the only reason i see for the n900 not being where other models of its time were in terms of sales figures: you cant lock it down. providers cant sell it at "€ 0,-" and prevent you from using a different sim card. phones are sold by providers. it never really matters what consumers think as long as they're not offered the phone by the provider. nokia intentionally did not include such "features". they will come with harmattan. this is why harmattan is the consumer-ready version. user interface, size, features etc are factors, but aren't as important as carrier support.
the only reason i see for the n900 not being where other models of its time were in terms of sales figures: you cant lock it down. providers cant sell it at " 0,-" and prevent you from using a different sim card. phones are sold by providers. it never really matters what consumers think as long as they're not offered the phone by the provider. nokia intentionally did not include such "features". they will come with harmattan. this is why harmattan is the consumer-ready version. user interface, size, features etc are factors, but aren't as important as carrier support.
I might be wrong, but the phone app in maemo is still close-source, and it's possible for Nokia to lock the sim for particular provider for more profit, like Apple does with iPhone in some regions. Nokia just choose not to do so.
I know a lot of people here would have knee-jerk reaction against any pro-Nokia comment, but imho, comparing to Apple, Nokia give more freedom to their customers even before N900.
I personally think that to answer the topic question we must answer this: will meego work flawlessly on N900?
Until we can say a definite NO the topic΄s question cant be answered.
I throw some other questions because of this: When will be a complete ended Meego version released? I mean at least as ended and polished as Maemo 1.3 (cough cough).
And, will Meego be far more powerful and not-bugged than Maemo 5?
I΄m really waiting for serious and reliable answers, not especulations.
whaaaat? seems a lot companies do what you say is impossible. sure: you do get the phone like others together with a contract for "free" or with some amount "paid back" if you choose the n900 together with a contract.
who says you have to lock it down? that's nonsense really! it's actually the opposite way round: the iphone as a locked down phone is limited to few companies. for that you can only get it with contracts of a limited number of providers. the n900 you get free with a contract of most major tecos.
the only reason i see for the n900 not being where other models of its time were in terms of sales figures: you cant lock it down. providers cant sell it at " 0,-" and prevent you from using a different sim card. phones are sold by providers. it never really matters what consumers think as long as they're not offered the phone by the provider. nokia intentionally did not include such "features". they will come with harmattan. this is why harmattan is the consumer-ready version. user interface, size, features etc are factors, but aren't as important as carrier support.
who says you have to lock it down? that's nonsense really! it's actually the opposite way round: the iphone as a locked down phone is limited to few companies. for that you can only get it with contracts of a limited number of providers. the n900 you get free with a contract of most major tecos.
who says they have to lock it down? their spreadsheets usually. When they give you a phone for free, they have to make sure that you will return the favour: you'll have to pay the price of the phone itself plus the price of the actual voice/data service over the next 24 or 36 months. depending on the calculations and the kind of contract you have, monthly fees may not be enough to cover all of this. telcos need to make sure you actually use their services for voice calls and data; they need to prevent you from using another sim card with the phone they gave you for free. that's why they lock it. (it's obvious though, isn't it? i mean... they do lock phones. they wouldn't if it wasn't necessary.)
so i get all phones that are locked for 0,-: iphone, various androids, C7... but the N900 (when it was still available on contract, it isn't any more) was 250,-. why? because the phone couldn't guarantee i wouldn't switch to a cheaper sim-card afterwards, paying only my monthly fees but generating profit for another carrier with each phone call. and the monthly fees alone aren't enough to give away a 500 phone for free.
so that's why it needs to have sim-lock capabilities to be attractive to carriers. they need that to include it into their pricing schemes. otherwise, there wouldn't be sim-locks in the first place, right?
]all major companies do give you the n900 at least for free together with a contract. go to your next cellphone shop and choose the provider and get the n900 for $0 or 0 or whatever currency you have. all you say is plainly wrong.
EDIT: for most its not 0 but some amount they pay you. if you choose the n900.
who says they have to lock it down? their spreadsheets usually. When they give you a phone for free, they have to make sure that you will return the favour: you'll have to pay the price of the phone itself plus the price of the actual voice/data service over the next 24 or 36 months. depending on the calculations and the kind of contract you have, monthly fees may not be enough to cover all of this. telcos need to make sure you actually use their services for voice calls and data; they need to prevent you from using another sim card with the phone they gave you for free. that's why they lock it. (it's obvious though, isn't it? i mean... they do lock phones. they wouldn't if it wasn't necessary.)
so i get all phones that are locked for 0,-: iphone, various androids, C7... but the N900 (when it was still available on contract, it isn't any more) was 250,-. why? because the phone couldn't guarantee i wouldn't switch to a cheaper sim-card afterwards, paying only my monthly fees but generating profit for another carrier with each phone call. and the monthly fees alone aren't enough to give away a 500 phone for free.
so that's why it needs to have sim-lock capabilities to be attractive to carriers. they need that to include it into their pricing schemes. otherwise, there wouldn't be sim-locks in the first place, right?
]all major companies do give you the n900 at least for free together with a contract. go to your next cellphone shop and choose the provider and get the n900 for $0 or 0 or whatever currency you have. all you say is plainly wrong.
i don't need to "go there". i work at a place where the deals are made. cheapest N900 on contract was 250,- - and only few people ever chose this contract because of the high monthly costs of almost 50,- IIRC. at the same time, all competitors were 0,- with contracts in the usual price range between 10,- and 30,- per month. So consumers had the tough choice between a free phone and 10/month and a 250-phone and 50/month. ...
i don't need to "go there". i work at a place where the deals are made. cheapest N900 on contract was 250,- - and only few people ever chose this contract because of the high monthly costs of almost 50,- IIRC. at the same time, all competitors were 0,- with contracts in the usual price range between 10,- and 30,- per month. So consumers had the tough choice between a free phone and 10/month and a 250-phone and 50/month. ...
nokia failed on the consumer market because the device doesn't act like a user friendly device and didn't gain enough good reviews on the web, for it's original price it's hard to beat apple and high end handset of android, it's just not competetive at all. if you are a tech buff person you'll know that specs is one of the best and Yes very competetive but how about the average users? nokia should next time sugar-coat their products to gain more sales. for most people ... they say the device is quite complicated and hard to use.
