Nokia N900 - No Aussie Release Date Yet

We are all we’ve got. Watch the full trailer for Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Pre-order Now!

We take Naughty Dog's latest graphical masterpiece for a gameplay spin to see if it handles as well as it looks and sounds. Click here for our full hands-on preview!

We Talk with Acti's Daniel Suarez!

Ahead of the Xbox One reveal, AusGamers had a chance to see Call of Duty: Ghosts up close and in person. We also spoke with CoD VP of product Daniel Suarez. Click here!

Injustice: Gods Among Us Reviewed!

We take NetherRealm's Injustice: Gods Among Us for the review spin and walk away very happy with what the MK creators have built here. Click for the review!

Nokia N900 - No Aussie Release Date Yet

Post by trog @ 11:07am 24/11/09 | 59 Comments

The Nokia N900 which we wrote about a while back was officially launched recently - well, everywhere except Australia. We've spoken to some Nokia PR representatives here about an Australian release and got the following response:

...no news as yet as to when this will be availability in Australia or pricing.

The Nokia Nseries blog is running a series of videos that offer a 30 second overview about various functionality in the N900, including one that shows how it can run oldschool game emulators, which is pretty neat (I'm sure all the games they're running were legally acquired, too). It's also a great example of one of the best features of the N900 - the ability to run any software you want, and not just what your phone vendor will let you.

Unfortunately searching for reviews is a fruitless task if, like me, you're interested primarily in the software side of things - the vast majority of reviews out there are still focusing on things that are much less interesting (to me, anyway) in this new age of smartphones in which software is king. If you find any good ones, let ys know (or wait until we get one for review!).

nokia n900

Link

mongie
Posted 11:21am 24/11/09

What phone do you use Trog?

Link

Term
Posted 11:37am 24/11/09

My iphone has lost its sheen and hankering for a more accessible android but they all look crud so far

Link

trog
Posted 11:37am 24/11/09

What phone do you use Trog?

I just have an old crappy Nokia thing at the moment. I am pretty keen to check out the N900 but I'm waiting until I find a review written by someone that really focuses on the software side. On paper it does everything I want in a phone though.

I'm also checking out the Droid vaguely but I think the N900 is more my scene; I like the idea of native C apps + proper lunix much better than the Java thing Android has going on.

Link

infi
Posted 11:38am 24/11/09

The N900 looks like sex but I will sit on my n97 for the time being cos it does the trick.

That Sony Satio that Paveway was talking about looks pretty nifty too - 12.1mp camera.

Link

greazy
Posted 12:08pm 24/11/09

When you find a good review please post trog. I'm also using an extremely basic phone and interested in the n900.

Link

trog
Posted 12:57pm 24/11/09

When you find a good review please post trog. I'm also using an extremely basic phone and interested in the n900.

yeh, it's really annoying... most of the reviews are like, here's one page of photos of the device, one page about using it, and one page about the software. They mostly seem to ignore the biggest part of the phone, which is the software - I guess why Nokia are going gung-ho on their blog highlighting all the cool shit you can do with it, because they're not getting the coverage in the review world.

The mobile phone review world looks like its full of lamers though. I guess they are used to just getting soooo many silly little units which are basically the same they don't really have a good system when they get something that is truly different.

Link

Morax
Posted 01:01pm 24/11/09

I'm waiting for the Sony Xperia X10 to come out... Next-gen Android phone with a 1 ghz cpu :D

Link

gamer
Posted 02:16pm 24/11/09

Got a summery of what this phone can go?

Bandwidth (gprs / 3g/ hspda or whatever)
Additional memory?
Camera?
GPS (real gps?)
Non priprietary software like the iphone or symbian ?
Touch or qwerty?
Speed of processor and graphics capabilities?

Link

eXemplar
Posted 02:22pm 24/11/09

I like the idea of native C apps + proper lunix much better than the Java thing Android has going on.

Out of curiosity, why is it you like native c apps as opposed to Java on a mobile system? Can totally understand an open linux base though.

Link

greazy
Posted 02:30pm 24/11/09

gamer if you even bothered to wiki the phone then all your answers would be questioned.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N900

Link

BillyHardball
Posted 02:35pm 24/11/09

Probably delayed in Australia so they could work out how to cripple the device so Telcos get to squeeze every penny out of the users.

