Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 842173)

And i have never purchased anything from outside india and friends have told me that after paying the import tax and stuff it would cost almost as much the price here....

Originally Posted by pantera1989 (Post 842199)

P.S. Many people take this for granted..but you'll miss it once you don't have it. The way that Skype (IM, VOIP and Video), GTalk, Yahoo and other IM accounts integrate perfectly with the OS. It's amazing, and one of the most things I missed (and one of the most things I actually took for granted).

Originally Posted by sjgadsby (Post 842345)

With variance in the number of gigabytes and the name of the device, this is a FAQ for all Maemo devices. The answer is that it is not Maemo devices themselves that set the "maximum capacity" figures listed in their specs. It's the timing of their release dates in relation to the advancement of the flash card market.

What I mean is that prior to launch of each device, Nokia has tested and confirmed that, that device works properly with the largest appropriate-format flash card available on the market at that time. That tested capacity is then included in the device's official specs as the maximum supported.

However, Maemo is Linux, and Linux has supported 32 GB cards since 4 GB cards were top of the line. The N900 is no more limited to cards 16 GB and under than the N800 was limited to cards 8 GB and under. Regardless of what the official specs say, the N800, the N810, and the N900 will all happily work with 32 GB cards.

In fact, being Linux-based, Maemo devices will work with cards larger than 32 GB as well, at least, after a fashion. Maemo devices will not support the Microsoft-patented filesystem that ships on, and is built into the official standard for, those cards. There's a for-pay, closed source, binary blob needed for the filesystem, and we don't have it. But should you reformat such a card with a Maemo-friendly filesystem, you'll be able to use it just fine.

And if you're still looking for stories of personal experience, then I can assure you that my N900 happily accepted a 32 GB, Class 2 SanDisk card a few months ago and has worked flawlessly with it ever since.

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 842674)

Thanks for clarifying.. Though i am not sure what for-pay, closed source, binary blob is.... I think i understood the rest of it. If the memory card is formatted in a file system that maemo recognises, it will read it.. right? Just like a pc does? no size limitation...

But then i have another doubt.. Does that mean the memory card has to be formatted for usage? I mean... if i am to use a memory card used in another phone with a different file system, it wud read without formatting right? (i am talking abt smaller size cards... below 8gb?)

Pardon me if the question sounds stupid..

Originally Posted by fasza2 (Post 842349)

Hi SkyKnight and everyone else on this thread,
I am a N900 owner/lover, however I would urge you to wait for N9 if you can do so. I love my N900 but it's due to Maemo and the community, not so much the hardwre. It's a bit old and not always as fast as I'd like it to be (OC @900). N9 (or whatever is gonna be called) in the other hand should come with a much better hardware spec as far as processing power goes (Intel's Moorestone 1.5-1.8GHz). Maybe if you got some friend or relative living in UK or US who can buy and send it to you...
If you really want a 'smartphone' right now though:
N900 is a tinkerer's phone. If you like playing around with gadgets and feel good after solving problems/challenges or if you like linux or if you are a comuter enthusiast then you will probably love N900. However if you just need a phone that can play videos (xvid,divix,m4v,mkv...) then I would suggest getting a dell streak with it's huge screen I think it's the best phone to watch movies on. Multi-tasking is a minus though compared to maemo where it's epic. About HD video, I never tried on N900 since I don't belive it would work, but correct me if I'm wrong. Dell Streak(2.1) 'played' 720p mkv (1.45GB/30-40min vid) with rockplayer, but it was unwatchable:) I mean really. But there is really no point to do that anyway, unless you are just lazy to convert, since neither of them got HDMI and it won't look any better on it's screen. N900 is being picky about codecs? Yes, to my experience, but it will play the (nonHD) videos anyway and it's going to be still watchable. And when a video file is not loud enough you can still give it a little boost with ALSA mixer. That's prvided you weren't the one who converted it;)
Native games for N900 maybe don't have the best garphics out there compared to other brands, but in exchange you get endless tinkering and the possibility to costumize everything that you could think of. If this is what you seek you won't need games anyway:P
You said there is no 3G or mobile internet in your area:(( It's something I could hardly be without now.
I think Maemo(and OSS) is way ahead of it's time, but it's also late, because todays avarage computer/phone users think youtube is the internet (no offence). If you pick N900 and you like it, you can give a shot to Linux on your desktop as well. If you are a windows user the
easiest and safest way is:
http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ub...dows-installer
Podcasts are great way to learn more if you are interested, you can try to search for Going Linux or Linux Reality in any podcatcher or search engine.
Note that everithing written here is solely my opinion, anyone is welcome to express theirs or to correct me if they feel like.

