maemo.org - Talk - N900 specs revealed

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Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by sachin007 (Post 290180)

We totally agree the screen size for a maemo phone.... not for a maemo tablet. Please understand the difference.

Thanks

Oh I do understand the difference, and given that this thread is about a rumor that clearly states that it will be a smartphone, I treat the rumor as such.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralAntilles (Post 290190)

It was around 400,000 units shipped in August 2007 (770 and N800 only, and this was just as the N800's price drop was hitting), I'd say we're well over 1 million units by now (perhaps 2).

Any links for that?

Anyway, still a drop in an ocean compared to the phones I've mentioned, even compared to each one seperately. And really, as ragnar mentioned - if devices with 4.1" screens would be thing customers desire, there would be tons more of that sort. I don't see that. And that Nokia is apparently moving away from that size is really telling enough.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by chlettn (Post 290039)

Quite frankly, current tablets were neither fish nor meat. Too small to be really useful as a productivity device, too big to be taken whereever you go. And by now, they really just don't stand a chance as dedicated web-browsing devices against the newest smartphones which combine good enough web browsing with a ton of other features in a package just small enough to fit in a jeans pocket (which the current tablets certainly don't).

I wish it were possible to put more than one thanks on a post (or on a specific paragraph, even).

"Too small to be really useful as a productivity device, too big to be taken whereever you go."

Exactly. Though, I wouldn't say "too big", just that without being a phone, they become redundant when you're wanting to travel REALLY light, at the point where you want to carry JUST one device, even just one pocketable, the current/previous NITs become "too much to be taken where ever you go".

For me, a single NIT/Phone device (like the one leaked/speculated in this thread), that was still as big as an N810, would be fine. It only becomes "too big" when you combine it with a second pocketable device (having to carry both a phone and a NIT).

And, while I'm HIGHLY disappointed that that the NIT would get smaller, I have to plainly admit that what I miss in carrying my G1 is not the NIT's size ... it's the more extensive access to the Linux layer, and everything that Linux can do. The leaked/speculated device may turn out to be great (though, there are a couple of Android apps I've grown highly attached to...).

But, otherwise, I find the sentiment of the quoted paragraph to be pretty spot on.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by chlettn (Post 290193)

Oh I do understand the difference, and given that this thread is about a rumor that clearly states that it will be a smartphone, I treat the rumor as such.

Any links for that?

Anyway, still a drop in an ocean compared to the phones I've mentioned, even compared to each one seperately. And really, as ragnar mentioned - if devices with 4.1" screens would be thing customers desire, there would be tons more of that sort. I don't see that. And that Nokia is apparently moving away from that size is really telling enough.

Well as i posted elsewhere... nokia got it right with the 7710 way before anyone else. Then they used the same logic u are using now and look where they are in relation to touchscreens. Although i wont say they will be big, but i dont understand why they wont do it because it is a simple as to replace the guts of the n810 with those specs.... should be pretty straight forward.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdFusion (Post 289829)

As far as I can see the n900 is a 5mm thicker IPhone which is because of the keyboard. Not bad a trade off I'd say.
http://sizeasy.com/page/size_compari...N900-vs-iphone

Further comparisons (N900/Rover/RX-51 vs. N800 vs. N810 vs. iPhone vs. G1):

http://sizeasy.com/page/size_compari...ia-Rover-vs-G1

http://bleb.org/software/maemo/rover-size.jpg

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by switchfiend (Post 290057)

If this leaked picture is actually of the tablet:

http://media.cellpassion.com/post/14...s_nokrover.JPG

Then I really question the decision to shrink the display, as it looks like the current sized screen could still fit (based on the amount of space between the screen and the edge of the device).

http://www.cellpassion.com/news/2009...et-tablet.aspx

The keyboard in that picture is an abomination! *HURL*

No, I wont buy a device with that 3 row keyboard. Sorry. I'll keep my G1. And, if that's the case, then the only Maemo device I would buy would be a netbook sized one (since, as I've already said, many times, I wont carry two pocketables).

Man that keyboard looks awful.

I can live with the 3.5" screen on a Maemo phone. I wont tolerate that keyboard, though. Nokia: the G1, and many HTC phones, have shown that you can put a comfortable/usable 5 row keyboard on a device that small. Don't ignore the wisdom in that.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by switchfiend (Post 290057)

If this leaked picture is actually of the tablet:

http://media.cellpassion.com/post/14...s_nokrover.JPG

But, at least they put the control key in the correct location (I get really tired of mobile devices putting the control key on the left ... making it REALLY hard to use all of the important control-key combinations)

Re: N900 specs revealed

How disappointing this whole thread is. I for one had no problem pocketing my N810. I loved the large size of the screen. Having recently purchased a 5800, I can say I'm not greatly enamored with these smaller screens for browsing. It can be done, sure, but it's not pleasant, like it is on the N810.

