now get a "Nexus One",or the HTC HD2.
And if you want a phone with a good map application,DONT go for the n900,ovi maps arent even finished yet,and they are not going to be until Maemo 6/MeeGo.

At least choose a more sensible thread title than "Maemo DOA?"

Why are people wasting thier time posting stuff like this?

Why is the Apple UI so fluid and ours isn't? (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=45975&highlight=scroll)

My N900 scrolls not as smooth as the iPhone (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=46090&highlight=iphone)

Is MeeGo iPhone wanna be? (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=46082&highlight=iphone)

iPhone Theme / Icons (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=42462&highlight=iphone)

meego will not sell (http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=45868&highlight=iphone)

etc...

No, I am not a "fanboi".

Personally I think nokia have utterly failed in fostering any mainstream support for Maemo-based devices. The OVI store is still not ready and the constantly changing "roadmap" of Maemo is not helping either.

In fact mid-last year I recommended that a friend should buy the
iPhone over the n97, htc Magic & the n900.

He recently bought the iPhone and is delighted about it!

The n900 has become a niche product and I am more than happy with it.
It's not perfect - I wish it had OTG USB & a reliable bluetooth connection to wireless keyboards * mouse.

If someone posts something like "I have googled the n900 and iPhone and still unsure which one to go for."
Then that's fine, many people here will give an honest opinion and maybe have an inteligent debate about it.

I certainly don't post on iPhone/Apple forums asking "The iPhone doesn't multitask like a Maemo phone." or "Is the iPad DOA?".

Comparisons between iPhone/Andorid and n900 generally do not make sense. They are aimed at different "markets".

[Hoxzer]

A lot of people here don't seem to be getting the fact that maemo is a full blown GNU/Linux (android only uses the kernel) so even if it is ever forsaken by the Nokia it would still be supported by the community. Also you must not forget that with a bit of trickery you can also run linux desktop aplications on this device for example somebody managed to run MythTV on N900.

As for meego only real change that can break the hw compatibility is multitouch. It is very common for open source aplications to have multiple GUI's.
Here's one example: mplayer
Some of the gui's are: kmplayer, gmplayer and gnome-mplayer.

So even when meego is released and apps are made for it there will surely be a gui made for non-multitouch devices as well.

Also you should remember that some people had been able to run the android on the N900 and OS 2008 was ported to the N770 not by nokia but by the community.

[NokiaRocks]

Visit a shop and test the N900, if you like it - buy it.
I've been testing a HD2 and a Milestone and wouldn't wanna swap.

[finito]

It is up to you to pick, which side are you on? The darkness or The light!

Rofl, for real?

So I assume you mean N900 is the light? but it is black where the Iphone is White!

I personally love the possibilities of the N900, I have had it for 3 days so far. I just switched from the N97, there is a bit of learning curve on the GUI. A few things here and there that I would and can fix.

This device is a dream come true. I think this is a big step towards eventually having hardware sold separately and end users making their own devices with software supported by communities.

Although you can do it on your own now, you need some electrical or mechanical engineering (not sure which) so the market is really small but add Desktop friendliness to it and watch the market explode.

[colnago]

At least choose a more sensible thread title than "Maemo DOA?"

Why are people wasting thier time posting stuff like this?".

How is putting a question mark at the end of a thread title, and then asking a question in the post, "not" a sensible thread?
I can see if they put an exlamation point (!) in the title, "then" one could consider it "negative", but a question mark (?)?

The OP states that French is his/her native language, an is making their "first few posts" as an attempt to determine what the 900's future looks like. Maybe they can't completely follow the numerous posts "speculating" what will happen?

I "can", but "I'm" still not sure if I want to stay with the platform, only because I doubt that there will ever be "slingmobile" support, given Nokia's plans for the OS...which is still unclear, at least as far as what the 900 will support.

[sjgadsby]

The thread "Maemo DOA ?" with fourteen posts has been merged into this thread.

[cryox92]

Being ignorant wont help anyone.The community will never be able to provide the kind of applications and fixes nokia and other companies can,a fact.Ow nice,a FEW things we can fix here or there.Check the buglist,there are nearly 900 bugs,and u are forgetting that the device is not fully open-source so half and maybe more of the bugs arent fixable.Why dont u try fixing the media player?Bang,u cant.Guess why?Its not open-source.And dont sell the "n900 is aimed for a different market" BS,srsly.The n900 is missing almost all of the features it was promised.

[NokiaRocks]

What features do you mean ?

[cryox92]

Maps,Updates,High-quality camera,Front Camera,High-quality video and audio etc.

[c0rt3x]

I want to hear the promise that the N900 will get MeeGo 4 in 2013, else I officially announce it as obsolete.

Jokes aside, what Nokia is really planning to do, is to introduce the Qt framework to various platforms. Right now we don't really know how well it will work, but until we can say otherwise, the OS version shouldn't matter that much, at least that's how it's supposed to work.

Hopefully they will deliver on this front. If you're fearing that newer apps won't work on an older Qt-based device, don't be, as long as the hardware will be able to handle the software. And since OMAP4/Intel eqvivalent is at least 12 months away, there nothing to fear, unless you want to keep your N900 for 3 years or more since now (obviously most new apps will still work, just not the "ground-breaking" ones).

The lack digital compass is probably the only reason why they haven't bothered yet to port the latest version of Ovi Maps to the N900, and the lack of multi-touch might be as important in the future whether they choose to port "the official MeeGo" or not.