Originally Posted by fasza2 (Post 842351)

I am sorry to disagree on this. But I would not get an iPhone just because it's got tons of apps. So does Android. I hate the fact that I need iTunes to copy anythinig on my phone, which restricts me from copying anything I want. I hate that I need iTunes store for updating my firmware with an active internet connection. I hate that I can't roll back to previous version, since Apple dosen't sign it. I don't always want to sync my phone. Quite frankly iPhone for me means iPrison.

Originally Posted by Suurorca (Post 842447)

I guess the OP already got its answer, but nevertheless.

I'm right now sharing my 3G connection in my N900 over wlan (using mobilehotspot) to my laptop, to jump my ubuntu installation over two versions to Meerkat. The only reason I'm doing it this way is to piss the living hell out of my operator Sonera (whom I fervently hate).

Recently, Ive found I don't really have enough time to tinker with my N900, and that makes me really sad. It would be nice to test properly new apps, write bug reports & suggestions for improvement. Alas, I'm sliding more and more towards just discarding an app that doesn't work perfectly for me.

As for maemo being obsolete, I'd disagree. After one year, it's starting to feel mature now. It's almost like having had the phone for a year without being able to fully use it. The N9, or whatever the meego flagship will be named, will no doubt have its own issues, and it might well take yet another year before this community has made it into a usable platform. So in that respect, I'd recommend you ignore the people telling you to wait, and just buy the N900.

I just checked the official specs, and for some weird reason, it really seems to read mc limit is 16GB. Which is really funny, because nokia makes it's own brand of memory cards, and I'm pretty sure the MU-45 32GB was out before the N900. Also, the official Nokia accessory lists had listed a lot of phones as 32GB-compatible already a year before (sorry, no source, I just know). In any case, as some have already said, you should be able to use any mc of any capacity made available later.

I also applaud for your efforts to do research in advance. It seems a lot of people here (the whiners) didn't do that. In any case, be prepared, that a of of things won't work out-of-the-box. Finding a satisfactory solution might take hours of googling, tweaking and swearing. In the end, it might still not work, at least not the way you'd want. On the other hand, with other platforms, you'd never have the chance to try - either it's there or it's not.

To conclude, if you are the patient sort of guy (which I am not, but my apparent masochism seems to work out, too), this is a phone for you. Otherwise, don't bother.

Originally Posted by qwazix (Post 842664)

+4 on that
It's a wholly new idea of communicating. I want to communicate with a person say chris. I find him and I see if he's available and on what network. I dont have to open a dosen IM apps to find out. It also cuts the costs of SMS when you see the other guy is online on say MSN. And a skype call is just like a regular one. It's in the logs, no app required to be running, and video call is one click away.
As memory is concerned.
N-gage reported max 128mb --> successfully tried 1gb
N95 2gb --> me 8gb, others 16gb
so the nokia max is just on the safe side it doesn't mean bigger wont work

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 842700)

It wouldnt slow down with bigger memory sizes wud it??? I mean..ive tried a n97 32gb and filled it with a lot of pics and songs just to see how it holds up... the music player crashes often... (it had 3500 songs :D )

And gallery seemed to slow in previewing pics and something it never previewed any pics upon scrolling fast... well, it had thousands of pictures too..

Anything like that i should be aware of before buying my phone..???

Originally Posted by richwhite (Post 842704)

I can't report on a 32gb card, but i've filled the memory before. I have over 3,000 songs on the internal memory and in the past i've also loaded it with enough tv series and films to leave under 1gb spare, with a filled memory card too. Made no difference. I think the way the N900 handles processing power is so efficient that flling the internal memory makes no odds, it's only when you batter the rootfs you suffer.

