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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
Ahh, now i see it - Karel is secretly writing for Gizmodo... ;)
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
The N900 should have a hardware switch to shut off the screen and the wifi, that behaves just like putting the 770 in its hard case. I listen to music with the hard case on to save power drain from the display, and I close it quick (say you just realize it's your train stop) and it closes the wifi to save power when you are not using the wifi.
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I think I've finally decided what I want the N900 to have, hardware wise. I think I'd like this even more than the larger sidekick-slide like tilt-screen idea.
(and, to reply in-advance: I know several of you will disagree with the GSM radio part: no need to reply to that, we know the reasons for it, I'm sure we even know who you are, lets not waste space on that whole argument, neither for its merits nor its problems)
For software:
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
What I'm looking for in the N900 is:
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
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Heh, funny story there... I was in my 8th grade English class during some free time, so I decided to watch some Angry Video Game Nerd videos with one of ny friends. So, I close the app (smplayer) and without thinking, pull out the headphones, and my tablet keeps outputting audio, and screams (at full volume) "Mother of a f***!," as I am trying to cover up the speakers with my hands (it looked like CPR) and I ended up ripping off the back cover and smashing the back against the ground to throw out the battery. Believ it or not, no one else heard it in a full class. |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I came across this vid surfing around YouTube. To follow up with my wish to have a compositing interface for the N900, this illustrates some of the strengths.
For those that don't know, this is a User Interface for the upcoming NVidia powered Tegra devices. Have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3lea...eature=related I'm not too crazy about the 3D-barrel-like-window-layout, but I love the fact that they zoom in and out and slide side to side. It enables a large accessible virtual desktop rather than a rather small 'static' desktop that can only display one resolution confined app at a time. Even if a window's contents weren't composited into the zoomable windows squares (eg. icons with text labels upon zooming out, or low res representations), it would still be extremely useful and use very little memory. I would like to see a similar desktop for the N900, though it's not impossible to be emulated on the N8x0s as well. 3D acceleration would be nice in this case, but it isn't necessary. }:^)~ YARR! Crapt'n Crorrupt |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I'm not really sure I'm sold on a clamshell device for the N900.
There are certainly benefits to such a design: for example a built-in stand and a built in screen protector. Of course, it also implies that the screen will be farther from the keyboard, it may be slightly more awkward to hold, and it'll require one more step (and a free hand) to use the device. I would imagine that the hinges would also make the device slightly larger, though this could probably be mitigated through clever placement. I own a flip phone and didn't mind it (when I was using it), but it was easily flicked open with one hand for use. A larger device like the N900 would likely require two hands to open, and for quick intermittent use, would probably get on my nerves a bit. I think it's a wonderful idea, but I'm not sure if it's for me. }:^)~ YARR! Cappy |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
<nerd>
Why post one reply when you can post three? Wise men have asked this question, but who among us has the answer? </nerd> Ok, time to give away a $1M patent idea (if it hasn't been done already, Nokia, I hope you're listening!). I would like a SCRATCH RESISTANT SCREEN on the N900. I would rather have a durable device than to protect it with a $3 screen protector. How, do you ask, we pull this off? Simple...ish... Imagine a clear plastic surface. On top of the clear plastic you mount miniature glass squares that are relatively (to the square surface) thick. The squares are arranged in a grid, but not completely touching one another. The parts between the squares are filled with a flexible, stretchable, and compressible plastic with similar refractive properties as the glass used (or vice versa). Why all this trouble? Because the squares will take up the majority of the face, the great majority will be more resistant to scratches (glass is hard). Also, because the squares are very small but relatively thick based on their dimensions, they will be much less likely to crack under pressure (tempered glass perhaps). Also, the grooves will allow the general surface to bend (absorb pressure) without having the squares touch one another and risk chipping (assuming, of course, the material between the glass can stretch and compress readily). Also, because the grooves are so small, most objects will not be able to *reach* the filler material, but would simply skip from one square to the next. The result, a very inexpensive (if the process can be easily automated and is cheap to produce) scratch resistant touch surface. It may not have the smooth continuity of a single materials, but if the squares are sufficiently small, and the groove material chosen wisely, they would likely not refract the light enough to be distracting during unit use. I would bet that with careful selection of materials, it would be indistinguishable from the standard-screen during use. Either that or throw some space-age nano-material at it... Something ripe with carbon, no doubt... }:^)~ YARR! Capt'n (likes to grab boobs) Corrupt |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
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Those are important thoughts, but if you look at the E90, you'll see that it has both an internal and an external screen. So, you could use it without opening it. You only need to open it if you want to use the larger screen OR the qwerty keyboard. If it had T9, you could even enter text on the external keypad. So, for quick and dirty work, you could use the external screen, dpad, and phone keypad ... and only need to use the bigger screen and qwerty keyboard for more extensive work. |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I appreciate your vision!
