Re:N900/Maemo 5 review

Erik Hovland wrote:
>> Dr. Nicholas Shaw wrote:
>>
>>> Now, if AT&T has the N900 when it comes out I'll be set. If not, I'll keep
>>> using my N810. :-)
>>>
>>>
>> My guess is that -- like their other mobile phone products -- if you buy
>> direct from Nokia it won't be carrier locked.
>>
>
> That is all well and good. But T-Mobile is listed as the carrier in the FCC
> docs for the US. One may not be able to buy it direct from Nokia in the US
> when it first comes out. But I have my fingers crossed. I am not quite ready
> to change away from AT&T.
>
I'm hoping there are options other than GSM. Does anyone know if GSM is
the only option?

I prefer Verizon's coverage area, but they don't do GSM, :(

Jason

On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 1:26 PM, Andrew Flegg<andrew@bleb.org> wrote:
> Well, since Mer's based on Ubuntu, thousands of packags are only an
> apt-get away...
>
This is propaganda and a myth. Sure, you may be able to _install_ apps
from the Ubuntu repository, but whether they'll be usable on the
device (or even run) is another story entirely. There are many reasons
why "porting" is not a trivial process, and a program that works great
on a PC monitor may not be usable at all on a tiny touchscreen, never
mind the fundamental hardware issues.

Mark

Am Donnerstag, den 20.08.2009, 13:28 -0600 schrieb Mark:
> No, and when Maemo X comes along, they'll be abandoning N900 owners
> just like they _already_ have N770 and N8x0 owners. Once they leave
> the factory, any further software development for the tablets is left
> up to "the community"...

What if Nokia is part of the community?

andre
--
Andre Klapper (maemo.org bugmaster)

Yes, I know but they haven't "fixed" it in the past (I remember the
discussion when the N800 came out) so I'm hoping they will in 5.0. :-)

Nick.

-----Original Message-----
From: aflegg@gmail.com [mailto:aflegg@gmail.com] On Behalf Of Andrew Flegg
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 1:23 PM
To: Dr. Nicholas Shaw
Cc: Adilson Oliveira; maemo-users
Subject: Re: N900/Maemo 5 review

On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 20:11, Dr. Nicholas Shaw<Doc@docharley.com> wrote:
>
> I'm hoping that they've added the ability to select 12/24-hour time.

No need to hope, that's been known for a *long* time (over a year in fact):

https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=303

And, more specifically:

"The clock configuration will work in Fremantle in the way Andrew
described in the first comment."
-- https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=303#c27

Cheers,

Andrew

--
Andrew Flegg -- mailto:andrew@bleb.org | http://www.bleb.org/
Maemo Community Council chair

On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 1:51 PM, Andre Klapper<aklapper@openismus.com> wrote:
> Am Donnerstag, den 20.08.2009, 13:28 -0600 schrieb Mark:
>> No, and when Maemo X comes along, they'll be abandoning N900 owners
>> just like they _already_ have N770 and N8x0 owners. Once they leave
>> the factory, any further software development for the tablets is left
>> up to "the community"...
>
> What if Nokia is part of the community?
>
> andre
> --
> Andre Klapper (maemo.org bugmaster)
>

That's called a "token". They may provide the servers and allow the
use of their name, but that's not by any means a critical
contribution, and most of their "contributions" to the community
consist of "you can't have that" or "we won't do that" or "you can't
do that". They certainly haven't contributed any meaningful apps other
than what comes in the box. Merely being "a member" of the community
doesn't mean anything at all.

Mark

Unlocked would be good and would, I suspect, resolve the issue. Thanks!

Nick.


-----Original Message-----
From: maemo-users-bounces@maemo.org [mailto:maemo-users-bounces@maemo.org]
On Behalf Of Gary
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 1:14 PM
To: maemo-users@maemo.org
Subject: Re: N900/Maemo 5 review

Dr. Nicholas Shaw wrote:
> Now, if AT&T has the N900 when it comes out I'll be set. If not, I'll
keep
> using my N810. :-)
>

My guess is that -- like their other mobile phone products -- if you buy
direct from Nokia it won't be carrier locked.

