Home > Reviews > Devices Reviews > Nokia N900 Review
Nokia N900 Review
By Ben on November 25,
 2009 at 00:00,

Nokia N900 Review We’ve been playing with the Nokia N900 for the last few days and found this first hit of the new Maemo 5 OS to be nothing short of astonishing. We may have started out being a little ‘anti-tablet’ but the Nokia N900 has easily cured us of that feeling. Read on to see how we got on with our Nokia N900 review unit…

The Nokia N900 is a 3.5-inch touchscreen device that on first appearance looks a little chunky and less than inspiring. The first thing you need to know is that Nokia is pitching this device as an internet tablet not a smartphone but in many respects the Nokia N900 feels like a follow-up to the Nokia N97. This is largely due to the choice of hardware, clearly not the OS. That’s because you’ll find 32GB of memory onboard, as well as a microSD slot to expand upon this already impressive amount.

Check out our Nokia N900 Unboxing

The specs under the hood may be similar but there are differences however that still marks the Nokia N900 as a device in its own right. The 3.5-inch screen rocks up with a better resolution than the Nokia N97, giving us 800 x 480 pixels, which really makes a difference when web browsing or simply accessing messages. Then there is the connectivity, with the Nokia N900 delivering HSDPA, Wi-Fi and GPS all built-in. Then we have the same 5-Megapixel CCD digital camera with Carl Zeiss optics.

It’s not all great news as the screen uses the older resistive technology, rather than the snappier capacitive that you’ll find on the Nokia X6, for instance. This means getting the most out of the screen can be a bit of a bind, as you need to really tap to get the best out of the display. It’s worth remembering that the Nokia N900 is a first-generation device in the Maemo 5 stakes, so we wouldn’t be too surprised is the next model resolves this flaw.

However, it is the keyboard on the Nokia N900 that we found the most appealing aspect. You won’t find the hinge arrangement as found on the Nokia N97 or Nokia N97 Mini, so it’s a simple slide affair. The QWERTY keyboard has raised keys that have a rubberised feel more like that of the Nokia E72 than any other device in the current range.

However, the real show stealer is the Maemo 5 OS, which quite frankly we found to be something of a revelation. If you like Symbian S60 then you’ll love Maemo has Nokia has cleverly kept a look but the feel and optimisation are new and exciting. You’ll find that it handles multi-tasking with no trouble at all with a window mode that shows the apps and web pages you have open with a handy tab system.

Then there is the use of widgets, which the Nokia N900 uses incredibly intuitively and well. It’s great that you can get your RSS and Facebook updates instantly and setting up and managing your social life via multiple widgets on the Homescreen is really easy to set up and manage. Even when you’re simply using the Nokia N900 for phone calls you’ll be impressed, as the call quality is astonishingly clear.

When it comes to tapping into the world of apps, you won’t find as many as are already out there for Symbian but we have a feeling that within a very short time indeed this will start to resolve itself. After all, for the most part, Maemo 5 is open-source so developers will be able to create and distribute apps with ease.

So, is the Nokia N900 here to save the world? It’s a great first attempt and definitely pushes Nokia in the right direction. Sure, the lack of apps and the resistive screen are obvious flaws but as a first-generation device, we think the Nokia N900 is winner!

Check out our Nokia N900 review image gallery:

Nokia N900: Resistive or Capacitive Screen?Nokia-n900-review-02Nokia N900 Review (General Usability)
Tags: 3.5-inch Maemo 5 N900 Nokia QWERTY touchscreen
/ View all comments
  • Paul

    Overall I\’d say this is a pretty good review, but one thing stuck out at me. There ARE positives to using a resistive screen over capacitive, such as higher accuracy, the ability to use multiple objects to control it (such as gloves, a stylus, etc), and the ability to use a nail to control it. Honestly, when I use a capacitive screen I feel like I have little kid gloves on, having to use the biggest part of my finger to control anything, the accuracy is horrible.

    Either way, to each their own on which they feel is better, but I wouldn\’t say having a resistive screen is a \"flaw\", just a difference in opinion.

  • toucan murphy

    I agree capacitive at this resolution would be a fail. Resistive is the only way to go for this kind of device.

