Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

At the risk of getting flamed for my interpretation, I have taken the above lists, removed items we already have, unrealistic and redundant items and organized it a little bit:

GENERAL
* Wireless Charging, Solar charging, USB Charging
* Full USB - Mini or Micro (two usb ports?)
* Centered Camera/light sensor with 2-5 MegaPixels, zoom, flash, video.
* Two cameras OR rotating camera.
* Have camera be optional OR removable
* Two SD cards (Full OR Micro) OR SSD support
* Faster CPU (OMAP 3440 at 600 OR 800 mhz), More Memory, OpenGL hardware drivers
* 12 hour battery, even with WiFi and GPS running
* Hardware video decoding, no video issues
* Video out (no-bounds project)
* Scanner attachment or software to use camera as a scanner by picture-stitching
* Hardware battery checker
* Temperature and other sensors (tricorder?)
* YAW sensor
* Vibrating alert

RADIOS, IR
* FM Radio, FM Transmitter for in-car listening
* WiMax and/or GRPS, EDGE
* Unlocked cellular (OR no phone)
* Improved GPS
* WiFi with packet injection
* IR for remote control

SCREEN
* More colors in LCD, 1024x800 or 1024x600 resolution
* Screen size: same size, 5 inch, 7 inch
* Multi-touch, transreflective or OLED screen
* Haptic touchscreen

FORM FACTOR
* Flush screen, optional bezel
* Rubberized back
* Hard Cover
* Wrist strap connector
* Smaller, lighter, sexier looks
* Tilt screen instead of kickstand; only the screen slides so that the D-Pad is well positioned.
* Scroll / volume wheel or Scroll strip along sides (or NOT)
* Hardware buttons moved to sides
* Accelerometer based screen rotation and/or cursor control
* Gaming buttons with keyboard closed (D-pad, O-Pad, or track-ball, both sides?)
OR clean iPod look with no buttons.

SOFTWARE
* Gesture support for e.g., "right click" or "select"
* Works for finger only (large items) OR stylus (many smaller items on screen)
* Efficient A2DP and avrcp
* Java Support
* Codecs: OGG & Theora, Flac
* Fully Open Source OS
* Printing built in
* KDE built-it
* Transparent on-screen keyboard
* Solution for "fat finger" problem

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

I refrained from having an opinion on the above post, so I am going to weigh in here with my own preferences/priorities.

* Rotating, Centered Camera/light sensor with 2-5 MegaPixels, zoom, flash, video. (Full rotation so that my visually impaired son can use it as a magnifying tool.)
* USB Charging
* TWO SD cards. Full sized is my preference, but Micro is OK.
* 800mhz OMAP 3440, more RAM, OpenGL drivers
* No-Bounds video-out w/KDE (PLEASE!!!!)
* Software to use camera as a scanner by picture-stitching
* FM Radio, Phone/EDGE, WiMax, WiFi, Bluetooth, Better GPS
* Flush Screen at 1024x600, same size
* Vibrator
* Gaming buttons with keyboard closed (D-pad or O-Pad)
* Lighter, Sexier. (The N800 is UGLY!)
* Built-in printing
* More open source

I don't care about the other software issues as much because the community can handle that. E.g., I and some others are working on handling A2DP via the DSP. Nokia doesn't always do software that well, but they do hardware really well.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

agreed with BruceL, with the addition of an external wifi antenna jack. :)


oh, and per another thread on here: the actual availability of replacement styli for the device (preferably through any/all of the retail fulfillment centers), instead of just marketing hyperbole that hints that they're available!

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Very good summary of reasonable suggestions in this thread. Please edit you post to include a "vibrate function".

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

It's in there...

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Oops. It shouldn't be in the SCREEN section. I'll edit it...

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Nice work.

I wonder if it is possible for a standby option where the current desktop and open apps are stored as it and restore it on switching on?
This would be very useful for swapping batteries and then getting back where u left. Although there is the issue that the stand by state needs battery on its own.
But is it possible?

And coming to a2dp .... how is the work coming up? when can we expect it bruce?

And thanks for the list. now can somebody post polls for the above classifications?

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Suspend to RAM works right now, the watchdogs get in the way, though. ;) Suspend to disk may be working, but I'm haven't really heard much of anything and don't recall the conclusions of the stuff I did hear about it though. Suspending to disk would nicely side-step the watchdog issue while providing a good and fast way to swap batteries (well, fairly fast, anyway—some SD cards are still just a little slow).

Despite the greater simplicity (and backportability ;)) of the software solution, this is really something I'd rather (or, also) see solved in hardware.

The old iBooks and PowerBooks had a neat little feature that let you swap out batteries while the laptop was in sleep mode (not sure if the newer Intel-based stuff has it anymore). Basically, they had an oversized capacitor that behaved like a miniature battery that would keep it powered up for the 30 seconds or so it took you to swap out the battery.

