Nokia N900 delayed until November, tests our patience
We know many of you are close to dying and holding your breath for the awesome Nokia flagship device, the Maemo-packing N900. It was probably a big tease when we told you guys it was going to hit U.S. distribution centers on September 27, but for some untold reason sales planned for October have been delayed and it will go on sale in November. In just days T-Mobile will be making its Even More and Even More Plus plans available, and the N900 will totally support the network’s 3G, and several of our readers are waiting to jump on this handset/carrier combo. Just be prepared to fork over somewhere in the neighborhood of $650 – $700 for the device itself and you’ll be good to go. You’ve waited this long, what’s another week or two?
Wow, either that thing is small, or the dude has gorilla hands.
@ Kimmo,
Realize Nokia already has a capacitive screened device in the X6, a midrange device. Why would they be lagging behind technologically for the N900 but not the X6? Maemo is older than S60 5th Edition.
Obviously, the resistive screen has more capability and agility, and is preferred on a high end device. For instance, Maemo is finger optimized Linux for mobiles, but it can run some of the same apps as a Linux desktop. Think that’d work with fingers? No. Hence the stylus and resistive screen. Don’t forget which mobile company spends the most of R&D. They know what they’re doing.
Maemo 5 will also support portrait mode/screen rotation via an update in December. This is official announcement from Nokia. So there will be an update in November and December, showing the level of support an open OS can achieve. I expect this to remain this way, and Nokia is also doing this for the N97 on a smaller scale, letting features be added without a full firmware update.
The last Maemo device, the N810/810WME, had a 4-row keyboard, and the unanimous opinion is this keyboard is better. The closer proximity of all the keys makes things easier to reach and allow faster typing.
@christexaport:
Gotta say that the capacitive X6 experience sucks a bit though… It was a good point but I still stand *just a bit* behind my original statement.
But hasn’t Nokia also announced capacitive support for the upcoming Maemo 6 devices? What happens to the desktop-type Linux apps then? Would that indicate that Nokia is all for finger-friendly devices and apps and Maemo 6 could be the end of these desktop-type apps for devices this small?
Whatever happens, my initial statement was mainly about my weakened trust towards Nokia. Just had to get that out of the way. This ‘enhance the device capabilities as we go along’ thing might work for some though. For me it doesn’t work anymore, not in Nokia’s case.
The desktop apps I mentioned are the same ones running on Ubuntu Linux. Nokia’s touchscreen devices are ALL finger friendly, just versatile enough to work with a stylus, a plus over the iphone and others. If someone wants a capacitive screen, they probably don’t even run high end desktop class apps.
Maemo is REAL open source, and Nokia makes few apps for it. Like apple, they let the community make the apps, only they’re free.
hey people did you ever think that the delay is possibly due to tmobile releasing this phone my source said that it is in the works for next month so watch n learn
no, its to get the firmware a bit better for launch. after the 300 trial devices given out at the Maemo summit, they got alot of feedback, and wanted to make it as good as possible
@Kimmo:
Capacitive support could mean a mid-range phone with a UI overlay (think TouchFLO), so it runs Maemo 6 but is not necessarily designed to run those Linux desktop apps christexaport is talking about (not to say they won’t run, just not a capacitive phone’s purpose). This would be in line with a keyboardless model, as well. So maybe Nokia is looking at using Maemo 6 in different fashions – the N900 desktop-equivalent beast, and an iPhone-like capacitive unit with no keyboard for less geeky consumers.
Just a few shots in the dark, but it makes sense to me.
OK, I’m pretty much a noob at most of the cell phone lingo (and thanks to BGR for making me a bit less noobish), but I’m wondering, will the N900 run on the Verizon network? TMo’s got OK coverage where I’m at but VZ’s hands down the best in the area and I get a family discount (parent works for them), so pricing’s about equal. I saw this in the stats–
# Quad band GSM/EDGE with 850/900/1800/1900 MHz support
# Tri band WCDMA with 900/1700/2100 MHz support
–and thought, “Hey, WCDMA… Verizon?”
TIA
@Norb,
This will not work with VZW.
WCDMA is actually a technology for 3G.
I know anyone at first sight would mix it up with CDMA tech.
But here is more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W-CDMA
Alright then, that takes this unit out of consideration, then. Guess I’m waiting for the Droid or… something.
mobilecityonline.com has the n900 for 579.99 i preordered mine already i think you should 2
I just got a mail from an electronics store (I live in Finland) that says they’re already delivering N900s (it wasn’t about preordering or anything).
I Pre ordered Mine Sept 22, Waiting, Waiting, Wating, So, I checked the Web page saw the Notice Available end of Oct, then I Called… was told the same thing…
Oh Well, Maybe Next week?
http://www.wired.com/video/latest-videos/latest/1815816633/nokia-n900-razzles-us-with-open-source-dazzle/46097342001
good memory, a hefty amount of storage 32GB + 16GB external micro SD – qwerty keyboard – 5MP camera .. Quad Band.
Ovi Maps instead of Google Maps? Where are the precious facebook and twitter apps?
detailed sources: http://bit.ly/nokia-900-full-specs-details-best-or-worst
Its good to see Nokia finally release a new breed of their communicator series, I just hope it won’t turn out to be another “average” phone.
Diablo, Ovi Maps is more like a Tom Tom than Google Maps. Ovi has better quality maps, and offline to boot, so you don’t need a web connection or data plan to use it. Try that with Google Maps. As for Facebook and Twitter, there is already a Facebook widget, but the built in browser along with the high resolution screen means you can use the full Facebook page just as comfortably like you do on your PC. I’ve heard the Twitter clients are coming, but it works great in the browser as well. This is a new beast, and won’t need so many apps. The browser does most of the work, and services can be emedded into the OS, instead of being apps run on top of the OS as in most of the popular smartphones.
Now how can a touchscreen Linux device be average. Its a new genre called portable desktop devices, and the N900 sets the bar high. I doubt Apple, RIM, or Android can match them anytime soon.