There are phones which can perform a task. There are phones which can perform multiple tasks. And then there is Nokia N900, which is a Baap of Multitasking!
Exactly one year ago, after a LOT of research, I got Nokia N900. And man, it was the decision I am never going to regret!
Things I love –
- Butter Smooth OS
- 32gb inbuilt storage (+ 16gb expandable)
- Full Flash 9.4
- 2gb application memory
- Solid build
- Superb external slide out keyboard
- Excellent display
- Supports DivX/Xvid etc .out of the box. With the easily available decoders support, it can play almost any format.
- Kickstand
- The Mozilla based browser, MicroB. Superb browsing experience!
Things I don’t –
- Bulky. It weighs 180gms!
- Resistive touchscreen. Not exactly bad, but a capacitive one would have rocked.
- No out of the box office/excel. It expires in a month.
I never thought I would buy a Nokia one day. I just hate the Symbian OS. I just don’t like its UI and don’t find it smooth. Further, I don’t like it when a phone hangs. Also, I don’t like it if I can’t fill my phone to the brim because it tends to hang when done so. Enter N900. No, it’s not Symbian! N900 runs on Linux based Maemo 5 OS. I don’t care about it being open source and great for hackers. I am not a computer guy. But, the OS is brilliant. I just cannot compare it with any other OS. It is simple, user friendly, and offers decent eye candy too. It makes the phone really functional. I cannot digest the fact that instead of working on Maemo, which received such amazing reviews worldwide, Nokia tied up with Microsoft and virtually killed Maemo.
I hate Nokia for that.
Anyway, back to the phone.
Multitasking. The phone redefines multitasking and takes it to a whole new level. You will find videos on youtube with N900 running more than 20 applications. What I love is, I can text, listen to music, open multiple tabs, surf Team-BHP and gsmarena, be on facebook, google talk, flickr, wikipedia all at the same time. One doesn't always do all this simultaneously, but if ever one wants to, the phone won't let you down.
N900 works only in landscape mode. This can be a deal breaker for many, but I am okay with it. In fact, now I can’t use a touchscreen phone in portrait mode. Sliding the screen reveals a three row QWERTY keypad. The keyboard doesn't slide out fully like it does in most phones. Because of that, you get a great grip while typing and holding the phone while typing becomes easy. The keys give really nice feedback, are tactile and are placed neatly too. This allows to achieve great typing speed. All the shortcuts like ctrl+a, ctrl+z etc work. Text can be selected using shift+direction key. There is also a shortcut ctrl+shift+p for taking screenshots!
The phone has 32gb inbuilt storage and 16gb expandable. You can fill in all the movies, seasons, songs, photos you want. Some might think that the expandable 16gb is useless as it already has lot of inbuilt storage. But, the memory card slot helps in transferring data from computer/somebody else’s phone and is of great advantage. I love to fill the phone with movies and love watching it on the phone. There’s no need for converting any movie/video. Just drop and play. There are no lags even while playing a full fledged 1gb movie playing and the viewing pleasure is just great. And yes, the kickstand is of great use too!
The best part of the phone is the Browser. It is the best browser I have ever used on a phone. It has full flash 9.4, it is fast, PC like and addictive. Connect it to your wireless router and browse, you won’t feel the need of a PC. I surf, recharge my phone, watch videos, upload photos to flickr, manage online banking account all from the phone. There’s a nice Twitter client called ‘Witter’ for those who like to tweet. It has a facebook application, but all it does is display status messages. There is no multitouch support, so you have to use the volume rocker for zooming in gallery. For zooming while browsing, make a circle with your finger and it zooms in, it’s nice to use. Of course, you can use the volume rocker as well. It has two speakers and the sound is nice. I usually use the earphones though.
The phone is build really well. It is not a looker for sure but is really functional, exactly my type. I would have liked if it had the call accept/reject buttons below the screen. Also, I would like to mention what amazing job the ambient light sensor does! It adjusts the brightness really quickly and works smoothly. Also, Nokia's Push Email works brilliantly.
It has a 5mp camera that does its job well. Video recording at 24fps is decent too. Don't expect high quality low light photos/videos though.
I am really satisfied with this phone. It has limited applications, is not a looker, is bulky, but still, it is the best phone for me. I don’t mind not having killer looks, lots of eye candy and huge list of applications. I like the way the phone functions and it’s usability. I will never ever sell the phone, it is for keeps for sure. I thank my brother who got it for me from the US. And yes, it sells there for $350 today and 23k here in India. C’mon Nokia!
In the dark, with backlit keyboard.
I am attaching some screenshots so that you get an idea about the OS and various features etc.
The desktop with the widgets. It has 3 more similar customizable screens.
A tap on the status bar and this menu pops down.
The Dialer. No smart dialing.
Texting is fun with smileys just a finger away.
Aah, the browser! Amazing browser I tell you!
Tapping the status bar and 'Internet Connections' after that reveals this menu.
The media player.
Multitasking! The open Applications
Open any number of applications, the phone won't slow down!
If an application is open and you have to open the menu, you have to go through the Task Manager. You can't go directly to the menu.
For those who are well versed with Linux.
FM Transmitter. Select a frequency (other than the radio station), switch the transmitter On and play a song. Comes in really handy in a car.
Available chat clients, out of the box. You can add more.
Hope you liked the phone and the review.