SkyKnight | # 1 | 2010-10-15, 19:19 | Report

Hi everybody,

I am new to this community.. Ive patiently spent my time reading everything this community has to offer...

Now i want some help from you guys... ive been a nokia user for last 5 years.. started out with n70 and then went for n95, both great phones and i still have them both with me... (i know i move a bit slow between phones.. ) Now its time for me to choose a new phone and since i have a bit more budget than last two times... i need ur opinion...

I hope this thread is not outta the comm guidelines/rules.... Pls move/delete if anyone feels so...

Android is been a booming success in the recent past thats why i got confused. Plainly putting it, should i take a good android phone or stick with n900 as my next phone?

Ive googled it out, read every possible answers but didnt find something that would suit me... there are even threads inside this community but i feel more apps and updates have been released since then for both sections and i want a more recent opinion coz i plan to keep this phone for atleast 2-3 years...

Ive always though of android to be a internet depending OS for everything but since all the 1ghz phones are coming out with Google onboard i cant plainly ignore them i think. My ignorance of android phones can be blamed too.. (honestly ive only used a galaxy s for like 15 mins... )

I am from india not from the metros which means no 3g.. no hd videos over youtube etc.. and i dont fancy a hi-fi camera... coz i personally find it pleasing to use a standalone one.. those are the key features with android as ive read..

What i am looking for is a phone that has great multitasking(nokia has never let me down in that prospect.. but i dont think there is a task switcher which shows which applications are running now on android that allows switching between them easily like nokia on android or is there??)... a good keyboard(i have big fingers) and good support for videos and a decent memory capacity... (i like to carry a lot of videos and pics with me... ).. and a better battery life( used n97 of my friends for a week and loved the way it is energy efficient).. no probs between resistive touch or capacitive one coz both are comfortable for me...

I know there are a lot of users here who have experience in both OSes... So... pls help... i have one week to decide....

Thanks to everyone who took the patience to read this...

richwhite | # 2 | 2010-10-15, 19:26 | Report

Well, I just got the Hero on Android 2.1 and frankly i'm disappointed.

Despite what the advocates say, I find it a cumbersome and complex OS. The memory on is low, and it wouldn't even let me take a photo without an SD card installed.

You're right on the task switcher, you can't actually close anything, instead Android does it for you - a big pain to me. I installed a task manager to kill running apps. The virtual keyboard is hideous, it looks nice but using it is so, so slow, but that might just be because i'm used to tapping away on the physical keyboard. As for videos and memory, we all know nothing even compares to the N900 on that front - 32GB built in, take take at least a 16GB card, and it supports more media formats than anything else.

My main gripe with Android is that it's so fragmented, and honestly, I don't see it lasting long. I fully agree with Nokia's statement that it's like peeing in your pants to keep warm - lots of manufacturers are jumping on it as a lifeline, but there's nothing to differentiate any of them. That's why i fully respect and agree with Nokia's decision to forge ahead with their own OS, so they maintain visbility in the market place and offer something different. If they offered Android as their main OS, i'd stick with my N900 until it stopped working, honestly.

Judged on your requirements i'd say Maemo 5 is for you, but, given that it's being phased out for MeeGo that might put you off. That being said, the fact it's a year old and being discontinued means you can get it pretty cheap now.

SkyKnight | # 3 | 2010-10-15, 19:27 | Report

Pardon me if this is somehow in an irrelevant section or against rules... I have seen ppl complaining about n900 elsewhere saying it doesnt have this, it doesnt have that.... But almost all of the problems can be resolved by anyone who went through this community thoroughly...

There is Potrait Mode, there is Java Emulator, there are codecs to run a lot of video formats... Overclocking the processor... Downloading album art... etc...makes this best community for any mobile phone ive seen so far.....

Since i dont want every feature to be easy and out-of-the-box like apple, i dont mind experimenting and installing more apps and modding... So... pls suggest me a suitable one on the basis of all these...

I hope i didnt bore anyone to death with this long essay of mine.. but i really do need some help...

SkyKnight | # 4 | 2010-10-15, 19:34 | Report

Thanks a lot for an instant reply... I am aware of the task switching crap in Android and low memory too... And to be honest i wish nokia allowed MeeGo officially on N900... coz even if they keep it for future handsets.. they can release a better handset for MeeGo with more hardware specs.. lotta ppl wud buy it... Most of the community members are already set on one...

