Nokia N900 in the house, fire away and I’ll post answers to your most pressing questions
Just late last week I was offered the chance to try out a Nokia N900 from now until January and I quickly said yes to the Nokia representative. I was quite surprised when the N900 was sitting at home waiting for me yesterday afternoon when I arrived home after work since I was expecting it later in the week. I have spent several hours with the device and will give you some of my first thoughts to go along with my image gallery below, but I won’t yet give it a full review rating or anything since we are currently evaluating a firmware that is not the final shipping version you will see when you buy the device. I also plan to post quite a bit about this device so stay tuned for lots of N900 posts. I am sure T-Mobile customers will appreciate these posts even more than AT&T customers since the Nokia N900 supports T-Mobile’s 3.5G data network on the 1700 MHz frequency. OK, let’s dive in and take an initial look at the N900.
Out of the box first impressions
The box is just about exactly the same as the slick Nokia N97 packaging with the small black design and embedded/stamped impression of the device and keyboard on the front top flap. After opening it up I found the Nokia N900 sitting there without the battery in place. I picked it up and was VERY surprised by how light it was in my hand. I have only seen photos before, but given its thickness I really expected it to have more heft than it did. Even after putting the battery in the device I still have the feeling that there is a bit too much empty space in the package and it doesn’t feel super dense and solid like my N97, the Sprint HTC Hero, or iPhone 3GS. It is MUCH smaller than the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet so I had to remind myself that this is also an Internet Tablet and not necessarily a Nseries smartphone. I like the matte finish to the sides and back, but the black glossy display is quite the fingerprint magnet. The QWERTY keyboard is a bit tighter than I thought it would be, but each key is large enough for me to type pretty accurately. The display looks quite nice and even though it is resistive it performs almost like a capacitive display with fluid motions too.Specifications
The Nokia N900 may have some of the best specs currently available for a mobile phone so let’s check them out below:- Quad-band GSM (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- WCDMA 900/1700/2100 3.5G support
- 256 MB RAM, 768 MB virtual memory
- TI OMAP 3430 ARM Cortex-A8 600 MHz processor and 3D accelerator
- Maemo 5 operating system
- Integrated 32GB internal storage
- MicroSD card slot
- 3.5 inch (800×480 pixels) display with support for up to 16.7 million colors
- BP-5J 1320 mAh Li-Ion battery
- Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
- Integrated GPS receiver
- 3.5mm headset jack
- MicroUSB port for syncing and charging
- 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics
- Integrated FM transmitter
- Accelerometer
- Dimensions: 4.33 x 2.35 x 0.71 inches and 6.38 ounces
What’s in the box?
As I mentioned in my out-of-the box take, the N900 comes in that same great black compact box as the Nokia N97. You will find the following in the retail box:- Nokia N900
- Nokia Battery (BL-5J)
- Nokia High Efficiency Charger (AC-10)
- Nokia Stereo Headset (WH-205)
- Video out cable (CA-75U)
- Nokia charger adaptor (CA-146C)
- Cleaning cloth
Walk around the hardware
The N900 is really not a sexy sleek device and has a feel of geekiness to it since it is a bit chunkier than some newer devices. There is nothing on the front but the large display and handset speaker. The device operates primarily in landscape mode and the only time I have seen it go into portrait mode is during phone calls.A microUSB port, lanyard opening, and one of the stereo speakers is found along the top (left in landscape) side. The hold switch, stylus and silo, 3.5mm headset jack, and other stereo speaker are found on the bottom (right side in landscape). The stylus is all black plastic and may have been better with a bit of metal. Then again, you shouldn’t really have to use the stylus so this may be a moot point.
There are a few things along the right (top in landscape) side, including the volume rocker, power button, camera activation button, and infrared port (I think that is what this is).
There is really nothing on the left (bottom in landscape) side since the stylus is mainly along the bottom and wraps just a bit around the left side.
A 5 megapixel camera with dual LED and Carl Zeiss optics is found on the back with a sliding lens cover in place. A kickstand is mounted around the camera lens so you can prop up the device and watch video content.
The last piece of hardware is the QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the left (bottom) side. It is a three row keyboard that has decent sized buttons and spacing. Each key gives pretty good feedback and there are directional arrows over on the bottom right. It doesn’t seem to be a bad keyboard and it seems to have a better feel than the N97, but it can’t touch the excellent keyboard of the T-Mobile HTC Touch Pro2.