Link

Syco
Posted 03:04pm 24/11/09

Will it have a new OS or Symbian 99999999999999.888888? I'd probably give Nokia another look in if they designed a whole new OS rather then continually building on the old one.

Link

gamer
Posted 03:06pm 24/11/09

Yeah details about the phone would be nice on the post rather then having to troll through other websites, like i've already had to do now.

http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n900-2917.php
http://maemo.nokia.com/n900/specifications/

Syco I beleive it has a new Linux OS... thats what all the fuss is about?

Link

Nathan
Posted 03:13pm 24/11/09

Please be sure to post more news items about other things I cant get

Link

gamer
Posted 03:36pm 24/11/09

I like how it has a fm TRANSMITTER... it would be nice to not have to lug one around with my mp3 player/phone

Link

Dan
Posted 03:40pm 24/11/09

Yeah details about the phone would be nice on the post rather then having to troll through other websites, like i've already had to do now.

The links in the OP go straight to pages with more spec information on the device.

Link

Midda
Posted 03:53pm 24/11/09

Just reading about the spec on Wiki, I saw this:

The Nokia N900 has a 3.5 inch resistive touchscreen...

That's where I stopped caring.

Link

infi
Posted 04:33pm 24/11/09

whats so bad about resistive? i have never been able to understand the big deal there.

Link

greazy
Posted 04:36pm 24/11/09

apple fan i bet.

Link

mongie
Posted 04:38pm 24/11/09

Resistive = press screen, capacitive = touch screen.

Link

Midda
Posted 04:42pm 24/11/09

apple fan i bet.

Not even close.

whats so bad about resistive? i have never been able to understand the big deal there.

I've never used a resistive screen that's felt as responsive as a capacitive. Also, multi-touch is awesome, and though I've read it's possible to do multi-touch on a resistive screen, I've only ever seen it implemented in capacitive. That, and glass capacitive screens just feel a whole lot nicer.

Link

gamer
Posted 04:50pm 24/11/09

oh well that doesnt sound good at all midda :( going to have to get some reviews that cover on this as well... when is the phone due out?

Link

mongie
Posted 04:50pm 24/11/09

I just had to set up a Touch2Pro, WinMo is still shit.

Link

fpot
Posted 04:52pm 24/11/09

I've always disliked apple but I gotta say iphone ftmfw

Link

greazy
Posted 04:52pm 24/11/09

i wish you'd read the thread gamer.

Link

gamer
Posted 04:58pm 24/11/09

read the entire thread greazy... dont get your point

Link

trog
Posted 04:59pm 24/11/09

I like how it has a fm TRANSMITTER... it would be nice to not have to lug one around with my mp3 player/phone

I would much much much rather an FM receiver

Link

mongie
Posted 05:03pm 24/11/09

yeah, both would be good :D

I'd also rather the receiver... biggest feature iphone is missing imo.

Link

greazy
Posted 05:16pm 24/11/09

gamer:

The Nokia N900 which we wrote about a while back was officially launched recently - well, everywhere except Australia.

Answers your question.

Link

Hogfather
Posted 05:28pm 24/11/09

Hate Apple. Love iPhone.

Link

BillyHardball
Posted 05:58pm 24/11/09

I'd also rather the receiver... biggest feature iphone is missing imo.

Apparently all iPhones from the first gen actually have an FM receiver built in them, and they are about to activate the software to use it.

Link

Chuckeh
Posted 07:12pm 24/11/09

You had to troll those threads to extract information, Gamer?

Link

Fn
Posted 08:58pm 24/11/09

It has both FM Receiver and Transmitter Trog according to Wiki

Possible to listen to music directly through any FM radio with the built-in 88.1 - 107.9 MHz FM transmitter. The device is also capable of receiving an FM-radio signal via a free 3rd-party FM-radio application

I hope any linux fm radio app should do the trick just because that would be cool. Not that I imagine many if any would be out there. As long as Nokia havn't dictated that only this one app may be used for this purpose i'm happy. I'm getting the feeling that this isn't the case tho which is fantastic.