I'm pretty open minded and willing to try anything once. Sadly, I own neither a N8x0, and N900 :P, or an E90, so I'm trying to visualize using all of these units without the benefit of even having touched one! Thankfully, a heartless internet full of pictures and a lovable community full of verve make it a far easier endeavour. Your description of the outer screen *does* make me consider my original position from an alternate perspective. Certainly, for many things (including widgets) this would be tremendously useful. Check the time, read an IM, etc, all from the smaller front window, without worrying about opening the device. But besides protecting the larger inner screen, what do you think the major benefits to this design are? }:^)~ YARR! Capt'n |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
Another wish: A reasonable quality camera sensor on the BACK of the device.
It's not that I want the IT to replace a high quality camera. I don't. However having a wirelessly connected (wimax, wifi) device that can take pictures is a more useful feature than initially meets the eye. Also, camera sensors are CHEAP. 1) You can shoot quick pictures to share with people during an IM session. 2) You can shoot quick pictures to share with people in an email. Because you don't have to be 'online' to do this, this could be anywhere, right before you skydive, at the edge of a great waterfall, or on a beautiful beach. 3) You can switch between the front and rear cameras, to share your *perspective* with someone during video chat. The N800 was capable of this with a simple rotation, though I think personally I prefer something more built in (it's also seems more intuitive for the casual user). 4) You can use it in conjunction with GPS with services like Google Panoramio, or other. 5) You can quickly capture video of an event using this, without much trouble. 6) You can quickly capture a photo of an event, without much trouble. 7) Using the processing power of the N900, the soft-cam could be surprisingly full featured, with a simple to user interface, that could easily rival the features of far more expensive cameras. Hell it could even offer direct touch-ups, using the stylus, or a simple interface after the picture was taken. 8) etc }:^)~ YARR! Corrupt |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
You can also shoot barcodes with better quality...
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
@Bundyo
That is such a FABULOUS idea! I was thinking of the new wave of algorithms that can recognize faces and even geographical locations, but didn't mention it because I didn't see a useful purpose on the tablet (limited CPU and mem). Recognizing barcodes *is* tremendously useful, though. In fact recognition in general opens some pretty cool doors, a lot of it the N900 should be well capable of. For one, warehouse workers would probably get a kick out of a bar-code reading system, but it would also be INCREDIBLY useful for the casual user. Imagine pointing it the barcode of an item in a shop and getting all sorts of info on that item? Take it a step further, install an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on the tablet, and point the device at a storefront, a label, a menu, or a passage in a book, and have the tablet do an internet search on that very topic! Not only is the device now 'location aware' but it is visually so as well. I'm all for a camera on the back. With phones, it's a novelty, with the open general-purpose capabilities of the tablet, it's a revolution. }:^)~ YARR! Cappy C |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
The problem at the moment is that I don't tend to see any magazines, etc., which have these 2D barcodes on them. It would be cool, but only once the barcodes are being used.
Not so sure about the 1D barcodes on items in shops, is there a large database in the sky listing what is what? For books it would work well as it encodes the ISBN (I wrote some MATLAB code to scan in 1D barcodes and was going to port it to Python so I could take my Nxxx out with me and know whether I already had a given book, but the N810 only has the one camera, facing the wrong way, so I've lost interest for the time being). |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
Indeed; I have those MATLAB codes about somewhere, and meant to work at them. Thanks all, for reminding me of that little project. And yes, it (along with everything else) makes the fixed N810 cam look like a really bad idea; I'm more a rotate fan than two-camera, but either one is way better.