Originally Posted by fasza2 (Post 842728)

To convert music videos should be a doddle, indian movies would be painful, since they tend to reach 3 hours;)
Got a PSP? Then you may know that Sony's PSP phone is on tthe way as well (long way though). Competition is getting fierce...

Originally Posted by rickysio (Post 842397)

iPrisonbreak? :rolleyes:

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 842732)

Its a bit offtopic...

I really dont see the point behind a psp phone... looking forware to a new psp model... with the new phones and their performances.. i think the sonys so called "portable gaming device" is outshadowed by latest mobile phones.. its high time sony thought abt releasing psp2...

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 842163)

I dont mind experimenting.. As a matter of fact, i love it... Android on N900 and MeeGo all sound fabulous to me.. And someone here said,
"If you dont flash your phone once a week, you're not a power user"

I respect him...:D

Originally Posted by richwhite (Post 842704)

I can't report on a 32gb card, but i've filled the memory before. I have over 3,000 songs on the internal memory and in the past i've also loaded it with enough tv series and films to leave under 1gb spare, with a filled memory card too. Made no difference. I think the way the N900 handles processing power is so efficient that flling the internal memory makes no odds, it's only when you batter the rootfs you suffer.

Originally Posted by sjgadsby (Post 842345)

In fact, being Linux-based, Maemo devices will work with cards larger than 32 GB as well, at least, after a fashion. Maemo devices will not support the Microsoft-patented filesystem that ships on, and is built into the official standard for, those cards. There's a for-pay, closed source, binary blob needed for the filesystem, and we don't have it. But should you reformat such a card with a Maemo-friendly filesystem, you'll be able to use it just fine.

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 842674)

Thanks for clarifying.. Though i am not sure what for-pay, closed source, binary blob is.... I think i understood the rest of it. If the memory card is formatted in a file system that maemo recognises, it will read it.. right? Just like a pc does? no size limitation...

Originally Posted by retsaw (Post 842875)

The binary blob isn't necessary, there is a read-only kernel driver for exFAT and a read-write FUSE driver for exFAT, though the FUSE drive is beta software, however since Maemo already has FUSE support, and FUSE drivers are userspace (not part of the linux kernel), it should be trivial to get the FUSE driver working on the N900 should we need it.

The "for-pay, closed source, binary blob", is a proprietary driver we don't have the source code for and we need to pay to use it. But as I just mentioned that isn't the only option for exFAT support.

To further clarify, the SDHC spec only supports cards up to 32GB, the SDXC spec supports cards up to 2TB, but it also specifies the filesystem to use to be exFAT. In theory, there should be no problem with them on Linux with current card readers, but the only SDXC cards available are full-size (not MicroSD size like the N900 uses) and quite expensive and I'm not aware of anyone actually confirming this, the only issue should be exFAT support, which is where you might want to format the card to use a different filesystem, but it is likely you'll also have the option of just installing exFAT support.

Originally Posted by ste-phan (Post 842935)

having a sharp eye for these kind of build issues, I have pointed out my mistrust of the usb connector (noticing it sitting kinda lonely in a big hole) to the sales person back in Januari. Like he cared.

Having always pulled and inserted the usb cables straight and gently, l'm now sure I won't likely meet an issue.

I have bought 2 extra second hand N900's which seem to have more easy to pull usb cable fits (due to usage by non nerdy persons?) , and both have still firmly fixed USB ports.
Finally I don't see a problem if you will be the single careful user of the device.

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 843075)

Thanks for ur reply... I am worried coz ppl have reported having taken gentle care for their devices and still came out with a broken usb port in weeks after purchase. So, when u say the one u possess doesnt have any prob coz u handle it well, that means nokia fixed it somehow on recent devices right??

Wud u tell me when u bought ur device on? The import date or something? So that i can try to find a piece after that??

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 843075)

Thanks for ur reply... I am worried coz ppl have reported having taken gentle care for their devices and still came out with a broken usb port in weeks after purchase. So, when u say the one u possess doesnt have any prob coz u handle it well, that means nokia fixed it somehow on recent devices right??

