Home > News > Stat Clash: Nokia N900 vs HTC Desire
Stat Clash: Nokia N900 vs HTC Desire
By Phil Barker on February 26,
 2010 at 00:00,

stat-clash-nokia-n900-v-htc-desireThe Nokia N900 has impressed us more than any other phone to date, proving capable of things we’d never have imagined in a smartphone – from running a full version of Mac OS X to playing 3D games. Is it good enough to compete with the next generation of smartphones, however? We put it up against the current favourite – the HTC Desire – to see which comes out on top. Read on after the cut to find out more…

We’ve been wondering for a little while now whether the Nokia N900 will be able to compete with the latest smartphones, so we’ve put together a list of the main specs of both the Nokia N900 and the HTC desire. To see which comes out on top – on paper at least – read on.

Screen

Both the Nokia N900 and the HTC Desire offer excellent displays, but they couldn’t really be more different. On paper, the HTC Desire offers a better screen, with capacitive and AMOLED technology. It’s a lot closer in reality, however, with the N900’s resistive screen proving bright and highly responsive. If you want to use gloves or a stylus, then the Nokia N900 is for you – otherwise you’ll probably prefer the HTC Desire.

Winner: Draw

Applications

Supporting a broader range of hardware, the Android Marketplace offers a lot more applications that are compatible with the HTC Desire than Ovi Store does for the Nokia N900. It’s closer than you’d think, however, as although there are more applications for Android, the Open Source nature of the Nokia N900’s Maemo OS makes it one of the most versatile platforms we’ve seen so far, proving ideal for developers and hackers.

Winner: HTC Desire

Design

Taking completely different approaches, whether you prefer the Nokia N900 or HTC Desire will come down completely to what sort of user you are. With a sublime keyboard in place, the Nokia N900 is the perfect smartphone for us, making it easy to edit documents or create emails on the move, but if you’re a more casual user you may prefer the HTC Desire’s sleek and slim touchscreen-only design.

Winner: Nokia N900

Processor

The HTC Desire is the superior handset when it comes to processing power, packing in the latest 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. This doesn’t mean the Nokia N900 is lacking – with a 600MHz chip in place it’s actually a fast and smooth device – but it lags behind the Desire when it comes to outright speed.

Winner: HTC Desire

Storage

The Nokia N900 is the better device when it comes to storage, thanks to a whopping 32GB of internal memory, plus the ability to add more via microSD cards. With just 576MB of RAM, the HTC Desire falls a long way short, although it also offers a microSD slot for adding your own memory.

Winner: Nokia N900

Camera

The Nokia N900 packs in a 5-Megapixel camera, which features Carl Zeiss optics. While it’s not up to the standards set by the very best camera phones, it is still good enough for the odd holiday snap. It also stands up well in comparison to the HTC Desire’s snapper – which also features a 5-Megapixel sensor.

Winner: Draw

Tags: Desire HTC HTC Desire N900 Nokia Nokia N900
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  • Alan

    Perhaps the author should investigate the actual architecture differences between the two processors.

    As the nokia n900 has a dedicated GPU and Audio Processor, while the snapdragon is used for all, so the nokia could actually end up faster.

  • http://na Jayel

    I agree with Alan, I think it could be alot closer due to these reasons.

    I have seen a stress test done on N900 showing 31-33 different applicaitons running at the same time with little slow down. N900 is definetly my choice but I think its more the geek factor than anything else driving this.

  • Damo

    What about web brousing capability? Oh and Although the htc has a faster cpu it’s actually a good deal slower than the n900 with its combined cpu gpu performance. Camera on the n900 is better too. Have you ever actually had a hands on with these two phones?

  • TC

    The battery is to small on N900 and it is definetly too heavy and bulky, so you need to charge it constantly and it is not comfortable to have in the pocket of your pants.

  • darthmaul

    I am really torn re: N900 the only thing that makes me hesitate on the n900 is screen size and type. Now that there are phone comming out with 4.3 inch screens the Nokia’s 3.5 inch seems small. Other than that I think as long as you know what you are getting the n900 is the best phone.

    Regarding performance the I am told that the CHIP on the n900 runs in other devices at 800 mhz. And there are people who have been able to overclock it very stable at 900 mhz some have managed over 1ghz but less stable. In terms of adaptability there is no phone like the n900 it is a completely different beast. If Nokia made another like it with a 4 inch screen I would run to the shops now and pay top dollar

  • Mikey Bee

    @darthmaul – the force is strong in the N900, you can feel it drawing you to it! Hear what you say about the screen size but got to remember that with a larger screen comes more weight and potential bulk, I wonder if 4-inch is the way to go? What do other people think?

