Re: N900 Specifications
 

Where did you read no digital compass? It's fairly sad that is missing.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

I thought quim was playing with an acelerometer?

Did I miss something on the specs page?

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Agree, it's not so expensive and will make it run much faster, specially for heavy websites.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

As I understand, it isn't possible to do so but they try to achieve this using 768MB nand memory as swap so in teoria we do have 1 GB of Ram. Correct me if I'm wrong

Re: N900 Specifications
 

This thing is freaking fat the more I stare at the promo photo at roughly 20mm. Its in no way a cool looking phone like the iphone or n97 but yeah I know, its not something most people on this forum care about. As a young student its a bit of a bummer though.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

The first time I took an iPhone it stroke me how thin it is. It felt alien in my hand and i didn't like it. I think that 18mm is pretty normal thickness for a phone to feel good in my grip. My current phone is thicker, so it's an improvement for me ;) I guess it's a matter of taste, but I really think one should try it out in person before deciding.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Has it been confirmed that the 768MB of "virtual memory" is space swap? because there is also something called compcache which is a different type of swap that is getting pretty popular in the linux community....

thanks,

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Accelerometer = vertical orientation

Compass = horizontal orientation

It' not the same. For most stuff the accmeter is enough, but it does not replace the compass.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Compass + accelerometer = Augmented reality w/ low CPU\bandwidth usage

Otherwise you'll have to process the movement from the video feed or something.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

To further clarify the concept, please, look at this video from D. Pogue :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBzfQ1qoFcQ

Cheers

P.S.
It is outdated when talking about services, but it is very funny about big/clunky phones...

Re: N900 Specifications
 

comparison with nokia e71

http://twitpic.com/fkmbe

Re: N900 Specifications
 

on nokia.es it says that the n900 does have a 3.6" screen^^
http://www.nokia.es/productos/movile...teclado-qwerty
mistake?? or does the spanish version have a bigger screen?? xD

Re: N900 Specifications
 

It would be nice to see what the chip set is. Even the wireless chip set.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

ccmcphe: Any specific commands that one could run from the command line to find out what drivers are being used? The community guys at Nokia World might be able to answer the chipset question by telling you the loaded drivers...

For now, post over in the N900 Questions thread if you have any questions about the new device that you think could be answered by the community members with their hands on one of these devices...

Re: N900 Specifications
 

dmesg and lsmod should give a hint somewhere, no?

Re: N900 Specifications
 

I'm also very disappointed about the lack of a digital compass, and I suppose for someone very enterprising it should be possible to add a bluetooth dongle... smart bluetooth chip acting as serial device + microcontroller or PLD + ADC + analog compass should do it. Pre digitized compass is too expensive I think.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Not all that strange. I doubt the N900 can saturate an 802.11g link in any real-world task, and it certainly doesn't have room for multiple antennas for MIMO. The only real benefit would be the ability to operate on 2.4GHz n-only networks, but those are practically non-existent anyway.



So, did anyone catch this detail in the specs from forum.nokia.com:
Where DataViz is the shop that makes Documents To Go for basically every platform except Maemo 4. I hadn't heard any mention of this yet (although maybe I just overlooked?), but it looks like great news for business-type users.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

And the dongle is affixed somewhere on the device? That'd be neat, but kind of annoying that it:
- costs extra
- is optional to the device (when profiling your audience)
- needs separate power

I have no idea of how much AR apps would really matter in the realworld without a headgear-type setup. I think it'd be awkward to take out your smartphone and aim it around and around when you need to use it ;) BUT.. rumor is, Apple is going to make this 'a feature' in their next OS increment. So I'm expecting the community here to ***** about how apple didn't invent AR but profit from hyping it up and taking up all the limelight (and secretly envy Apple for doing so).

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Augmented Reality is already embedded in the Yelp app on the iPhone.
I hear that the iPhone compass swings alot....