  • http://www.NokiaUsers.net RobertH

    It’s worth remembering that the Nokia N900 is a first-generation device in the Maemo 5 stakes, so we wouldn’t be too surprised is the next model resolves this flaw.
    Flaw is quite harsh a word as i personally wouldnt call a resistive screen a flaw. its more of a matter of taste…
    i prefer the resistive screen and would it be fair for me to say devices with a capacitive screen are a flaw? no….
    what id be more interested in is the smoothness and response of said resistive screen….
    (as ive heard it very responsive and you wouldnt realize to much that its resistive)

  • ALI

    I would like to know whether the nokia n900 has a digital compass or not. Thank you

  • jackburel

    Why would you need a digital compass? Is it a selling point to have a digital compass? It has GPS, why on earth would you need a compass.

  • 5th

    @ jackburel: A digital compass is required for “augmented reality” apps. There has been a lot of development in this area. See some examples here: http://mashable.com/2009/08/19/augmented-reality-apps/

    By the way, the N900 does NOT have a digital compass

  • Ed

    He wants to know if it has a compass… who cares why. It’s his question, don’t judge… answer.

  • Peter

    My question is about GPS hardware: does N900 has two types of GPS hardware: one to directly connect to GPS satellites (like SIRF chip) and the second to use the Assisted GPS of cellular provider antenas and provider server?

  • Peter

    And one more question about GPS: if N900 does not has direct satellites means then how practically one can realize the BlueTooth and buy the remote BT GPS and attach it to N900 and use it as source of GPS navigation data?

  • Peter

    And one more question that is connected to using the N900 to navigate in hiking and tracking:
    how is it seen at sun outside in field?

  • http://cherrybyte.blogspot.com Nigel Jones

    Ref resistive — my daughter has previously gone for fashion phones — but is now switching to a Nokia 5800. Usually vague about most techie stuff she actually EXPLICITLY wanted a non-iphone like screen (capacitive) as she found the 5800 (resistive) easier to use and was aware she could use it with gloves on.

    Surprised me a little — but a vote for resistive from her!

    Meanwhile as a linux hack I so want this device. Contract renewal time in a few months :-)

    root access? ssh? vnc. Perfect — used to have a sharp zaurus PDA running linux (still do actually)

  • Zoltan

    Nigel Jones: exactly, couldn’t agree more! N900 is really gonna feel like a computer(well the OS is a full on proper OS, a version of Debian Linux I believe) unlike Android that’s just a java layer on top of a linux base.

    I thought the same(that capacitive is better) but then I soon realized that at winter I have gloves on and can only use the resistive screen like that, also resistive is much more precise mainly with a stylus.
    So at least you have a chance to use that when it’s really required(like drawing a picture or writing, try that with your finger!). Also I found out that the N900′s screen isn’t like the old resistive ones but it’s really responsive and doesn’t need just a little push to register, so it doesn’t like that squashy.

  • logan

    hey love the phone but it’s too big. everything else top of the line, camera is incredible. love the flip pad and touch screen but it’s too big. i think i’m going to send this one back and order a samsung omnia HD2 off of gsmallover.com and see how that goes. as far as i know that’s lighter but i have to check to make sure. i used to have a nokia N97 and that was kind of thick too. nokia has to scale it down on side and thickness if they want to compete with the iphone.

  • imok ruok

    The biggest problem I see is “potential” – this thing has a Huge amount BUT it has to be developed. The vast majority of consumer don’t want potential – they want someone else to make and package the apps.

    This thing may be twice the device the iphone is but only realising 10% of it’s potential (without a huge learning curve) makes it less useful to most people than the ipone which has reached at least 80% of its potential.

    If Nokia can get the apps out there, easily packaged and simple to install then they have a winner. Sadly, my previous experience with the N800 makes me doubtful.

    And:
    “first generation device” – I don’t think so. This follows the N810, N800, and N770. It’s the first of these with a phone (nothing new to Nokia either) but otherwise it’s simply the latest generation of their “Internet Tablet”.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Tablet

  • Amusa Suru

    my phone has the older version of the software and i want to upgrade it to the new version but I couldn’t do it because my software updater was not able to update it.
    i need help to that effect.