Quick thoughts on the software
I won’t comment too much on the software because we were told that this is still an early version on these devices. The software will be updated prior to shipping and release so I will go into more details then.It did take me a bit of getting used to the way things work on the N900 since there are customizable homescreens with support for widgets, shortcuts, bookmarks, and contacts. Everything I did on the N900 so far has been extremely fluid and the resistive display has been easy to use as well. There are a few apps loaded on the device including the following:
- Maemo Browser
- Phone
- Conversations
- Contacts
- Camera
- Photos
- Media player
- Calendar
- Ovi Maps
- Clock
- Notes
- Calculator
- PDF reader
- Documents To Go Office viewers
- File manager
- RSS reader
- Sketch
- Games
- Widgets
- Application manager for downloads
I am seeing a whole lot of S60 functionality in this Maemo build, making it much more functional than I have seen previously on the N810. Mail for Exchange is included so I was able to quickly and easily get setup with my Exchange server and get my email, contacts, calendar, and tasks loaded onto the N900. FYI, you won’t find this in the Email setup, but you have to go to the Settings>Mail for Exchange utility to get things going.
I was EXTREMELY pleased to see a threaded text messaging client in the Conversations utility that was loaded on the N900. It is about time Nokia!
I also discovered a few available apps in the repositories, including Qik, Evernote (limited to photo uploads), and Bounce. You can find some other repositories if you look around and I have a FM radio and Mauku loaded on the N900 at this time. You can use the Evernote mobile website to use the rest of the Evernote features. The Facebook homescreen widget is pretty slick, but you still have to go to the website to perform most actions. That said, the web browser so far has been outstanding and I haven’t found any limitations with it yet.
The Ovi Store for the N900 is not yet active so 3rd party apps are limited at the moment.
I also am liking the notifications status area that lets you get quick access to your profiles, wireless connection manager, and more.
BTW, I tried loading up videos from the Amazon Video on Demand store and they do not work on the N900 at this time. They do work well on the Nokia 5800 and N97 though.
Final first impressions
So far the T-Mobile 3G signal seems to be outstanding, the device feels pretty solid, the display looks great, the device is very snappy, and the HTML email looks fantastic on the large display. I am very happy to have my Exchange account syncing with an Internet Tablet and think this thing could replace a netback for getting lots of work done on the go.Please post any questions you have for me on the Nokia N900 and stay tuned for several more posts as I put the device through lots of tests and trials over the next couple of months.
52 Comments to Nokia N900 in the house, fire away and I’ll post answers to your most pressing questions
The most pressing questions:
- What apps work in portrait mode?
- How many apps can you keep open while the device remains responsive (=quick)?
- Battery life?
- Can you confirm no MMS?
- Comments on the keyboard?
AndersOctober 13, 2009
- What about the software keyboard: Does it run on top of any application? Is it any good?
- Coould you basically throw any video file onto the device and it will play? What about HD video? Are subtitle files supported?
- What about the responsiveness of the toughscreen?
AliOctober 13, 2009
How is the screen in terms of hardness? A review I read a while ago had mentioned that it seemed to be more prone to scratches than previous nokia touchscreens such as the n97 or 5800. Also how is the slider mechanism? does it feel as solid as the one on the n97? Also I would love for you to test out the battery, I understand its not running the final firmware but just to give us an idea of battery performance using 3g and wifi and running various apps would be nice
SantiOctober 13, 2009
I know that might change in the final software, but: 1) which games does it come with? 2) How usable is the PDF reader? (I find the N97 one too slow and unusable) 3) Since it’s linux based, is there access to a terminal? can you use “vi”, “gcc”, etc?
weareborgOctober 13, 2009
If you were given a HD2 in the morning.. would you go over to the dark side?
GilesOctober 13, 2009
No one has posted about the battery life yet. to my mind a 1320mA battery can’t POSSIBLY be enough for the kind of geeks (like me) that’ll be using this device Please please tell us how it holds out.
TaylorOctober 13, 2009
Is this compatible at all with AT&T, including data?
KamishOctober 13, 2009
Is the screen itself wider or bigger than N97 screen i.e like the iphone even though all are 3.5 inch screens?
Thanks
DansOctober 13, 2009
Careful with the FM radio app, its in alpha and will eat the battery.
But then you could just carry a spare. 
branonOctober 13, 2009
So if i have a G1, is upgrading to the n900 a no-brainer? More particularly a) How is the lag? b) How is the battery life? c) Does it work well as a phone (!) too?
Thanks.
MarcoOctober 13, 2009
He Matthew, anything known about the battery life? Does is play videos from http://www.uitzendinggemist.nl (dutch site) Thanks.
troyOctober 13, 2009
Any chance there is an onscreen t9 keyboard for texting/email? if i could text t9 in portrait this would be the perfect phone!
1) battery life 2) PIM functionality & synch via nokia/ovi suite
Branon, good question that I hope to answer for myself too. I have been playing with the HTC Hero and thinking of adding Sprint to get it, but will now be able to see if the N900 meets these needs without having to add another wireless carrier.