With a screen size no bigger than the N97 and generally being happy with Symbian for most of my daily tasks, why exactly would I buy an N900? I bought the N810 because it had a big screen. Great for GPS in the car, for looking at recipes in the kitchen, all sorts of things. Teensy screens are useless for that stuff.

Secondly, I'm displeased with the direction Maemo 5 is going. I liked the UI elements. They would have been annoying were the full screen mode not available, but I like having a task bar/launch menu of sorts. Not having it is one of my biggest annoyances with S60.

Of course, take my displeasure with all this with a grain of salt, as I wasn't pleased with the reduction in size from the E61 to the E71. I liked the bigger screen. Maybe I'm weird, not liking to hold the screen inches from my face to read it well without having enormous text.

The sad thing is that if the N900 was an updated N810 with a phone bolted on I'd probably have bought one instead of an N97. It would be better for my use, presuming battery life wouldn't be an issue.

What I really don't understand is why Nokia would want to put more into the already overly crowded smartphone space. Between their phones and all the others out there there's already plenty of players there. There is no new ground to tread, other than putting Maemo on a smartphone.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Finally, to add something (I think) to all the other points made so far: Maemo needs an infusion of new users and developers to grow the ecosystem. This device, combined with Harmattan down the road, are the proverbial "it".

We're going to see a much bigger community (of both users and developers). For a much larger segment of the market, I think this is a real iPhone competitor. Although, I think it'll probably more compete with the G1 - and perhaps even beat it.

It's interesting to note, as well, that the G1's sole network provider in the UK is... T-Mobile.

Whether it meets my use-cases (occasional ebook, in-car nav, video on the move), I've no idea. Initial suspicions are that it's too bulky to use as my primary phone (and Vodafone would only give me a few quid off my current contract to go phoneless, so it wasn't worth it); that it could look hideous with the dimensions given (basically as brick-like and uninspiring as the G1) and that my optimism over software development will be short-lived.

Re: N900 specs revealed

I got a little bit bored so googled a method to roughly compare the size of the screen to each other. Well, here is the result, it isn't really that accurate but enough to feel the different. Second picture is N900's screen compared to n97, for some reason I really do feel that n900 is the n97's killer.

Re: N900 specs revealed

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeraldKo (Post 289959)

Do you actually, like, use the product? The taskbar on the side is nearly irrelevant since the issue is how big the app is in FULL Screen Mode. When they're in an app, I'm sure most users go full-screen. Certainly they do for e-book reading and videos and anything else that they aren't in for just a little time.

Nokia used to make two different types of mobile devices: phones and tablets. What's happened, it seems to me, is that our hardware choices have been shrunk, now that Nokia makes something like everyone else. (If Nokia is coming out with a tablet, as well as this "N900," then I retract these points.) It seems to me that Maemo has been diverted into competing with the iPhone, the G1, and the myriad other devices with that screen size. Yes, the software is open, but the hardware is just another me-too. Nokia is trying to compete on a narrow, established playing field -- hence, for example, it has a higher-megapixel autofocus camera, just like the next iPhone is rumored to have.

I would guess that Nokia just decided that the niche the Tablet was playing in was too small. Unfortunately, that decision abandons lots of us, including, specifically, me. The N800/N810 had a just-large-enough screen for comfortably reading e-books, watching videos, etc. In fact, I don't look forward to web browsing, or even to XTerm or a spreadsheet, on a smaller screen, either. And I was happy to have a Tablet that was a different unit from my phone, which I like having really small.

One thing that's a shame is that Nokia never really gave the Tablet form factor/concept a fair shot. The interface was never smooth for mass adoption, they didn't put in enough resources to make the browser as good as it should have been, and they omitted obvious necessities, like a high-quality synch-able personal information manager. Furthermore, the Tablets weren't even available in almost any stores, at least here in the US. With a good, fast browser, a smoother interface, and hands-on availability, who knows how much better it would have sold?

I understand the desire to compete in that big niche. But the compromise that's been made will, for the meantime, keep me very attached to my N800. When it comes time to get something new, if there really are no internet tablets out there -- to me meaning something sufficiently portable on my belt, but with a big enough screen -- the field will be wide open. While the maemo software and ecosystem may differ from the iPhone's and Android's, I'm going to have to give all of them a level-playing-field look. I hope there's a real Internet Tablet/eReader/MovieViewer/Computer alternative with a 4"+ screen by then.

100 per cent totally agree!