One of the reasons I have been using my Google Nexus One more than the N900 over the last month or so is the sheer number and quality of applications for Android. The N900 is a fantastic device, but applications need to get better. I saw a Tweet from Chanse (Nokia employee) that he was testing a new Twitter application called TweeGo. I followed the link to Maemo Central and followed the instructions to download and install the application to my N900. I also discovered an update to Witter and can honestly say that lack of a good Twitter app is no longer a concern for me on the N900.

TweeGo

I was getting some dependency errors and had to enter apt-get -f install to get things straightened out, but now all is good. TweeGo definitely has a slick look and feel to it, but still feels a bit early in development with some limits on Twitter functionality. You can view your Twitter stream, post status updates, and perform some functions after tapping on a Tweet (Retweet, reply, favorite, unfollow). I do not see any way to view mentions or direct messages, update your status with photos, or view conversations/threads. I was all ready to stop using my current application, Witter, and make the switch to TweeGo when I saw there was an update to Witter made today too.

Witter

The updated Witter version improves the UI, which is the area I wanted to see fixed up since it already had a ton of functionality built into it. As you can see in the screenshot, you can now view profile pics in your Twitter feed while also getting a cleaner default theme. The one final function I would like to see is the ability to view the conversation. Other than that, I have to say I am quite happy with Witter and am pleased with the way applications are rolling out on the N900.

I previously gave you a short tour of Barriosquare on the Nokia N900 and told you about the beta opportunity. We just received word that Barriosquare is now available in the Extras-devel section of the Maemo repository so it is much easier to get it loaded onto your device now. You no longer have to use terminal commands and be a member of the beta test group to install and use Barriosquare.

Just a few weeks ago I wrote about the beta version of JoikuSpot for the N900 and was able to use it for downloading data when connected to my computer. I spent the last couple of weeks bouncing around with a Sprint Overdrive and Palm Pre Plus with Mobile Hotspot, but tonight when I needed a connection I ended up putting my T-Mobile SIM back into my trusty Nokia N900 and firing up Joikuspot. I then discovered that the beta version had expired and JoikuSpot graduated to a full version, called Premium, for the N900. The great news for those who are reading this site and are probably one of the early adopters is that you can buy JoikuSpot Premium Linux (N900) Edition for just 7 EUR, which is less than half the regular price. This launch price is only available to the first 1,000 people who purchase the application. BTW, this works out to about USD$9.50.

I purchased the full version immediately and am actually posting this entry from my MacBook Pro connected to the N900 wirelessly. With the fast T-Mobile 3G data signal, this solution is awesome and will result in me not needing to turn on the Verizon HotSpot option on the Palm Pre Plus. If you have a Nokia N900 on T-Mobile I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you go buy this application right now.

I popped my SIM into my Nokia N900 and turned it on this morning to discover that a Maemo 5 update was available. The new firmware is version 3.2010.02-8.002 and is 16.2MB in size. Unfortunately when I tried to install it on my N900 I received an error that there wasn’t enough memory available to install the update. I went into the application installer and saw that the Firefox browser consumed something like 40+MB so I uninstalled it and tried again with the firmware update. Again, I received a pop-up that there was not enough room in the target location. I went into Settings>General>Memory to check out what I had available and saw there was 1.63GB available for installable applications, 18.04GB available on the N900 memory and a full 14.27GB on my 16GB microSD card. I then had to do a bit of hunting around to discover that I needed more space in my rootfs directory. Following the tip from synplex in this Maemo.org thread I disabled all the extra catalogs I had in my Application Manager and the update worked like a charm.

You are prompted to create a backup, but I like to live on the ragged edge so I went ahead and installed the update without a backup. Actually, I figure this is as good of a time as any to reload up apps I like and clean up my device.

There doesn’t appear to be any official changelog yet so I am not sure what was updated with this firmware. I will test out my device and keep an eye out for any official information on what was changed, but if you already did the update please feel free to post if you find anything too.

UPDATE: One noted change comes from plaban: “Just noticed one change. Now it is possible to install .deb packages without xterminal,just open the .deb file using file manager.”

It was just over a year ago when I followed all the Smartphone Experts coverage of the Smartphone Round Robin and then contacted Dieter to ask if I could start up a Nokia site so that Nokia could be part of the next Round Robin and it is a bit surreal now that I have completed my first Round Robin event. I want to thank Dieter and all the other Smartphone Experts editors for allowing me to participate and being so open and willing to give S60 and Maemo a try on various devices. I think I opened up the eyes of quite a few people who were previously unfamiliar with Nokia’s offerings since they have such little influence here in North America. The Smartphone Round Robin is now over and the winner chosen here on Nokia Experts has been notified. It will be interesting to see which device David chooses as his prize and I personally recommend the Nokia N900 for T-Mobile and Nokia E72 or N97 mini for AT&T.

