Now that the Motorola Sholes is going to be released on Nov 6
unlike the continuously postponed N900 several people consider buying that Android 2.0 based device.
For us the advantages of the Sholes hardware (thinner+lighter, keyboard layout, larger capacitative screen, battery life, D-pad, compass) seem to outweigh the ones of the N900 (better camera, speakers, IR, FM, builtin 32GB flash).

The only drawback is the crippled platform Android.
I wonder how difficult it would be to port Maemo/Mer to such an
Android phone?

They share the same OMAP hardware and AFAIK the hardware drivers for Android are open-source.
I've found ports of Debian to an Android phone and there are the usual firmware mods
which also replace the kernel. So a port seems to be possible?

Another advantage of an Android phone is that you get a license
for using the proprietary but so far unique Google apps like Maps.
With Canonical's port of Android stack to Ubuntu we may even be able to run the Android apps
in a X window in the future!?

Are those just pipe dreams or do you think that's feasible?

did you see something that said that droid battery life will be better than the n900? I highly doubt it.

Also, reviews on the droid keyboard are coming back pretty rough.

Also, verizon 3g no simultaneous voice and data AFAIK

And android, yuk!

Oh for goodness sake it's been postponed once, by a few weeks only, for OUR benefit!

so far most comparisons are based on speculations and pre-releases. I'll decide when I can physically check them against each other.

No idea. Reviewers seemed to be quite enthusiastic about it, while
I've heard that Nokia is not be happy with the power management yet.
It's possible that Motorola found some clever tricks or that Nokia
is just overly perfectionistic..?

there seem to be mixed reactions. some reviewer write
that after getting used to it they had no problems.
All mobile keyboard are different, anyway.
I'm waiting for the European GSM/UTMS version,
which is supposed to be Quadband.

yes, that's my main problem.

I think a Maemo/Mer port to Sholes would prove that Maemo is a really open (=portable) platform and popularize it,
especially if you can run your old Andriod apps in a subwindow.

It doesn't have a digital compass (as rumored), just like it didn't have internal memory either.

Stereo speakers
Kick stand
Camera cover
Better quality lens
Not as long or wide
More keyboard travel
Stylus
FM transmitter and receiver
Integrated 32GB
TV-out
IR-port
Front facing camera
Resistive touchscreen
SIM card slot
No need for underclocking

And don't forget the most important thing of them all: better overall quality* (including build, speakers, camera etc.).

*According to previews.

You would end up with a N900 that was crippled by not having a sim card slot and only working on Verizon, how useful is that?

About as useful as sawing of 4mm of the N900, looks nice but....

Mike C

I just can't imagine an n900 on a cdma network. Can you imagine all the stuff that would have to reconnect after every phone call?

I wonder how droid handles map updates if you receive a call during navigation

titan, the comparisons mean little. Both the BMW M3 and Chevrolet Cobalt have GM transmissions, but are nothing similar. Look at how the devices perform, what functions do they, or CAN they, have.

I haven't heard a single bad review of the N900 keypad, but several on the Droid. Being thinner is a component of that bad keypad, and probably the camera's performance, which I'm willing to bet isn't as good as the N900 in image quality. The Droid's screen is slightly larger, but with a similar resolution, I think the N900 has it in pixel density, which directly affects image quality, as I learned on the N95 8gb.

Now it has a compass. How will the Droid use it to give it more function than the N900? It can have a jet engine, but it needs fuel to go, or its nothing. So software directly relates.

I seriously doubt the N900 will have better build quality, having owned many top-end Nokia devices. Don't get me wrong, I'm getting an N900, but I don't think anyone should expect better build quality than the droid.