I will test battery life, but it will take a bit of time since we just received these yesterday. Also, battery life is highly dependent on firmware optimizations so it may not be the best indicator of what you will see. It should be close though.
ArtOctober 13, 2009
I’m very curious about the battery life – I currently use a Nokia E71 (which has incredible stamina) and would like to know how the N900 fares in comparison. Thanks!
October 13, 2009
[...] intrepid podcast co-host Matt Miller has taken delivery of an early Nokia N900 and is sharing the unboxing. The N900 is the Maemo-driven Internet tablet turned smartphone that Nokia is pushing as the phone [...]
October 13, 2009
[...] N900 reviews are starting to come in and Nokia Experts has posted some first impressions of this exciting new device- “The box is just about exactly [...]
October 13, 2009
[...] falta do N900? Mais unboxings, mais dicas, mais demos do [...]
UBOctober 14, 2009
Ogg* / Flac support in Media Player & Message/Ring/Alert Tones?
*I thought I saw Ogg support as an additional download.
JMOctober 14, 2009
- Does it play DivX files?
- Can you confirm that it doesn’t have voice dialing feature?
- Any possibility with MMS?
- How do you access the mini-SD card? Do you need to take out the back cover? How hard is it to remove the back cover? Would you think it will eventually if regularly removing it?
One thing am really anxious to find out about the N900 which no one as been able to answer is how well it (and the intenet aware applications (Including 3rd parties) work behind a network proxy. On the n810 only the browser and Internet radio work with http_proxy. Both the IM and almost all the IM app for it dont work if you are behind a network proxy or cooperate firewall.
nokiaRobOctober 14, 2009
Matt,
Could you test out the qik program and see how the n900 is able to handle video recording.
How does the double leds compare to the n97 and n86.
Currently I have e71 (pda functionality, email, iming), n82 (picture and video/recording & 5800 (for watching videos, music, internet).
If you could let us know how the n900 compares in each of these areas, especially what it excels at and what it lacks compared to other nokia phones.
Thanks in advance, and glad you can beta test for all of us!!
JakeOctober 14, 2009
could you please post some comparasion shots with the e71. I’m considering this as my next device but I still have a few concerns, overall size, no mms (wtf nokia?) battery life, and screen responsiveness. thanks.
C.October 14, 2009
Is there a Maemo app that will let you work with Word and Excel files?
krishnaOctober 14, 2009
Can you please post a screen shot of the HTML email which has go pictures in the email. I ordered a N900 but i am not sure if it will have a full html email like iphone….please post the screen shot. thanks a lot
MedorOctober 15, 2009
I am a photographer : is the N900 an USB OTG host, is it capable of reading/transferring stuff off a camera or a card reader ? Is it posssible to hook-up an USB keyboard ?
Thanks !
sjhongOctober 15, 2009
Is it the European version? If it is, I assume it has the 850 Hz band, could you check if you can access AT&T 3G on it?
October 15, 2009
[...] N900 Linux Maemo-powered Internet Tablet. I just received a pre-production unit and posted some first impressions along with several photos of the hardware. The hardware is finalized, but I understand the software [...]
October 16, 2009
[...] on with the Nokia N900 Internet Tablet. Matt’s Zune Originals finally arrived! Pros and cons of the Acer D250 Android / XP netbook [...]
[...] on with the Nokia N900 Internet Tablet. Matt’s Zune Originals finally arrived! Pros and cons of the Acer D250 Android/XP netbook [...]
Brian DohertyOctober 16, 2009
Have you tried the Maps program? I have an N810, and find the part where you can enter a new address to navigate to very frustrating. First, you have to enter the street name, then it presents you with a long list of matches that does not seem sorted by closeness. Many times it’s very difficult to find the right street. It does not allow you to just enter the city – infuriating. Is it the same on the newer Maps version? (I hope not!) Thanks.
suyogOctober 16, 2009
FM Radio doesn’t come in firmware but separate app? why? Can you access Terminal? Root level access to folder structure?
MaverickOctober 17, 2009
I’m one small issue away from getting the N900. I’ve already found buyers for my iphone and blackberry. I will use the N900 to get emails from our corporate exchange 2003 servers. Here’s my question:
Will the N900 be able to support Exchange Mailbox folders? The iPhone and Blackberry Bold are not able to do this, so if I get an email on e.g. “Inbox->Meetings” folder i dont get any alerts that an email has arrived. Is this something that will work as it should on the N900?
MarceloROctober 18, 2009
This is really troubling:
“Then again, you shouldn’t really have to use the stylus so this may be a moot point.”
It is troubling because there is a good number of people who would like to use this tablet for handwritten notes and drawing diagrams, etc. There is at least one app (Xournal or Gournal, not sure which) which has already been ported to Maemo. I want to emphasize that this is distinct from handwriting recognition a la TabletPC or PocketPC.