The nice part about the hardware solution is that is means much less work and time investment from the user. No click-click-click, suspend to disk . . . wait . . . wait . . . swap battery, click . . . wait . . . wait—just swap battery.

Only issue might be feasibility. You wouldn't be forced to put the device in the suspend-to-RAM sleep mode like you would flipping over a laptop, so capacitor size and device consumption levels are more of an issue. Perhaps forcing the OMAP idle and screen off when the battery cover is open or somesuch. . . .

Still the suspend-to-disk method is the most effective and versatile. No devices are excluded and implementation is dead simple.

After a quick search, I don't see any enhancement requests on bugzilla for a suspend-to-disk functionality. Somebody want to step up and file an enhancement request (stick it in System software:dsme or similar)? :)

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Nice summary!

Even one loop would be very useful, but having one in each top corner would not just facilitate both left and right-handed operation but also various hanging mounts.

That'd have to be the most cost-effective of improvements.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Assuming the N900 has some sort of video out preferably VGA then it's close to IBM's idea. Just need someone to create docks for it like the iPod video docks but with built-in keyboard and USB hub.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Sachin, I don't want to guess how long it will take to do the A2DP. The project is in the very early stages. I hope it will be easy but I am in the learning stage.

Peet, Briand, GA, I'll come back here and add new feature ideas to the list if people request it. But I'll wait a few days so that I can minimize the number of "edits" on the post.

Or perhaps someone could move the list to the FAQ then people could add their own items.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

You should ask people who want to make any additions to post suggestions. After about a week you should then take all the reasonable stuff and make a poll. I believe polls are limited to a certain number of items, but maybe you could get special permissions. If not, you could post a series of organized polls.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

First, hi to all. I am a newbie to the N800 (3 days), but not to computing in general...Remember the Timex Sinclair Kit?

Be gentle....

For what I use it for - Casual browsing and e-mail when I don't feel like lugging my laptop, the N800 is PERFECT! I love this little box. But the question here is what would be nice for the N900?

How about some type of strap?

Faster CPU would be nice, but not a necessity.

How about a built-in FM antenna for the FM Radio applet?

Anyone use DVM's? You know those rubberized jackets they wear?
I've seen all kinda cases, but not one of these. This ties in with the strap.

Yes, I'm sorta a klutz, but I plan on letting my better half use this occasionally,
and she has in the past brought me pieces of things I have let her borrow.

That's my 2 cents. I will now retreat into my newbie hole....

Thanks!

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

n4zcg --

how would you like to add QRZ lookups to the built-in search applet? ;-)

I wrote the script up a couple days ago, but haven't gotten around to publishing it...

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

770 case and cover with n800 features and functions but please double the RAM, internal flash and CPUspeed over the n800 stuff.

so simply a faster n800 in a 770 case
:D

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

With regard to a2dp, we will hopefully get started on it next week. There's a dsp-sbc garage project to house it, and a dsp-sbc-devel list for those who might want to be part of the development. I'm planning to use a similar setup to the dsp-tremor ARM-side and DSP task code, and then we need to get cracking on porting the sbc code to run in a thread started by the DSP task....

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

I don't want a faster CPU. It can already do full screen real time video. I want better battery life. I want batteries compatible with the current ones. If there's space, allow two.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

No, it can't. At least not at the screen's resolution.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

This is partly nitpicking, but full screen video (amongst others) is not actually an issue just with the CPU - it has more to do with the GPU, 2d/3d graphical acceleration, proper drivers for the acceleration, the interface bandwidth between the GPU and the graphical display in the device etc. The weakest link(s) is the bottleneck here.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Which bottleneck is caused by using a screen larger than the current processor can handle natively. And I'd like longer battery life, too, but do you really think 2 batteries is viable? Extended cover and high-capacity battery seems a much more likely way to double life.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Can someone who's been following this thread put this stuff in the wiki? It would be fun to see what people would like to see in the future versions of NITs. Or if any of the features can be developed by some smart hackers.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

I do. It isn't just about doubling life, either-- hot-swappable batteries would be killer IMO. Of course, that CAN be solved with a capacitor as GA said, but... dual BP5Ls... wow. Hot swap AND long range...

Note: this is NOT implying anything official!!!

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

<shrug /> I can't see Nokia releasing a device big enough to hold two batteries; an extended back allows bragging about slimness and pocketability, while also hitting range (with optional high-capacity battery).

And I see suspend on back-cover open + backup capacitor (HP48) or backup coin cell (HP50) as a perfectly viable hot-swap method, which should be implemented.

But it's 2 vs. 1 now, so I yield: two batteries, with an extended back allowing two high-capacity batteries. :D

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Hot-swappable may be a dream, but readily accessible (like digital cameras have and cellphones typically don't) seems pretty easy. Like if the battery could just go in and out like the removable memory card.