Not being software limited in the great struggle for more money would be a breath of fresh air.

last edited by Fn at 20:58:02 24/Nov/09

Link

3dee
Posted 09:53pm 24/11/09

Its good to see Nokia starting to get outta of the Symbian crap. The N900 OS looks quite good from those short videos. Animations, polished interface, lots of features. The only real problem from having used a glass capacitive screen is the resistive as Midda said. They're pretty average really, and no multi-touch.

If I didn't have an iPhone i'd definitely check that out.

Link

partyhat
Posted 10:16pm 24/11/09

guys check out this thread for the HTC HD2. WinMo but using the SenseUI. Looks pretty fucking awesome to me.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=378663

the thread has a link to a pretty cool video overview of the device.

Link

trog
Posted 12:30pm 25/11/09

This random site reckons the N900 is better than the HD2, but of course ymmv: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/20091105/smartphone-wars-nokia-n900-versus-htc-hd2-versus-motorola-droid-five.htm

Link

gamer
Posted 03:42pm 25/11/09

15 reasons the 900 is better then an iphone and 5 reasons its not

http://www.starryhope.com/nokia-n900/2009/15-ways-nokias-n900-is-better-than-apples-iphone-and-5-ways-its-not/

Link

sparrow
Posted 05:31pm 25/11/09

gamer that article is awesome. I keep changing my mind about it, but that definitely makes me want it again!

Link

infi
Posted 05:44pm 25/11/09

very nice article but i think that screen thing is a bit of deal breaker for potential converts. i wonder why nokia went with the resistive screen if its so crap?

Link

sparrow
Posted 05:54pm 25/11/09

I've read reviews (a while ago sorry, can't remember which) that suggest despite being resistive, it's actually a really really good screen. I'll try to find them.

*EDIT*

It�s a conventional wisdom that resistive touchscreen will always be inferior to the capacitive one. Nokia N900 has a resistive touchscreen, so, no matter what, it can not be very good.

And, like most conventional wisdoms, this one�s is also dead wrong. The touchscreen on Nokia N900 is very responsive, fast and easy to use. I did not have any problems with it so far.

From this review - not the original one I found, but again, indicates that it is not as bad as you would expect.

Link

3dee
Posted 06:51pm 25/11/09

From: http://www.starryhope.com/nokia-n900/2009/15-ways-nokias-n900-is-better-than-apples-iphone-and-5-ways-its-not/

There's some good things that the iPhone is missing but some of the points are a little irrelevant.

1. No contract needed � N900 Cheaper Over Time
2. Unlocked World Phone

Only in America. You can buy outright unlocked from Apple.

3. Built-in Keyboard

This is a pretty subjective area. I for one hate using physical keyboards over the iPhone "light to touch" keyboard. But some people hate using the iPhone keyboard.

I'm actually getting a little tired of the iPhone Home Screen for one. Its boring, its featureless and the lack of standard notification icons and other tiny little "usability" features that Apple just completely ignore are getting tedious (since you can overcome these by jailbreaking). I wouldn't convert because of the many great things but other manufacturers are definitely giving Apple some more incentive to stop being pricks and start adding USEFUL THINGS to the iPhone. I hope anyway.

Link

Hogfather
Posted 07:38pm 25/11/09

I'm actually getting a little tired of the iPhone Home Screen for one. Its boring, its featureless and the lack of standard notification icons and other tiny little "usability" features that Apple just completely ignore are getting tedious (since you can overcome these by jailbreaking). I wouldn't convert because of the many great things but other manufacturers are definitely giving Apple some more incentive to stop being pricks and start adding USEFUL THINGS to the iPhone. I hope anyway.

Holy fuck is it 2012 already!?

I just agreed with something 3dee said about an Apple product.

Link

sparrow
Posted 07:42pm 25/11/09

3dee - the N900 apparently has a on-screen keyboard as well as the physical. I had the same issue - didn't understand why everyone wanted physical, cause I really like the iphone onscreen keyboard. Mostly for the autocorrect :D

Link

3dee
Posted 07:47pm 25/11/09

Hog, I'm not blind about the iPhone's shortcomings. There's a lot of shit which actually makes me fangry (mainly at Apple) when I see other phones with features that the iPhone clearly has every capability of having.