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
@Benson
I'd just like to thank you for that little intro you gave me to electrical engineering back in the 'sound fidelity' thread. I got an intro to electronics book a few days ago. I just learned about p-type semiconductors and they blew my mind. @Lardman I'm guessing that 1D codes are the kind you find on beans (a bunch of vertical stripes read with a thin line) and a 2D code is some sort of monochrome pattern spread over a quad. Is this correct? If it is, I've seen some 2D codes on various blogs of late, but never on packaging. Perhaps I don't shop enough. }:^)~ YARR! Sappy Cappy |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I've seen them on packaging, mainly on technology stuff, also on PCBs.
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
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EDIT: Here's the E90, so you can see how the hinges look/work, and see the keypad layout. You'll notice that there's only a few function buttons, MOSTLY related to the phone functions themselves (it looks like brightness, volume, etc. ... and then the currency symbols and curly braces). Going with what I said about the control keys in my first post about this, if you were to change the "Chr" buttons to "Ctrl" and visa versa, then that'd be the only keyboard change I think I'd need. E90 pictures |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
You mostly see 2D bar codes on shipping labels (UPS uses them, I think). I've seen a few on food labels though (mostly if it's actual Asian import food, in the Asian section of a market ... as I believe the 2D codes are more extensively used there than in the Americas or Europe).
If you're not quite sure what they look like.. Imagine a square filled with TV snow/static. Or a square that almost looks like a checkerboard laid out by van Gogh (ie. a sort of random or insane pattern to the checkerboard, instead of being just plain old diagonals). |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
It just has to have a scroll wheel on the side to scroll through menus or scroll down documents and web pages. Pressing the scroll wheel can also activate a menu or do something. This would make the NIT easier to navigate with one hand.
Instead of including other usb ports, video out, etc, just have a docking station with audio video in/out, power, wired ethernet (not all of us have wireless working correctly at work, etc), regular USB ports for keyboards, mice, etc. -K |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I *love* the idea of a dock. Certainly, a dock is bulky and not revered by all, however a dock provides some interesting capabilities.
1) As you mentioned, a dock opens the possibility of additional connectors. The idea of purchasing a dock specifically for a HOME THEATER setup, is a pretty novel concept. In this way, the N810 could be used for video out, or as a storage drive for media. 2) A dock is also a more attractive way to 'store' the tablet when not in use and promotes a single place to leave it. 3) A dock is slightly easier (if designed well) to dump the tablet in for charging rather than plugging in a cord. I often find that I have to anchor my cords so that they don't fall behind my desk, or my shelf, or stand which is less than ideal. For me, the dock would be tremendous. 4) The dock would be a completely OPTIONAL accessory, providing the user with choice. If you don't like docks, don't buy it. 5) If the dock used a standardized USB connector (or something similar), NOKIA can take the first steps to standardizing a dock connection type rather than the ubiquitous iPod doc being used in tons of devices. This is pretty huge. }:^)~ YARR! C-to-the-O-to-the-R-R-U-P-T |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
My thoughts:
TV out for presentations/watching videos OMAP35xx so we have some more grunt and enable PowerVR (IVA we can do ourselves as it's in/is the DSP now) Keep the screen res, perhaps make it slightly physically larger Keep keyboard, perhaps give us more of a gap between the top & screen Sort out the LCD controller (i.e. get rid of it) so that we don't have any bandwidth issues. |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
Ah ok, fine by me :)
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I'm not really sure what the argument against having a single face (no bezel), but I'm all for it! I don't really mind the sunken screen, but the unit would look so much more posh with a flat, glossy face.
I follow the 'simplicity' mantra. I'm stoked that the tablet is capable of so many things, but it shouldn't look like a box with a billion switches (who here loves hyperbole?). Clean lines and a simple agenda (like internet tablet -- but better) would improve an already impressive design. The N96 has a really nice look about it. I'm betting/hoping that the N900 will follow suit. }:^)~ YARR! CapCor |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
Yeah, yeah, what he said! :)
}:^)~ YARR! Corruptillious |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
A very funny coincidence. Apparently Bundyo and Nokia think/are alike. Barcodes, here we come... :)
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/03/g...our-cellphone/ }:^)~ YARR! Cappers |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I really, really want a robust, sturdy device that can take some abuse, and with good buttons. The 770 was closer. My n800, not soo much.