(Hey, btw and ot, is the device supposed to be off when you insert or remove a memory card?)

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

What, it can't now? I mean, sure, it's not slotted, but I've never had a problem swapping them out.

Of course not, they're perfectly hot-swappable. Just make sure they're not in use. ;)

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Guys, there is some sexy new battery tech coming. Very thin batteries, very long life. If I recall correctly they are maybe 3 years from commercial use. Sorry, don't recall any key words offhand...

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Hopefully it's not "betavoltaic batteries":

http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/...taic-10.1.html

http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,...331777b,00.htm

:)

It's a shame, but while everything else is developing nicely: getting faster/stronger/leaner, battery technology _currently_ simply isn't.

sticking with the REALISTIC part...
 

I may be a minority, but I think the n8x0 is close to the bulls-eye. So close, it hurts. In that spirit, here is a minimal list based on "reality". This is not a list of everything I want but a list of everything I think would be just enough to make the N900 a smash hit. I realize some of these changes might even be in the Diablo update.

- Full working IMAP email with HTML view (showing images)
- Broader range of built-in chat support, (AIM, Yahoo, MSN, ICQ, etc.)
- Faster Browser
- Faster Processor (enough to run a majority of video podcasts and higher-res video at a smooth rate).
- h.264 hardware decoding
- PIM Suite like on their Symbian devices with sync support. OR Some kind of built in sync with Google Calendar/Contacts.
- Album Art support in their media player.


That's it. In all seriousness, the Tablet's greatest strength is Internet and communication. Editing office documents might be nice, but I don't many people will spend hours doing spreadsheets on a small screen. Just polish what is there, and give me a real calendar and address book that sync.

Re: sticking with the REALISTIC part...
 

... and more system memory (1GB?)

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

With HTC Touch Diamond released today, my specs and wishes are not exorbitant ... maybe I want to see a 1024x600 screen in a N810 form factor now :D :D
http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...&postcount=318

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

No, this was actually a real deal. Hopefully I saved the link and can find it...

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

I fully agree. I don't think there is much more or less from the N810 that I would want besides the standard increases in cpu power and memory.

BUT here are some other things I think would make it better.

Hardware sided:
A better camera. One that I can take pictures with. It's VERY hard to take pictures with my N810.

2 SDHC card slots. I want WAY more memory capacity so that I can make my Nokia into my all in one portable media player. I want to store a good amount of anime vidoes :p and mp3s.

FM radio. Long as it's not going to drastically increase the size of my N900 why not have it? Screw the car radio, I'll have my N900 have all the channels I'll want to listen to already programed for my road trips :D

WiMAX. Though I won't use it right now I'm sure I'll use it later.

GPS. YES!! Keep this, I love having GPS and turn by turn directions. I know it is very slow but recent post have shown that it's just buggy so the hardware doesn't seem to be needing any bost. Just write a better program.

Keyboard. A MUST! If the N900 is going to be a "always connected" device then I will want a slide out keyboard like the N810. I do use the touch screen input method often but when doing any kind of major typing like a e-mail or IM I have to have a keyboard. And no a BT keyboard won't do when your walking around or sitting in a car seat, park bench, at a stadium, etc.

Kick stand. Pretty obvious, but keep it.

The sexy smooth metal look. I love the N810 look over all the other N***. Way to go Nokia!

Light sensor. I thought it would be a waste but I must say it's quite nice.

Power plug. I hate USB powered devices. They take so long to charge. I like how I can charge my N810 for 15 minutes and give me enough juice to play music walking to and from class while checking my e-mail real quick during class.


On the software side:
Multiple screens. I can't think of the name but you know how Linux has multiple screens you can switch to on the bottom? Well I think that may be something nice to have. Long as the N900 can support many programs running at once. I know a few times I've had to stop some programs on my N810 to get my other ones running.

PIM. Don't do it your self. Just boost the CPU and RAM specks so that I can use some Open Source program like Mozilla Sundbird. But I must say that GPE-Calendar has worked well enough for me. I'm just getting a bit greedy and want more options :p.

Bluetooth hands free cell phone. A few have already stated this and I would like to add to their voice. I want my N900 to be able to be my phone too. But my cell phone as in I'll keep my cell phone in my pocket or back pack and control my calling (possibly texting??) through my N900. I think this would be a sweet to have. My phone book in my N900 could be set to call through my cell phone or through a VoIP.

Side comments:
Gaming. I don't want my N900 to look like it's meant for gaming. I want it to look like the N810. Some extra buttons on the pop-out keyboard for gaming would be fine and nice. But I bought my N810 to be more of a laptop than a DS.

Hot swapping batteries. I LOVE this idea. Just today I was thinking about getting a second battery to have that extra long charge for when I want to do some extended usage.

