Last evening we were surprised with an awesome review of the Nokia N900 by Engadget, and were left thinking about Nokia's current situation. We have some interesting posts in the pipeline, but surely, Nokia's position in the smartphone market deserves some time, too. What exactly is the N900? Does it replace the N97? Let's have a look...
First and foremost, no; the N900 is not replacing the N97, it was a project started at Nokia labs at least four years ago using a completely different platform, Maemo, which was initially focused on Internet Tablets. After the N97's failure within the mobile industry, which expected a lot more from Nokia's new flagship smartphone, the N900 remained as the most advanced smartphone project in the works, and was released to consumers during the last quarter of 2009.
However, the N900 is not simply another smartphone; to begin with, and contrary to the N97, the N900 does have up-to-date hardware, the same running inside the Palm Pre and the Motorola Droid, which allows it to deliver a smooth user experience without lag or slow animations, and it features a completely new mobile operating system, Maemo 5. In fact, its user experience is so different from other Nokia smartphones, that Nokia does not announce it as such, but as a mobile computer. This makes a difference, because while we're used to smartphones which extend the functionality of a cellphone, the N900 stands as a mobile multimedia device, with a phone application. Is this wrong? It doesn't have to be; Nokia's not hiding this fact, and is instead trying to embrace a possible solution to improve its high-end smartphones.
So how is the N900? From what we've seen, it's pretty impressive. Maemo looks beautiful, and performs admirably; including small details like the fact that you slide through all of your home screens in a loop, so if you keep sliding in the same direction you return to your original home screen, or the autmatic launch of the Camera app if you slide down the camera door. You also get amazing widgets, which you can put anywhere you want, unlike most mobile operating systems in which we're limited to certain positions in a grid, and, what's possibly the best mobile browser to date; based on Mozilla's Firefox 3.6 core, the N900's browser renders full Flash 10 (no lite versions) and full desktop websites without complaining. It has a full QWERTY keyboard, 3.5mm jack, and looks like a joy to use... except for some quirks we have to get used to. For example, the N900 is designed for use in landscape position, its menu structures are confusing at first, there are many apps lacking from the Ovi Store, and very few apps like the phone work in portrait mode. So, where does the N900 finally stand? In a sentence, it's an Internet Tablet, with a phone, for gadget lovers and Nokia fans. It's a very good Internet Tablet, and by the looks of it, we agree with Engadget in saying that we'd carry one next to our smartphone just for browsing. (Review by PhoneDog below)
And, what does the N900 mean for Nokia? We're not sure. We don't think Nokia meant to show us the N900 as their best try on a touch-focused mobile operating system, we think Nokia believed the N97's Symbian makeup was more than enough for both geeks and the mobile industry, but it clearly wasn't, and took the N900 as a lifeboat, for now. We know Nokia's working on the next generation of the Symbian OS, which leaves us wondering how much will Nokia embrace Maemo. Regardless of where Nokia chooses to build upon its next line of high-end smartphones, what's clear to us is that the loss in market share can be stopped; Nokia is known to everyone, and does not need to fight for consumer awareness like Palm, HTC, Samsung and other rivals, particularly in Europe. The N900 represents hope, hope because although the device is clearly not a consumer smartphone (important lack of apps for Maemo 5, designed for use in landscape, steep learning curve for average users), it is a huge step forward from the N97, and we can't wait to see Nokia fighting to regain its lost ground against Apple, Google and Palm in the future.
References:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/19/nokia-n900-review/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N900
http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/Nokia-N900.htm
http://maemo.nokia.com/n900/
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