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Yes, for some reason Apple is holding back all AR related apps. Yelp got through because they hid the AR feature as an easter egg (you engage it by shaking the phone 3 times).

I don't know about the compass being unfaithful, maybe it should drink less.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

MySky works GREAT on Android. It's been available from the start. I REALLY wish it was possible (i.e. there was a compass) for the N900. :-(

Re: N900 Specifications
 

does no one know if it supports ALS (alternate line service) or not?

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Please forgive me if it's been discussed already in this (lengthy) thread, but can anyone tell me what the Proximity Sensor might be (and might be for)? It's listed alongside the "3D Accelerometer" in "Additional features", so presumably it's not related to Bluetooth proximity detection. Or camera auto-focus. Or is it?

Re: N900 Specifications
 

I believe is so that if you aren't around the tablet, it dims or turns off the screen.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

@ralphb: the proximity sensor on iphone is located near the earphone slot just above the screen. It detects nearby objects (1-5cm from the screen?) and afaik it's ONLY used to detect if the user is holding up the phone to their ear\face. If they are, then the screen (and touchscreen) is immediately turned off to avoid unintentional input from your face and saves power.

I believe it's used similarly here (I saw some sensor 'holes' around the N900's earphone opening, one of them could be it).

Re: N900 Specifications
 

There are 4 components on the front face of the N900 near the earpiece: the LED, the proximity sensor, the ambient light sensor, and the VGA camera.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

I posted a question in the wiki about power for extended host-mode sessions, and the answer from Jaffa included a statement that Nokia does not support host mode.

Do you have any further info on OTG operation?

EDIT: My apologies to Jaffa, who was using the term "support" more precisely than many other contributors to these forums. It often seems to mean merely that two things can cohabit without actually blowing each other up.

qole has found that answering "Of course" doesn't quite cover the subject. See his post at http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...5&postcount=88

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Please see my answer in this post.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

As GeneralAntilles points out in the thread qole links to, I'm not being sloppy with language here - and thought the difference between these two statements would be clear. Perhaps I should have made the first and the inverse of the second:

1. Nokia does not support host mode.
2. The N900 does not permit host mode.

The word "support" in the question was not the word the questioner was looking for - it's too vague and has too many meanings in IT.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Just had 10 minutes to play with a N900 in the Nokia Store, Helsinki.

I wish I could have had more time but there were people waiting behind me and my wife's continuous "can we go now" was starting to bring me out of my trance :(

Overall very, very impressed and I will not be cancelling my pre-order :) Switching between desktops, applications and the dashboard is smooth as silk and very intuitive. The build quality is good and the screen is responsive and very sharp. The UI graphics are also pretty sweet and with the user customisation potential I think we can safely say that Nokia have taken it to the next level - chew on that Apple1:p

The only problems I noticed were:

1. YouTube videos did not stream well over wifi - JKK posted a very good video which also shows the same problem

http://www.umpcportal.com/2009/09/jk...o-and-podcast/

2. There is some v-sync tearing visible now and then - scrolling through the panoramic desktops and playing back a video I shot with the device

3. Whilst zooming in and out during browsing the phone had problems keeping up with the rendering.

4. Activating links in the browser was a little tricky - but I think that most of that was me not being used to the touchscreen - I also didn't have time to play with the "mouse cursor" thingy

All of the above should be fixable in firmware updates. I do not know if there will be a firmware upgrade before the production models ship (probably) but my feeling is that the N900 will need a couple of decent firmware upgrades before it really starts to fly.

Also, the device could have been better set up as a demo model. For example there were no video clips, photos or music library pre-installed - which is pretty poor given the its capabilities in those areas.

In my opinion, Nokia firmware/application development and support and community application development are the factors that will make the difference between this being a very good or a truly great device. Let there be no doubt (I know there's not much here :)) the N900 and Maemo have enormous potential.

Roll on October :cool:

Re: N900 Specifications
 

I tried out the N900 as well.

