Nokia N900 firmware update and Firefox RC 2 release
I’ve been all smitten with my new Google Nexus One the last few days, but when the battery was dead this morning it gave me a chance to pop my SIM back into my Nokia N900. Nokia and Mozilla had a couple of surprises for me this morning when I saw that a new Maemo 5 update and Firefox Mobile RC 2 were available to download.
The firmware for the N900 is 1.2009.44-1.002 and is a 21.8 MB download. After selecting to perform the update you are prompted to create a backup. I skipped this step and went for it. Thankfully, all my apps and settings came through the update with flying colors and work just as well prior to the update. I have not been able to find any notes on what was updated and have not been able to find anything different on my device yet. There is still no MMS support or support for texting in portrait modes. I understand this is a minor update to prepare the device for a much more extensive update coming soon. Hopefully, this update does improve battery life a bit and make it a bit more stable.
Mozilla also released Firefox for Maemo Release Candidate 2 on Friday. If you are not prompted to update or do not yet have it loaded, then simply point your web browser to Firefox.com/m on your N900. As I said before the first release was unusable because it was so painfully slow and after some initial testing this does seem to be faster. I’ll try to take a video of it in action soon to share with you all.
19 Comments to Nokia N900 firmware update and Firefox RC 2 release
Any idea if Mozilla is going to make a browser for S60 devices?
TrustJanuary 11, 2010
Is it as fast as built-in browser?
Or just fine.
JardaJanuary 11, 2010
installed new fw now. Slow, breaking, wifi with certificate and mail for exchange or kerio does not work. Is it possible to downgrade firmware? **** !!
MatthewJanuary 11, 2010
Installed the firmware. It reset the device, lost all the applications and settings. Why can’t Nokia put out a firmware update that doesn’t reset the device? At least with the iPhone the user and application settings are preserved during a upgrade.
Now time to test and see if the upgrade is any good!
Hmm, all my apps, settings, and accounts were preserved and present after I upgraded my N900. Make sure to backup if you want to avoid issues. I was ready for clean install of stuff, but not needed for me.
AndyJanuary 11, 2010
Maemo 5 update ….003 . I execute the update on my phone, it started normally, downloaded the software, installation started, the screen went Black, the phone restarted but the screen never came back again. I can here the sounds when touching the screen or pressing a key on keyboard, but if i cannot see what is going on on the screen then how I can put my pin and use my phone? Any ideas?
AmitJanuary 11, 2010
To download firmware: Download the OS image at: http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/nokia_N900.php
you can download the older version and flash your device with it. I haven’t tried downgrading though, but I have reflashed using this image earlier and it worked just fine.
I did the Over The Air update yesterday and it went just fine…. Saw no issues anywhere.
Also those who are facing problems with device, have u installed applications from devel or testing or unknown catalogues ? that is a bad thing to do…. you must donwload from Extras and Nokia catalogues only… if u want to install from else where, you must be prepared, as the other softwares could be using your rootfs space and could result in problems…
AmitJanuary 11, 2010
Sorry: to DOWNGRADE firmware: Download the OS image at: http://tablets-dev.nokia.com/nokia_N900.php
you can download the older version and flash your device with it. I haven’t tried downgrading though, but I have reflashed using this image earlier and it worked just fine.
EverJanuary 12, 2010
@Matthew: I’m guessing that you may have used the Nokia Software Updater (which downloads the entire Maemo 5 FW, about 162 MB), which will flash the N900 erasing everything on the rootfs. Only OTA (an 18.5 MB download) preserves user data, as it uses Seamless Software Update.
http://wiki.maemo.org/Updatingthetabletfirmware#SeamlessSoftware_Update
Nokia should make it very clear that the NSU will erase everything not in mass memory or on a memory card. In any case always backup regardless.
EverJanuary 12, 2010
JoeJanuary 12, 2010
Nokia N900 is still a fairy tale in Kenya. Whereas Nokia N97 Mini hit the stores in early Dec 2009, there has been no word on the N900.
My patience is running out and am wondering whether Nokia is facing a challenge in production of the N900. I have saved for it for a long time now and my cash might just become stale!
MunkJanuary 12, 2010
@Joe: The N900 is not a mass market device and has only been released in a handful of markets. Its not even out in most Asian countries where Nokia products have a large audience. Your best option might be importing the device.
No issues with updating. Looking forward to the bigger update. Still wish it had the hardware call/end keys. Oh well.
January 18, 2010
[...] Nokia N900 firmware update and Firefox RC 2 release and then N900 firmware PR 1.1 [...]
January 18, 2010
[...] Nokia N900 firmware update and Firefox RC 2 release and then N900 firmware PR 1.1 [...]
January 18, 2010
[...] Nokia N900 firmware update and Firefox RC 2 release and then N900 firmware PR 1.1 [...]
RenatoJanuary 19, 2010
Hi! can anyone tell if one has to install every firmware update since it’s release (by a particular order) or just the last one? I bought mine 5 days ago and would like to know morw about this. Can you help?
January 27, 2010
[...] Nokia N900 firmware update and Firefox RC 2 release and then N900 firmware PR 1.1 [...]
Just goes to show that this is an iphone killer if there ever was one!
The Maemo Browser is so slick and features full flash support, plus a whole load of RAM ensures that the Nokia N900 deals with all the rich web content you can throw at it.
Now it just gets better!
Definitely he most accurate translation of the desktop browsing experience, to mobile, to date.
can anyone help me….. how to refresh my application catalogues in n900. maemo extra, maemo.org and mozilla. i have tried many times… but rest of catalogues refreshed but these 3 cant… plz help me anyone…
January 11, 2010