I just bought a Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G device last Friday and have been very happy with the speeds of the 4G network in the Puget Sound area. I just read this morning that Joikuspot beta for Linux Maemo (N900) is now out as a free application. I immediately downloaded it to my N900 and started testing my PC connected in WiFi mode. Keep in mind that this software is in beta and you will most likely experience issues. I am personally seeing my N900 restart the first time I connect a device with it working just fine after the restart and this is a known issue with this beta.

On T-Mobile 3G here in Seattle I am seeing 1810+ kbps download and 0 kbps upload on my iPhone 3GS using the Speedtest.net application. I believe the upload limitation is a Joikuspot beta limitation and is not helpful if you want to use WiFi to send email, etc.

The application is easy to setup and use. You will see two dials on the main screen to give you indication of the amount of data going up and coming down on your N900. I included a couple of screenshots of the application.

Sorry about the posts here being light this week, but I have been extremely busy with my normal day job and haven’t been able to spend much time with this hobby site. I spent some time cleaning up my Facebook contacts the other day to try to keep it limited to high school, college, local friends, and those who I consider my closer friends while keeping Twitter more open to online aquaintances. I then started looking around at ways to chat with these Facebook friends from a mobile device and Mark Guim made a timely post on how to enable this capability on the Nokia N900. While the N900 may not have a lot of slick looking apps like Android and the iPhone, integrated service functionality like this is quite compelling.

Follow the directions Mark posted to get Facebook chat enabled through the Jabber client on your N900. I keep bouncing between the N900 and Nexus One and on the Nexus One I actually have Nimbuzz loaded up for Facebook chat support.

Readers here, and SPE editors, know that the Nokia N900 is more computer than phone and the things you can do with it are pretty astounding. I just read an article over on Engadget where it has been shown you can connect a Sony Playstation wireless controller to your N900 via Bluetooth and then control the SNES emulator with the N900 connected via TV out to have a kick butt retro gaming platform. I don’t have a PS3 controller, but I do have Wii and XBox controllers and wonder if either of these will work. I may just have to pick up a PS3 controller to get this setup working on my N900 since there are some SNES games I really enjoyed playing when I was younger and would love to have them in hand again.

Check out this video below showing the setup and gaming on the big screen.

Recently, I wrote about using 3rd party applications to stream Pandora and Last.fm on your Nokia N900. Previously, I took a look at streaming music via the web browser and at that time I mentioned I was unable to get my favorite streaming client, Slacker, up and running due to pop-up and other issues. I figured it was time to try it out again since there have been updates to the N900 since my last test and I am pleased to say that Slacker works like a champ on the Nokia N900 default web browser!

I think the reason it works now for me is that I first signed in to Slacker Radio Plus, which is a subscription-based option that removes audio and banner ads that may have been causing the problems for me before. Slacker Radio Plus also gives you unlimited song skips, complete lyrics, unlimited song requests, and a mini player. You can subscribe for $4.99/month billed monthly or $47.88/year (works out to $3.99/month). Slacker states they have four times the amount of content over other leading streaming clients and I personally find their service to be the best for me.

Back when the Ovi Store launched on the Nokia N900, I mentioned that Angry Birds was my favorite game and that everyone should download and play it now. I have since completed all the levels in the game and was looking to buy the next pack from Rovio. Unfortunately, there seems to be an issue with the Ovi Store and priced applications so at this time we cannot even pay to get more levels even though I am willing to do so. I hope this gets resolved soon, for both the developers and my sake. In the meantime, I read over on ZOMG its CJ that a Rovio employee was able to get clearance for custom level creation and the folks at NomandsNirvana.com have created a new level pack with 10 custom levels.

I remember back in the days with my Pocket PC that there was a war game where people could create custom levels and it was a pretty big hit. It is great to see a level editor available for Angry Birds and I imagine we may see a virtually unlimited number of levels for this game soon. I do hope that the developers are able to somehow make some money on this though since I want them to continue development of Angry Birds and hopefully more excellent games in the future. I understand that Angry Birds has been downloaded 6 times more than the same game on the iPhone. This tells me there is indeed a market out there for excellent games on the N900.

I just followed the instructions and now have many more levels of Angry Birds available that are accessed in the game by simply tapping the big 2 in the center of the level selector.