  • Mihai

    I’ve got a question. I’m due for an upgrade on 1st of may. I’m a big Nokia fan but i’m concern about the lack of applications for N900. What’s the point of having a phone that doesn’t have to many apps? I also would like to know about the battery life on this 2. Many thanks, Mihai

  • FD

    It’s possible to overclock the N900 cpu to 1ghz (stable!), of course at the expense of battery life. Read more about it at maemo.org

    I really wish n900 would have a bigger screen tho. :( that’d make it beastly.

  • bwbwbw

    i have the nokia n900 and im sending it back – the battery runs out after about 6 hours and it crashes constantly. i really liked the design and some of the applications for this phone but it just isnt good enough for the price. it constantly turns itself off and i wouldnt reccomend it. im thinking of getting the htc desire as a replacement anyway, but i dont like the fact it doesnt have the slide out keyboard!:(

  • Mike

    Everybody seems to complain about the lack of applications for N900! Its nonsence. Skip ovi store and add repositories like extras and extras testing. Look at maemo.org and other places you will find thousands of applications.

  • john

    @ mike… yes skip to the extra +extra testing devs AND zap your root space, for the novice user some of those apps can damage their device (and in some cases void nokia’s shaky warranty), and if they don’t know how to reflash, they’re screwed, also many of those “apps” look like preschool scrawlings.

    i have the n900 and while it does some things brilliantly, as a PHONE it is the worst nokia ever! it does not process weaker cellular signals (this is a well documented hardware fault… google it) it continuously drops coverage and takes forever to switch between cells, it is totally out of coverage while my mk 1 N95 has a full signal beside it. What’s the point having a great browser and firefox, when it cannot connect to a cellular service?

    I have reflashed it 7(!!!) times since feb and it’s now only june, it’s been back to nokia twice, and now has to go back again.

    The ovi store is a joke, as is nokia’s customer care.

    The n900 ovi store will probably NOT improve, thanks to the many hack attempts on it.

    DO NOT BUY THIS DEVICE IF:-
    1. you live in a weak signal rural area
    2. if you don’t know or not comfortable reflashing your device (reinstalling it’s firmware)
    3. you want to install a load of apps- they’re not out there and anyway the n900′s available memory for
    apps is very limited (it is NOT part of the 32G built in memory)
    4. you expect adequate follow up warranty (in some cases nokia consider reflashing a warranty void)

  • Kart

    I have the N900 and love the phone.But i’m sorry the ovi store is just terrible. There are many apps developed for maemo by other developers yet it somehow misses as compared to the droid store. Ordered the htc desire.Let’s see how that goes.:)

  • Melroy

    wth winner DRAW? Stupid -,-

  • Anton

    Guys stop moaning about lack of apps and install a dual os on Nokia N900
    so you will be able to use Maemo and Android OS on your mobile with all Android apps.
    John i don’t know where you get an idea that you constantly need to reinstall firmware.
    I do like an idea of HTC but i got a N900 and i don’t think there is a more powerful mobile that
    can handle as much as a PC, with just an idea that you can actually overclock your device to make it faster
    or do programing on your mobile.

  • Sam

    you people have no idea what you\’re talking about – the snapdragon has a dedicated gpu called the adreno 200 which is an AMD chip. This combined with the 1Ghz application processor mean the desire is quite a bit more powerful. Though admittedly in pure image rendering the sgx530 is a little more powerful than the adreno.

  • yasser

    the N900 OMAP 3430 has 3 microprocessors
    -600 MHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU for OS & APPS
    -430 MHz C64x+ DSP FOR imaging, audio & data transmission
    -PowerVR SGX 530 GPU which includes TMS320 C64x to offload the ARM cortex from processing audio & video also the 3D graphics accelerator

    also it can be overclocked up to 1150 MHz using a modified kernel
    so in a way i think its a lil bit faster than that of HTC and iPhone 4

  • Thomas

    I dont actually own either but i\’m about to purchase my first smartphone its just so bloody confusing everyone\’s got good and bad things to say about both phones, would someone be able to point be to an unbiased review on the n900, HTC desire HD/Z.
    Ive always stood by nokia phones for ease of use, durability and quality but i really have no idea what to buy any help would be very much appreaciated.
    Merry Christmas

  • Will

    I have a n900 and I love it. I don’t know much about ghz and reflashing but I never have much trouble with my nokia. The ovi store is rubbish, yes, but if you’ve got an iPod touch for games and apps then it’s fine. The downside for me is the battery, now I haven’t done any of this overclocking but I still need to charge it up every couple of days.
    Now I have never owned a HTC device so I don’t really know, but as the review says each of the phones is stronger in different areas (although in my opinion not quite how he/she puts it) and it is unfair to directly compare each phone and have a ‘winner’, I think it should be more which phone is best for you.

    @Thomas merry Christmas to you too

  • ahmed

    Dear All,
    Please wait until the new nokia E7 it is the upgrade version for N900.

  • Princekennedy

    please can anyone help me with how i can do this overclocking thing on my n900 because is very slow to my liken and where do i get to install android on it? please be kiind to email me @ princekennedy@ovi.com