And as i said above, i want something that could last next 2 years.. i dont want official support from nokia... if there could be enough updates from community... i wud be happy... But regarding the price... the best android available here is Samsung Galaxy S which is around 28k which is 630 USD and Nokia N900 is of about 23k which is 520 USD approx.. price difference isnt much of a problem for me... Its just the multitasking and updates... and keyboard thats comfy for my big fingers.....

bandora | # 5 | 2010-10-15, 19:37 | Report

Hello, if you want a phone that will last long, I would go with maybe the Nokia N9 or a symbian phone... The N900 is great! Don't get me wrong, but if you don't like to look things up when it gets complicated, then N900 is definately not for you.. Android isn't that great either.. :/

richwhite | # 6 | 2010-10-15, 19:41 | Report

Those prices are new I'm assuming? If you get one on eBay, new but second hand, the price can be very different.

A lot of the disappointment from the N900 comes with people not knowing how to change something, or not realising it didn't do something etc, but your second post made it very clear you fully understand the device, what it does and doesn't do, community support etc, so I see no reason for you not to get it.

As for lifespan, i think it can live for 2 years in terms of it not breaking, and you still have older phones so clearly you're ok with that prospect and having a device that isn't fully supported. The community is, as you said, incredible, I've never known anything like it and until i got this phone i wouldn't have even thought about, let alone dared to, customise it to such a level, but the community has allowed me to overclock, change icons, adjust themes and so forth. I assume the community will continue working on it for a while to come but obviously there's no guarantee, and we must be prepared that many N900 developers will go to MeeGo (but MeeGo apps should be portable to the N900). Without Nokia's support we won't get full updates like new firmware, but we may get additions and fixes like MuhammedAG has done.

If you want multitasking and a decent keyboard, N900 all the way!

bunanson | # 7 | 2010-10-15, 19:42 | Report

In your dream! It is still selling in ebay for a cream price. I've been in the market for a 2nd one for awhile, it is commanding about $400 - $450., equal to the cost of 1 1/2 android, or 4 older android.

For the OP, as you said in your post, it all boils down to what kind of person you are. If you are those like to take things apart and put it back, "aaha, that is how to do it", you should consider N900, the ONLY top multi task phone today. Or, if you are the person that, a chair is a chair, I will sit in a chair, or a box, or anything, so to move on and do my thing, a N900 will drive you nuts.

And yes, today's android is NOT multi tasking. "Well, I dont need multitasking, I am NOT a power user..." that is what you think. Halfway getting into a video or browser of something too dark, and made you want to adjust the light level, that is called multitasking. And for today's android, you would have to STOP from what you are doing, your media player or your browser, and get into settings in order to adjust the light level, then get back into whatever you are doing before. Or if you need to adjust wifi/BT or what nots, it is also called multitasking... you got the picture.
Android's app store attracts me, but N900's multitasking is KING, so far.

bun

richwhite | # 8 | 2010-10-15, 19:46 | Report

You in USA? One sold on UK ebay for £181 last week, someone at Nokia discussions forum is selling it for 160euros plus postage. There are ones at good prices out there, you might just have to look a bit wider - if the price difference between UK and USA is 200 it's cheaper for you to buy one, pay the postage and just flash global firmware

SkyKnight | # 9 | 2010-10-15, 19:49 | Report

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...

richwhite | # 10 | 2010-10-15, 19:52 | Report

LOL! The guy has a point. I'm not that bad, i've flashed maybe 4 times since March when i got it, but damn it's a fun device. That's what the iPhone and Android users overlook when they talk of the N900 being a geek's phone - it's FUN, on a whole new level. Yeah i can call and text and tweet and facebook like the rest of them, but when i'm bored of an evening i can knock up some PNG images and totally transform how it looks, or put in some weird and wonderful things from devels and watch google earth or stellarium and just make people sick with how much i can do on a phone that I got brand new for £320.

what i really love though is the emulators. I was a Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) kid and now i have a bunch of my favourite games on the N900, so i can while away the evenings playing road rash or paperboy or sonic, so much fun