N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

Hello
For the last... 10 years I was using a small PC-clone PDA from 1994, with non-backlit LCD and a PC-like keyboard. Unfortunately recently my device got structural problems and I'm looking for replacement. Recently I found a cheap, factory-new N900.
I have never had N900 in my hands, so I don't know about it. I have some questions:
1. Is the keyboard comfortable? I produce large quantities of text every day, so I'm looking for device with usable keyboard. Is it possible to thumb-type or keys are too close to each other? I had Nokia E61 and keys were way too small for me.
2. How typing of non-primary characters (with Shift, Ctrl, etc.) looks like? Do I need to hold this e.g. Shift key and press another key or do I just need to click Shift once and next key works uppercase?
3. I plan to use it as connectivity-less digital notepad. I don't plan to use GSM, GPS or BT anyway, is it possible to just unload their drivers (rmmod?) and have a longer battery life? And I think I'll turn Wi-fi on... very rarely, only to push some file to FTP.
4. How about battery life when not connected?
5. Is it still possible to install apps or repositories are down? Especially I'm looking for small spreadsheet, text editor (TXT), simple cardfile-like database and notetaking application. I still see repos here and there, but there would be a problem if e.g. everything is dependent on library in extincted repository.
Thanks in advance
PCXT

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

My experience, you will love it.

1) no, but better than most
2) once
3) yes, you can use WiFi only, no need to unload drivers. Just connect to what you need
4) new bat ? No connections, last a good week.
5) yes, highly recommend installing CSSU stable (ovi won't work, but you can locate a few saved apps from there other places)

I have 2, and love'm

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

The N900 keys are even smaller than on the E61, which you should be able to see from pictures of N900. That said, many find the N900 keyboard to be good enough (in fact it is carried over to the Neo900)

Yes, Shift and Fn are sticky, so you are not forced to press two keys are the same time

You can put the device in either offline mode, or tablet mode

A lot depends on the state of your battery. Standby times of up to a week or even more are experienced by those who keep their N900 idling

Repositories were all mirrored, so 'everything' should still be available.

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

2. There's yet another mode to the Shift and 2nd Function/Up keys: tapping the appropriate booster twice locks caps or 2nd (blue) char set respectively. Tapping it again unlocks. And yet another mode, you can hold the booster key while hitting the key you want shifted/2nd functioned. And one more: to get the second function you can hold a key for extended time. Don't release until it turns into the 2nd char on the keycap. e.g. hold down space and a space will appear, but if you keep it held down the space will disappear and be replaced with the @ symbol.

(All my examples are from US version of keyboard, YMMV with other layouts.)

PS, these key functions aren't add-ons that I added so long ago that I forgot doing it, are they? If so, might be nice to post that info here . . .

5. A nice implementation of Gnumeric spreadsheet is available for N900!

Forgot to mention to "power search" here for threads regarding "must have" software "new to n900" recommendations, and favorite apps lists. Lots of advice there, much of it good.

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

Thank You very much for information. I found N900 interesting, and, there is Gnumeric, it looks like there is Portabase, there is a nice set of software on N900. Few minutes ago i found Navit, although I don't plan to use GPS it'll be handy to have few hundred MBs filled with my city map!
I made a more or less to-scale comparison between keyboards of different machines which came to my mind (here), E61 has quite high and protruding keys while N900 looks to have more flat ones. And the more protruding the key is, the biggest probability that the finger will slip to another key and keys have to be in larger distances (as in some Psion machines or HP).
I can't exactly see in photos, are N900's keys more flat than E61's?

One more question: Is there xkbset in Maemo 5? The thing is that my diacritized characters can be entered the slow way (using on-screen selector) or with modification of "rx-51" file, using Ctrl-Fn combination, so I think about turning "sticky keys" for ctrl too. I did it once it in PC with Debian using xkbset.

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

some repos are always down especially the muarf.org. tell me if i am wrong.

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

It is not too bad, I like that it doesn't feel spongy and it has a slight click.
There are some limitations - especially only having 3 rows of keys. Having a backlit keyboard is very nice though. With the N900 you have a phone and a small PC in your pocket.

That said, I'd prefer any other decent sized keyboard any day to get some work done. You can link a bluetooth keyboard or use x11vnc to control the N900 and can be used for longer typing sessions.

Is assume the PC clone PDA you are referring is the HP 200LX. If so that seems a lot more comfortable for typing and production work (also able to get more text on the screen)
.

You should be able to install a program for any of those uses. Or install Emacs and have (the basics of) everything in one program, if you are willing to accept a steep learning curve.

But.. if you are only looking for something to replace a HP 200LX and not your phone IMO a Pandora,Pyra, GDP Win or even a small netbook (eg Asus 1015E) is more suited for your needs.


I don't think I have encountered repo downtime ever.. (I am using the muarf.org mirrors as well)

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

I still love my N900 coming up to 6 years after getting my first one. The only reason I'm not still using my original is that the FM transmitter was DOA when I got it, and it crashes very easily with overclocking/undervolting.

A few years ago I picked up a 2nd one very cheap and that's my daily driver.

Obviously 256 MB RAM is a bit of a joke for modern web browsing experience, but worse it the fact that many modern sites simply won't render with N900's now ancient browser. Still there is Opera Mobile and Opera Mini that will allow use of some sites.

I keep finding awesome new stuff that I can do with my N900 ... or apps I somehow hadn't heard about until now... like the N900 port of Zim.

I'm even writing a PyGTK app right now on the device itself via SSH and tmux.

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

While I hate the Android experience I have a Nexus tablet flashed to Cyanogen Mod with no Google Play(F-Droid repos and a few APKs from apk-dl.com).
The web browser works and while there are not the wealth of quality apps for Android vs Maemo there are some which cover for those missing on Maemo. I do like the bigger screen for browsing it renders more websites, and either getting online by bluetooth tether or just VNC and use Maemo apps indirectly with the tablet.
I love my N900, I seen no replacement, but finding good batteries is getting tough. Hoping for some cool stuff to happen once they mainline the android kernel and we can get x running with android driver support(yech binary blobs).

Re: N900 with Maemo 5 for a beginner - will it be OK?
 

Hey.

1. YES. It's almost perfect. My previously used full keyboard devices: Nokia 5510, HTC Universal, BenQ P50, Nokia E90, Nokia E71. N900 is the best for me for years now. It has a very nice grip, and I dont miss any more lines to be honest.
2. As it answered before me, you just need to press the char/shift key once, or press it double, if you want it to lock.
3. Well it's Linux, everything is possible. :D
4. If you aren't connected, main battery drain is the screentime. If you're using it ~half brightness, it can last pretty long with a good battery.
5. Repos will never die, I guess. Some nice dudes are always mirroring them, but yeah, you can install from .deb too.