Wud u tell me when u bought ur device on? The import date or something? So that i can try to find a piece after that??

Originally Posted by etuoyo (Post 843137)

I think the OP has already decided to go for the N900 and people here have done a great job of convincing him that maemo 5 is far better than android. I have never used an android device so can't give an opinion on that. What I can say is I am so used to maemo 5 that it would be difficult for me to switch to something else. Does not mean that something else is not better though and for someone who has not been using maemo 5 you don't have the problem of readjusting.

As good a job posters have made convincing that maemo 5 is better than android I would just like to point out that this is Talk Maemo. You are hardly going to get a balanced view here. If you went to an android forum I am sure they would do just as good a job convincing you that android is a far better option for you. It is like if you go to a bmw forum to ask whether you should get a 5 series or an e class they would all of course say 5 series. However, if you went to a benz forum the answer would be e class.

Would be good if there was a neutral forum to go to to find out which is better for you between maemo 5 and android but do not think there is.

Originally Posted by ste-phan (Post 843099)

Gentle and USB gentle are 2.
For example I'd prefer no to let my wife handle my N900. Although she claims she is careful- has a habit of moving all kinds of USB plugs in lateral direction to loosen the fit when pulling out.

Don't know about the production dates but I have a Belgian N900 (new Januari), a UK one (2nd hand June) and USA one (2nd hand August ) All of them don't show the problem after weeks of purchase.

One would not want to miss out the most advanced pocket computer annex telephone interface to date just out of precaution would he?
We could go as far as to say that another flaw is the device not being water proof.
I am sure in India people are still handy with a soldering iron if USB repair beyond warranty was needed. :)

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 843401)

A soldering iron is all it takes? U sure? I thought it was way more complicated.. Actually thats the only thing keeping me from getting an imported phone for almost 3k less.... I was worried if something happens to the USB port it wont be repaired unless in warranty...

Could u give me links to the said procedure?

Originally Posted by etuoyo (Post 843137)

I think the OP has already decided to go for the N900 and people here have done a great job of convincing him that maemo 5 is far better than android. I have never used an android device so can't give an opinion on that. What I can say is I am so used to maemo 5 that it would be difficult for me to switch to something else. Does not mean that something else is not better though and for someone who has not been using maemo 5 you don't have the problem of readjusting.

As good a job posters have made convincing that maemo 5 is better than android I would just like to point out that this is Talk Maemo. You are hardly going to get a balanced view here. If you went to an android forum I am sure they would do just as good a job convincing you that android is a far better option for you. It is like if you go to a bmw forum to ask whether you should get a 5 series or an e class they would all of course say 5 series. However, if you went to a benz forum the answer would be e class.

Would be good if there was a neutral forum to go to to find out which is better for you between maemo 5 and android but do not think there is.

Originally Posted by qwazix (Post 843143)

People almost always, when they have made up their mind (even when they don't know it) go and ask questions to support their decision. Choosing who they'd ask is a part of the process. That is not bad for me, in the end we are all humans we must'nt pretend we are logical vulcans.

That said, I bet the OP has asked the same question on an android forum too, and he can filter out pretty easy the fanboy answers as well as the originally enthusiastic ones. Even the enthusiastic people however can give a clue about the device. It has caused intense emotions on both sides, and that means a lot. The fonearena championship for me also means a lot. The N900 beat out much more adored (iphones) more popular (galaxy), more sold (htc's) phones. It's not at all by chance that the most difficult matchup was with the palm pre.

Originally Posted by sting04 (Post 843163)

Another reason to choose N900 :)



Quoted from here

Where in India are you? btw congrats on the success of the CWG.. Proud to be Indian :)

Originally Posted by ericsson (Post 843413)

I think what he means is that a broken USB is fixable by an expert who knows exactly what he is doing, and got the right tools for the job.

Originally Posted by SkyKnight (Post 843447)

If its just an issue of soldering... i dont think an expert is required... also... they charge here looking at the price of the phone not the work thats to be done....and as for the tools required... i have em with me..