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I prefer the soft case actually (e.g. n810 one), I was always a bit worried that I'd do something to the unprotected back of the 770.
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Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
Shouldn't it be possible to adapt the hard case to the N810/N900? All you would really need is something that is shaped like a 'C' when looking at it from above. It is a solid piece that 'hooks' around the sides of the unit and has an open back. This way, you can slide the unit over the front (to protect the screen) or over the back during regular use.
If the cover is designed cleverly enough, it should still allow for operation using the slide out keyboard while being on the unit's back. Even if Nokia doesn't produce this themselves, I'm sure there will be a demand for this sort of thing, and should be easily manufactured (once the dimensions and proportions are determined). Units that have a bulge (N800, N810WME) will likely be a bit more tricky. The N810WME bulge is tiny, though, so it should pose much of a problem. }:^)~ YARR! |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I recently bought an N810 because I felt it was an amazing piece of hardware supported by a mostly open source community. So far have I not been disappointed, but like everything, it can always be better:
A) Change the memory/filesystem layout to be as follows: Internal "MTD" memory to be used for bootloaders, recovery utils, & misc diagnostics only. The boot loader should have adequate options for any future OS's including those not sanctioned by Nokia. The recovery utilities should at the very least allow for complete rebuilding/installation of Nokia OS on the MicroSD listed below. Other diagnostics should help troubleshoot possible hardware problems that might be confused with software or OS problems. OS then lives on a removable MicroSD. This can be located in a less accessible area such as in the battery compartment. Ship the unit with a microSD and OS pre-installed on it. The size should be such that there is enough room for the OS, map data and a reasonable amount of user files. Users can upgrade to larger microSD disks if they wish. This arrangement makes backups, alternative OS/versions, disaster recovery, easy by just plugging in different cards and booting or restoring. The MicroSD should probably have a native Linux file system on it. If possible, go back to a single full sized SD slot for the "removable" memory. I feel this arrangement makes the most sense in that it provides "bricking" prevention by discouraging modifications to the internal MTD memory, removes memory wear issues by putting everything else on removable (as in replaceable) memory cards while providing for a large enough, and expandable root file system, then providing a more industry standard and larger capacity potential removable storage. B) As others mentioned, USB charging would be nice, but these are the issues with it as I understand: 1) USB Current is limited to 500ma. This means a slow charge rate. A very slow charge rate if unit is then in a high battery-drain mode at the same time. 2) Will there be a problem with polarity reversal going from USB host to client modes? Hopefully there already safeguards built in the existing units to prevent damage to the IT or USB devices. 3) If USB charging is worked out, it might be decided to eliminate the tiny Nokia power connector and charge the unit from USB only. In this case the USB micro-to-"A" adapter cable should be modified to accept the charger (perhaps a from a standard USB "A") while providing a separate "A" connector for USB accessories. Perhaps the charger can then provide a true 5V USB power to the accessory when operated in this mode? If the dual "A" cable arrangement is chosen, then the unit could accept two USB devices when running from batteries only, assuming there is enough power to run both of them. C) More RAM memory. 256 Megs would be very nice and speed unit up a little too since Linux has a good memory caching scheme. D) A better camera, but with more efficient processor support so that when used as a web cam, it doesn't use up all the processor power. Perhaps it can get help from the DSP module in the OMAP? A higher resolution camera could then do "face" or "motion" tracking to produce a lower resolution window "cut-out" of the full image to stream. This would be real slick! E) Increase the battery life. One of the reasons I chose to purchase an N810 over an ASUS EEE-PC was battery life (It sucks on the Asus). The goal should be to make the unit last a day with normal use. Can this be done with better power management and/or by the use of multicore processors? Of course I realize that LCD backlighting is one of the most major power drains, and perhaps not much can be done here unless there are some breakthroughs in LCD & LED technologies. For those wishing for inductive charging, I doubt we have room for enough iron core to be able to transfer enough power, but I could be wrong. F) Put more buttons on the front of the unit. Make some of them a little easier to push for better game playing. G) Either make the handwriting