maemo.org - Talk - N900 specs revealed

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Re: N900 specs revealed

I've been reading this thread all day and assessing what I use my tablet for and how a smaller screen will impact that. In order of my usage:

Net browsing, smaller screen more side scrolling, pretty annoying already
Watching films, holding it closer isnt an option, its downright uncomfortable
Reading books, totally impossible on a smaller screen
Office tasks, much faster in the n900 I'm sure but pointless because I cant see more than 2 lines of text at a time

All in all I'm more likely to buy mobile broadband for my phone and teather my n810 by bluetooth. I was waiting for data to be intergrated but its just not worth it. There is nothing that the n900 is usable for (i.e. all the above uses are out) that my current mobile doesnt do.

Re: N900 specs revealed

I'm honestly giggling at how incensed some people are getting over 0.6". If, in fact, 3.5" is "useless," "dealbreaker," etc then 4.1" has to have been pretty marginal to begin with. I completely disagree. Apologies to those of you with poor eyesight -- honestly maybe you should be looking at a bigger device. Someone said they are tired of carrying around three devices (phone, camera, tablet) and I'm right there with you. This or the n97 honestly would do a good job of being that "one" device, and it's going to take some tradeoffs to get there. I'm thanking my lucky stars that the resolution didn't need to drop in order to get there.

I'm still confused about the dpad though. What will I use to scroll around? Vim keybindings? ;)

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by mullf (Post 289929)

Since the specs we have have the hardware keyboard, accelermoter, 3G, and GPS, that implies it is the HIGHER end device. Would it make sense for the higher end device to have a smaller screen and the lower end device to have a bigger screen?

Yes. If "lower end" would be for e-book reading, internet browsing (simple Wi-Fi, not 3G) and multimedia. I don't need GPS, accelerometer, hardware keyboard (although due to software evolution this becomes necessity, not luxury - and if this so let it be useful, *big* keyboard). Camera would be nice, but don't need more than 2-3Mpx (for me - pixel voyeur - examples from N97 were crap) + if I could have access to RAW files it would be perfect. Keep headphones jack 3.5mm; bigger device, bigger battery; etc., etc.

As Texrat wrote: N800 with few tweaks and better hardware.

Idea of such device was discussed here many times with longing :)

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by spock (Post 289966)

I'm still confused about the dpad though. What will I use to scroll around? Vim keybindings? ;)

I'm guessing that the keyboard includes cursor keys

Re: N900 specs revealed

[QUOTE=sachin007;289947 But nokia has pulled me so far into this wonderful device worlds and just threw me over the cliff.[/QUOTE]

Clasify your statements nokia has done nothing to you nor thrown you over the clif, these are all rumors and leaks nothing official even though it comfirms some official info from the SDK. no reason to loose your exams for that reason.

Quote from peter
(and no, we have not announced any product with Maemo 5).

so we have to wait for the announcements we might be in for surprises then.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Well, I seem to have lost my N810 to my missus, who is using it a lot to read pdf's etc. on flight/train journeys.
I think if nokia does decide to reduce the screen size, they will lose a lot of customers.
Certainly the only reason my wife has the N810 is so I can get the new one (whenever it comes out!).
It all depends on the device's usability at the end of the day.

Maybe a smaller screen will make it unusable, or maybe a combination of auto rotation for pdf viewing, etc. may make it smaller and easier to use?
Surely nokia will have thought this through in the design?

It's difficult to comment without any hardware to make a judgement on.
I think it's going to be a combination of disappointment and amazement, but given the amount of waiting and hype we have had for it I guess that's to be expected.
I suppose a holographic display is out of the question ;-)

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by fms (Post 289953)

It has been my hope that the whole reason for opening the Maemo project to the public was to observe how people will use Maemo devices and deduce the main use cases from these observations. To me (personally) it seems to be a much better idea than mandating a bunch of use cases and forcing them onto potential users.

Reading books is certainly one of the main use cases, if you take into account that FBReader has been downloaded 13652 from maemo.org alone. And yes, 4.1" is definitely better than 3.5" for reading books.

Again, while we do not know what display makes sense for watching movies, it seems to be a commonly held opinion that 4.1" is better for watching movies than 3.5".

The third use case I mentioned (web browsing) is officially the main use case for the current crop of internet tablets. As it also loses some experience quality from shrinking the display size, I can't help but wonder whether it is still among the main use cases for the upcoming device(s)?

Okay, I'll rest my case since we anyway can't tell you what display/device size which Maemo device has. Obviously, bigger is better when it comes to reading eBooks or watching movies. Maemo devices will fit into your pocket. That remains unchanged. Nokia has a software (Series 40) for really slim and small devices. No news here. We also have Symbian for smartphones. No change there either. And netbooks don't fit into your pocket (at least not mine). If we want to take Maemo and open source to more consumers (and therefore ensure the future of Maemo), then we need to find the sweet spot for the intended product concepts supported by Maemo. When you have seen the Maemo 5 lead device, experienced the UI in WVGA, seen the hardware-accelerated graphics on a processor that delivers 3 times more performance at 20% less battery consumption (according to TI), then a judgment is justified. Currently, we are all looking at some rumours on the internet.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by spock (Post 289966)

I just wanted to say the same...it's quite amazing how worked up people get over a somewhat smaller screen. Seriously, if ebook reading is the number one use case and your eyesight is failing, how about getting something with a 6"+ eInk screen? Even prolonged staring at 4.1" will be bad for your eyes.

And for the people saying it will totally be impossible to read a book now: I haven't used FBReader in a while, but I'm fairly certain it offers different font size options. Choose a bigger one, problem solved.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadmalc (Post 289972)

I suppose a holographic display is out of the question ;-)

Finally something I can confirm. Yes, no holographic display with Maemo 5.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by spock (Post 289966)

I'm honestly giggling at how incensed some people are getting over 0.6". If, in fact, 3.5" is "useless," "dealbreaker," etc then 4.1" has to have been pretty marginal to begin with.

.6" is anything but insignificant for this sort of device.

And if you're in anyway referring to any of my comments, kindly note I did acknowledge that for my use case (GPS) I noted the N810 screen just barely worked for me... hence 3.5" being a deal breaker.

YMMV.