-Gary

Jason Edgecombe wrote:
> I prefer Verizon's coverage area, but they don't do GSM, :(

Not yet. They're already working on a hybrid EV-DO/HSPA modem
(http://tr.im/nX3C) and are moving fast on building out their HSPA
buildout (http://tr.im/nX47). I've also read that some test markets will
be in place by the end of this year (http://tr.im/nX5z). How else can
they expect to have the iPhone next year?

It's nice that the N900 has an internal SD card slot for the larger
capacity cards but an easily accessible microSD card slot would
probably make me and a lot of other folks happy.

-Gary

On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 20:58, Dr. Nicholas Shaw<Doc@docharley.com> wrote:
>
> Yes, I know but they haven't "fixed" it in the past (I remember the
> discussion when the N800 came out) so I'm hoping they will in 5.0. :-)

I know there's a smiley, but there's enough confusion on maemo-users
anyway, so I'm going to correct this :-)

The bug report I pointed to (#303, opened back in 2005) was marked
FIXED with comments, and version numbers indicating that it'd be
shipped in Fremantle (i.e. Maemo 5).

There's been lots of grumbling (myself included), that it hadn't been
fixed before then, but Nokia never claimed it had in any version of
Maemo which has been shipped for the 770 or N8x0.

They *do* claim it's fixed in Maemo 5 (and has been for a year), and
there is absolutely no reason to doubt them:

>    "The clock configuration will work in Fremantle in the way Andrew
>     described in the first comment."
>     -- https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=303#c27

Cheers,

Andrew

--
Andrew Flegg -- mailto:andrew@bleb.org | http://www.bleb.org/
Maemo Community Council chair

On Thu, Aug 20, 2009 at 2:36 PM, Gary<gary@eyetraxx.net> wrote:
> Jason Edgecombe wrote:
>> I prefer Verizon's coverage area, but they don't do GSM, :(
>
> Not yet. They're already working on a hybrid EV-DO/HSPA modem
> (http://tr.im/nX3C) and are moving fast on building out their HSPA
> buildout (http://tr.im/nX47). I've also read that some test markets will
> be in place by the end of this year (http://tr.im/nX5z). How else can
> they expect to have the iPhone next year?
>
> It's nice that the N900 has an internal SD card slot for the larger
> capacity cards but an easily accessible microSD card slot would
> probably make me and a lot of other folks happy.
>
> -Gary
>

Actually, that internal slot is microSD, not full SD. The larger slot
in the photos is actually the SIM card slot, which should give you a
little better sense of scale. I personally am growing very weary of
non-hot-swappable slots in devices. There really is no justification
for that PITA. It's just one of many reasons I'll never give up my
N800 for an N810. As the feature set and physical properties of the
N900 becomes clearer, it becomes less and less likely that I'll ever
get one of those, either. The upgrade from the N810 is incremental at
best, and it looks like they've actually removed a couple of
significant hardware features, just like they did going from the N800
to the N810. I realize that tradeoffs are necessary, but the problem
is that they keep making exactly the wrong choices.

Mark

Dr. Nicholas Shaw wrote:
> One thing concerns me based upon earlier reviews - it appears that the size
> of the screen will be smaller. That may not be a big issue as it appears
> from the pictures that Nokia is utilizing the space better than the 810.
> Only time will tell. It also looks like they've added capabilities (such as
> tasks and calendar) that didn't exist before. I'm hoping that they've added
> the ability to select 12/24-hour time.

As I commented earlier, the ability to select time zone when creating an
appointment is essential if you travel: its absence would be a show-stopper.

Provided they have replaced the appalling built-in
mail/contacts/calendar that came with the N800, I'll probably be happy.

It doesn't look like the camera can be used backwards like the N800's
pop-out one. That was crippled by lack of software; presumably this one
is usable with Skype etc, but a pity if it can't be used as a webcam.

> Lastly, having built in phone and wireless will be a good thing.

Wifi is essential, phone may be useful (I already have a phone...) but
only if it's not tethered. Cracking stupid lockdowns on phones is the
first task to look for.

///Peter