1. Did not notice vsync tearing, even though I used to want 85+ Hz CRT screens, minimum. Maybe I was lucky and didn't trigger it. The worst I did was load a large site in the background while panning the desktop.

2. Panning the desktop jerks a bit, but it doesn't look like a performance problem. More like it's swapping too aggressively and can't load the next screen fast enough. FPS seemed completely smooth.

3. Had some trouble with the touchscreen, probably because I like my 5800 so much. The 5800 screen is just so insensitive you can rest your finger on it and just so sensitive touching it with your nail triggers an action. The N900 was so sensitive I think my presses were registering in between my nail and thumb, which my fingers didn't expect. I guess more sensitivity is better, but I hope it doesn't strain my thumb more.

4. Mouse cursor needs optimization. I had trouble triggering it before I realized it only activated at the bottom of the left side, not the whole left side. Even then it was hit and miss at first, until I got used to it.

5. Was unable to use the scrollbar at least in the browser. This is bad. I don't want to kinetic scroll through meters of text and playlists, even though it's obviously better for gradual scrolling. I wonder if there's already a bug filed about this.

6. Demo people need more training. They didn't even remember how to activate the main menu or ask me if I want to preorder (already have).

7. Tried xterm. Don't care about fourth row of keys, but it REALLY badly needs another column of keys labeled / TAB -, so please, please fix this in the next devices. (Esc and | behind shift on the same keys too)

8. Seems pretty awesome overall, but you should ship a 5-10 line UI guide with it if you don't want idiots ranting about how much easier the iPhone is.


Edit: although really I shouldn't complain about the salespeople. In some other country they would've tried to forcibly sell me god knows what and I would've left the store after ten seconds of use. They were very professional and left me alone with the N900.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Thanks for the hands on experience report. It might be nice to have a Maemo members N900 hands on thread to collect and collate experiences from now (pre commercial shipments) to Christmas (too much noise already!). I have a feeling that the Nokia Maemo team might be looking here for feedback and inspiration ;)

I will try to do my bit when I get my own N900 and with a bit of organisation we can collectively deliver feedback that has more validity and greater focus.

Any more N900 first experiences out there...?

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Correction accepted. I have edited my post accordingly, including apologies for misconstruing your answer.

I still think that power supply in host mode is a serious question. The usbLAN app by jolouis should have given Maemo a chance to grow out of the toyshop and find a market replacing some of the laptops and notebooks that travellers haul in their hand baggage. Connection to hotel-room data ports is a requirement for that market. So is a full-size keyboard (which can go in checked baggage), and many business users avoid bluetooth for security reasons. USB sticks are absolutely standard tools these days. It is not always possible to schedule a full battery when these things are needed.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

especially now that the thing comes with video out.

i am not familiar with hotel policy in regards to tv's in rooms, and connecting a video source.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

You really think the vast majority of business users are going to be able to move to Linux, let alone a 3.5" screen for their travel use. . . .

Travel router.

Bluetooth.

None that I know.

Perhaps in certain markets, but definitely not in the mobile computer niche Nokia has created. Your definition of business users seems to be a bit distanced from the reality.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

If you go into 'TV out' Settings, you get to choose either PAL or NTSC.

So, I'd say you get both.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Will a user be able to browse the internet while in a call on speaker phone or with a BT headset using only the N900's cellular connection (no WiFi)? ... BTW, is there even a dang speaker phone? :confused:

Re: N900 Specifications
 

Not that I can see.

When you open up Conversation aplet, which handles both IM chat and SMS, there's no option for MMS.

Also, in both IM and SMS sessions, I can't find a way to add an attachment either. so it looks like it can handle purely text messages on IM and SMS.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

I'd assume so, as I can do this without issue on my 5800.

Re: N900 Specifications
 

You definitely get both with a N95 (I've plugged mine into hotel room tv's all over the world)...so I can't see how the N900 would be any different.