October 19, 2009
[...] Nokia N900 First Impressions [...]
October 19, 2009
[...] Nokiaexperts.com un articolo che illustra le prime impressioni d’uso del Nokia [...]
Anyone see a shipping notice from Nokia USA on the N900 yet? I’m getting antsy 
AhmedOctober 29, 2009
what about word, excel and PowerPoint? does nokia n900 support these files?
MarioNovember 1, 2009
Hi, I currently have the Nokia N97 and receive work email via the mail for exchange client that nokia offers. However, coming from an Iphone, there are many deficiencies I see with the Nokia MFE client compared to Iphone. For example, the email is all text, sent items are in a universal sent folder (send text is there too), I can not forward a sent item, and last but not least, It automatically uses the internal memory which is very low to begin with on the N97 and so the more days back I sync it, the lower my memory gets… and the lack of folders. Can you please compare the Mail for Exchange client on the N97 (regular s60) to that of the N900 (maemo). I would appreciate it if you tell me if nokia has addressed any of these deficiencies?
Thanks in advance for your help, Mario
C-birdNovember 4, 2009
Hey, I had a few questiontions:
1) Do you have to pay monthly for the service?
2) Does it have a webcam and microphone?
3)Does it support game websites like miniclip.com?
4) Does it have a motion sensor, (like the iphone).
THANKS SO MUCH!!!!
Bob!November 13, 2009
Hello
Can you please tell me if it has a motion sensor? If it does, in what way is it used? For example: screen rotation, games……
Is it worth the money, worth getting, saving for, wanting??
Thanks !! 
December 4, 2009
[...] to arrive, now’s your chance to drop questions in the comments. There have been plenty of great in-depth reviews of the N900, but I’m sure there are some remaining questions for people. And if you’re going to [...]
Sal GalvanDecember 5, 2009
Lets start with Security.
Web surfing on a powerful device leaves the question. How safe is the browing? Do I need to worry about viruses and hacking?
Coming from an iphone 3g how is the music player? Would you take this to the gym and do a workout, or would you be worried about breaking it or is just to bulky to even consider.
Coming from and Android and a Iphone 3Gs.. Im wondering if I’ll be happy with the touch screen, or will it take a bit of a learning curve? Will this learning curve be worth it considering the cost? and it will ever really be something I’ll learn to love or just hate all together!
I’m all exited about the browser but with all the good I’m trying to also learn the bad before spending the same amount of money it would cost to just buy a mini notebook.
December 6, 2009
[...] to arrive, now’s your chance to drop questions in the comments. There have been plenty of great in-depth reviews of the N900, but I’m sure there are some remaining questions for people. And if you’re going to [...]
My biggest question is around how it functions as a netbook replacement. Specifically – if you don’t have the GSM data enabled – and use it just as you would a netbook.
Specifically – how is the typing of LONG emails / blog posts etc. Can you create a document on it? Is it truly a reasonable replacement for a netbook?
Having just left the GSM world of AT&T for Verizon (iphone switch to Droid) – I love the idea of a portable phone sized netbook. The Droid definitely is NOT that. But the N900 might be.
Appreciate any comments along that angle.
billy andersonDecember 9, 2009
can the n900 support a full sized external keyboard…i.e., i don’t want to use the mini qwerty keyboard ON the phone, i want to use a normal size keyboard.
does the n900 have a standard size usb port that i can plug a keyboard into?
do i have to have a wireless keyboard?
thanks!
What about frame quality of N900? I know a few cases when the keyboard cover was broken because of bad quality – http://im.ly/d1b78/.
kevinJanuary 27, 2010
as a business user, the most important thing for me is the exchange functionality
1)does it enable you to see custom folders 2) does it sync contacts 3) does it sync notes 4) does it sync to do lists 5) does it sync calendar
can you let me know please??
cheers! kev
kevinJanuary 27, 2010
and i mean over the air, not by cable sync!
anonymous.1February 25, 2010
USB OTG support was physically disabled by Nokia on the reques of the USB Committee, because Nokia failed to provide them sith the software for the device at time of certification for USB standards. Nokia could enable this on future n900s and apply for USB OTG certification, if they wanted to. Until then, I won’t buy one, and in my good opinion, the n900 remains a greatly powerful device, yet externally crippled beyond belief.
DarshanApril 8, 2010
Hi
do you know if the N900 when synced to the MS exchange server can lookup the global address book on the server to fined addresses of the company. E71 had this feature and you can type in the few characters of the persons name and it will check in the exchange server. this way you don’t have to keep all the email addresses of your staff on the own contacts.
thanks
Kshitij JoshiJune 18, 2010
is the nokia N900 motion censor?? also is the land scape & potrait mode switchable?? which type of applications run on it??
October 13, 2009