work without having to shift for different charactor/symbol sets, or eliminate it completely. It is not very useable as it is. How about some voice recognition software instead? F) Choose hardware that we can have fully open-source driver access to. Proprietary binary drivers are very troublesome for a Linux system in the long term and should not be used. G) If you choose to install a "real" mobile phone radio, make sure it is an open source supported one. Do not make "deals" with service providers like Apple did. Notice I purchased an N810, not an Apple iPhone or ipod-Touch! H) Although the size of the device (N810) is just about perfect for me, if a slightly larger display can be squeezed into the N900 without making the whole thing much bigger, let's do it. If you do make the whole unit a little bigger, put in a bigger battery. Others have said that the size of the original N770 was good. Maybe so if it is filled up with a larger screen and enough battery to power it. I) Move the +/-/FS buttons so that they are easier to use when keyboard is extended J) Do a multitouch touch screen unless Apple has it too patent encumbered. K) Change the mobile mount to be a window mount (like the Nokia HH-12), the built-in GPS receiver needs to be up at the window to be useful. ---- Things to not mess up: A) Sound is great for such a small device. Leave it alone. I also like the standard-compatible 3.5mm headphone jack with the optional 4th terminal microphone capability. The inclusion of speakers set this product apart from the many "Video-MP3" players that are out there. Keep all this. B) Keep the role switching host-mode / client-mode USB port C) Keep the GPS receiver, make improvements to it if you can D) Keep a physical keyboard, but entertain better ways to do it. E) Keep Bluetooth F) Keep the kickstand or at least something that performs this same function. G) keep the stylus & cradle for it. H) Keep the unit rugged. ------- Things I don't care about: A) I personally don't care about the FM radio (either receiver or the mythical transmitter) B) The soft case (as compared to the older hard one) is just fine with me too. The hard case just makes the unit bigger in practice. The soft case protects the unit from scratching, the rest of the unit is rugged enough to not need a hard case. C) I don't think I care about all that auto-rotating screen and accelerometer stuff that Apple uses. It seems like it was be a processor-intensive annoyance in the long run. |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
Some warnings about a docking station:
Historically when a docking station is made an optional accessory, it is then priced too expensive and few people buy it. The exception is when the device then becomes so popular (i.e.: iPod) that there are lots of 3rd parties making low cost docks for it. If too much functionality is transfered to the dock, then one starts to feel they must carry the dock around with them too. It kind of ruins the portability of the device. I like the idea of lots of single-purpose USB accessories instead. You take what ever single accessory you need for the task with you at any time. This would typically mean "no accessories". |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
@wartstew
Wow! What a post! I wish I had the time to reply to the whole thing, but its just so complete (read: really, really, long! :)) Actually, I think your suggestions are amazing. You have a keen understanding of practicality and it shows through your ideas. I honestly don't think that there's a one that I would change. I especially like the RAM suggestion. It's been suggested before, but I feel that this is the single most useful factor for the expansion of the tablet functionality. With enough ram (256 being a bare minimum these days, considering the large number of 'desktop' apps that are finding there way onto the tablets) it should significantly reduce swapping and likely result in a speed increase *and* increase of battery life. Of course this assumes that holding something in memory is less expensive power-wise than getting/setting something to the drive. I agree about the docking station. It should be a thing of convenience and NOT evolve into a requirement. I think I would be happy with a few external connectors (powered USB hub, etc) but nothing that the system couldn't do on its own with the right cables. Hey, if the docking station accepted Lithium AAs, it could charge the N810 or greatly extend its usability when away from an outlet. A useful feature when on a long plane trip, for example. }:^)~ YARR! Magistrate Corrupt |
Re: What woud you realistically like to see in the N900?
I would like to see speech recognition, like Dragon Naturally Speaking. Then I could "say" my emails and use my voice for MSN Messenger (ok, Gizmo).
I have had my N810 for a few months now, and I still do not know how to use everything or what is available for me to download. I need better documentation. I would also like to see some "web" places which help me find compatible "video news" and "audio news" sites. Many of the videos available on the web will not play on the N810 (too slow?). |
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