Docking. Why? I can't stand the whole iPod docking. Use a standard USB type connection for data transfer and a standard power plug for powering. DON'T go the iPod way.

Size. The first time I held my N810 I thought to my self, "Wow! This is alot smaller than what I was expecting. It really is pocket size." I like how it's small but it can grow some and still be small and sexy. I'm thinking it can grew a little bit in all directions and still be small enough for me to carry around. Course I'm a cargo pocket pants fan :p.

Open Source programs. You've done a good job making the Nokia Open Source and all. But give the N900 some more umph so that it can easily port other Linux programs. "If you build it, they will come." You build a hand held that can support a Linux program and that program will be ported.


Conclusion: Sweet job on the N810. Not perfect, but when will people ever say something will be perfect? Anyways it's a hell of a product that I'm happy to own and look forward to buying the next upgraded model.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Screen rotation
2 SDHC slots
FM radio
PIM
Better camera
Video recording
No keyboard
Numptyphysics!!

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

More CPU speed/memory are always good, however they trade off against battery life. With that said I do think at least a boost in CPU speed would be useful. As well as that I'd like to see:

Working AGPS (we could have this on the N810 with a sw update)
Working IVA for video/image accel (as above)
Working OpenGL ES (via the PowerVR MBX, etc.) for a snazzy desktop and better games (as above)

Regarding snazzy desktops, yes it is pointless and wastes power, but it looks cool. What more can I say :)

I agree with the call for a better camera, perhaps even two fixed cameras so you can take pictures and look at the screen at the same time as well as using one for the webcam.

FM radio would be nice, especially if it uses the slightly upgraded version of the chip in the N800, which can receive TMC broadcasts (traffic information for use with the GPS) - might need some hacking to crack the code, but that's why it's interesting :)

From Fire Hazard's post and others, I see lots of comments where people are after software - PIM stuff (personally I think simple is better than a full-blown desktop app), making phone calls via the NIT, etc.

These are all things that could be done now. If you're interested why not get hacking!? :)

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

On the human interface/ ergonomics side. I think the addition of a track ball mouse and a scroll wheel would be nice. Both would be on the right side with the track ball operated by the thumb and the scroll wheel on the top surface operated by the index finger.

This will make the IT much easier to use like a desktop computer wiithout the need to hold a stylus or make large inefficient finger friendly UI.

Sorry. But once again make the browser faster and more responsive please.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

ok, everyone has pretty much have said the same thing over and over. How about something no one has mentioned?
- Like dialog boxes that are a bit bigger and lessed cramped
- re sizable columns so we can actually read filenames!
- buttons that are taller (our fingers are tall, not 1/2 screen wide)
- applets that are not only re sizable but lockable
- native function similar to Idea (without the horrid and confusing config) or simple launcher
- a simple clock in the status bar not some huge ugly non re sizable "world clock" applet
- a vkb with a "_" key upfront, ditch that useless "EN" key, and make the "pause click for the "capslock" key more obvious.

there are probably more little things but it's 4am and my tea isn't ready yet.

Nokia really needs to step up their usability dept and GUI design for it to be taken seriously.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

Well, to a point. OMAP3 is significantly more efficient than OMAP2, so an upgrade from the OMAP2420 to the OMAP3430 will get us very similar (if not almost the same) battery consumption and significantly more power.

Because this is a hardware request thread. ;)

Never been an issue for me, but if it's really such a problem file an enhancement request.

I'm assuming you're specifically speaking of the Application manager? If so, it's fixed in Diablo. For everything else, enhancement request.

I don't agree with this one. Vertical real estate is too precious to waste like that, and I've never had an issue with button sizes.

Go vote on the bug.

Why? I'd rather have Nokia focusing on ironing out the core stuff where they're the only ones who can really provide a solution than wasting time in the realm of 3rd-party utilities. Besides, due to the UI Spec, Nokia's first-party solution have to suck. Why anybody wants this stuff from Nokia is entirely beyond me. :\

If you really want an improved IDEA or Simple Launch, then go help out! :)

You can get both a single and double-wide statusbar clock from third party sources, asking Nokia to duplicate this effort would be foolish.

Actually, the solution I'd prefer here is a much more accessible and flexible layout editing.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

heh point taken. but...

Nokia really really needs to step up their usability and GUI specs.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

assuming that there would be no fundamental operating system changes, I would like at least double the battery life (so two batteries I guess would be ok). More speed would always be nice, but not if it prevented the double battery life, which at the moment is far too low. Improved GPS that got a signal lock with the speed to make it useable (like the speed that the tomtoms get). keyboard that was either softer, or a back that didn't flex.
More memory obviously.
Oh yes, and put the direction button on the bit that doesn't need opening. In fact, put the +/- button on the part that you can still reach when you have opened it.

Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
 

I forget-- am I due for a "hee hee hee" yet?