Let me see (some perfectly legitimate features that respect legal/other limitations imposed by Apple):

Bluetooth photo exchange

Bluetooth vCard exchange

STATUS BAR NOTIFICATIONS FOR FS!

At least some very simple customisation like a more "wallpaper-friendly" Home Screen. Wallpapers just look crap behind all those icons.

An "alerts" lock screen.

You shouldn't need to jailbreak just to get these really quite obvious features. Apple needs to get their head out of their own ass and implement some of these things.

Link

deadlyf
Posted 07:58pm 25/11/09

Only in America. You can buy outright unlocked from Apple.

Isn't that irrelevant since you can buy the n900 for half the price? $500 bucks from Amazon according to that article and it's an international phone so it should work here fine.

The screen is the only real glaring issue for me, I've played with an n97 and the screen was shit compared to an iPhone. It's a pretty obvious issue too which makes me think that if you buy a n900 now you'll be kicking yourself when they release the n901 in 6 months with a screen that doesn't suck. That's probably the iPhones strongest point, there is an Android phone released every other month that supersedes the previous version which kinda makes it hard to decide on one.

Link

d[o_0]b
Posted 07:59pm 25/11/09

without reading the thread, just got told today by an nokia rep its not coming to australia - if it hasn't been mentioned yet

gay

Link

greazy
Posted 08:02pm 25/11/09

you've got to wonder how much in the know these reps are.

Link

sparrow
Posted 09:07pm 25/11/09

Only in America. You can buy outright unlocked from Apple.
Isn't that irrelevant since you can buy the n900 for half the price? $500 bucks from Amazon according to that article and it's an international phone so it should work here fine.

The screen is the only real glaring issue for me, I've played with an n97 and the screen was shit compared to an iPhone. It's a pretty obvious issue too which makes me think that if you buy a n900 now you'll be kicking yourself when they release the n901 in 6 months with a screen that doesn't suck. That's probably the iPhones strongest point, there is an Android phone released every other month that supersedes the previous version which kinda makes it hard to decide on one.

waiting 6 months is all well and good for most people, but I needed a phone two months ago, and it's enough that I have to wait for it to be released in Australia. I'm not willing to wait out another 6 months for the next gen to come out.

Link

3dee
Posted 09:10pm 25/11/09

Import Bro

Link

sparrow
Posted 09:33pm 25/11/09

Yeah, it's getting to that point.

Link

trog
Posted 09:45pm 25/11/09

I've pretty much decided I'm going to import one; I'm checking with our Nokia contact for options.. if they come up blank, amazon.com. I'll review it and if it sucks, ebay!

Link

greazy
Posted 10:38pm 25/11/09

Have you ever bought anything electronic from amazon.com trog?

Link

infi
Posted 12:49am 26/11/09

let me warn you now about importing. i imported my first n97 from hong kong and when i had a warranty issue due to a faulty lcd screen nokia australia would not organise the repair.

i had to post to hong kong at great expense and delay. in my opinion it is not worth it, because if the defect with the phone is anything requiring major work, nokia australia will not touch it.

Link

trog
Posted 10:29am 26/11/09

Have you ever bought anything electronic from amazon.com trog?

Nope, never. Now I'm going crazy with all the things I'm thinking about buying! N900, Kindle... madness!

Link

greazy
Posted 09:08pm 26/11/09

Hate to burst your bubble trog but apart from the kindle it's hard to get amazon to ship anything electronic because you get slapped in the face with a warranty message.
evidenta:
http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/2852/25297458.png

last edited by greazy at 21:08:06 26/Nov/09

Link

trog
Posted 11:27pm 26/11/09

yeh I figured there might be something like that; I have relatives in California; I was going to get it shipped to them anyway cuz I figured otherwise I wouldn't get the rebate :)

Link

greazy
Posted 11:43am 27/11/09

What rebate? Also can you hook a brother up?

Link

sparrow
Posted 12:24pm 27/11/09

I wonder if there is a bulk-buy discount..

Commenting has been locked for this item.

59 Comments

Show