The biggest challenge for any touchscreen smartphone, no matter how good or great, is that it will almost always be compared to the iPhone. Some of them like Verizon’s Droid and Blackberry Storm seek that comparison. Others are just going to have to deal with it. Nokia’s new N900 device is in the second camp.
I have been a harsh critic of Nokia’s inability to compete with Apple and Google’s Android-based smartphones. No one can accuse me of not making it clear that Nokia is on a very slippery slope and unless it fields a competitive device, it will continue to see its share of the smartphone market erode. Of course, as you know I am not a big fan of their multiple operating system strategy, but it is becoming clear: Nokia needs to move away from its aging smartphone platform, Symbian.
Nokia apparently realizes that and has been spending a lot of time and energy to build a a modern, Internet centric operating system, Maemo. The latest version of this Linux-based OS, Maemo 5 is the software that powers the N900, a $650 device that is likely to be released in the US soon.
I have been playing around with an early version of this device for about three days and have some impressions. I am breaking down the review into two components –hardware and software – because I think Nokia is getting a few things right!
Hardware: Why I wasn’t surprised
* The N900 resembles an old-fashioned cigarette pack, and it is not the prettiest device on the market. However, in comparison with its predecessors such as the N800 and N770 internet tablets it is absolutely stunning.
* The 3.5-inch WVGA screen is actually pretty stunning and it is easy to read documents on this Phone.
* So how does it stack up against the iPhone 3GS? It is a heavier and thicker and missing the sleekness of the Apple device.
* The keyboard on this device is cramped but still easy enough to use. I have always had problems with slider phones, so I am not surprised that I find the keyboard on this device is cramped. Despite small keys, the keyboard is usable. I only wish, Nokia made commonly-used keys such as the @ key easy to access.
* I am not a great fan of the resistive screen technologies and it is no surprise that I found interacting with the phone via touchscreen extremely painfully. Maybe it is my brain, wired to look for an iPhone like functionality, but N900’s touch features are extremely challenging.
* Nokia has a long tradition of providing the best mobile cameras in their phones and N900 is no different. The 5.8 Megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens is phenomenal.
* The device has all the modern hardware trappings: WiFi, 3G, GPS and lots of storage. These are table stakes for any modern smart phone, so these features aren’t really much of a surprise.
* The battery power is adequate – better than any iPhone but much lower than classic Nokia phones.
* How does it function as a phone? It is unbelievably great and I experienced no dropped calls on the T-Mobile network. Not a single one. Furthermore, the N900 model I have is optimized for the T-Mobile USA’s 3G network, which makes it far more reliable that the AT&T 3G network.
Software: Why I was surprised
* I have been a long time user of Nokia Internet Tablets and as a result I have been highly skeptical of Nokia’s claims that it could be turned into a nice modern Internet centric smartphone OS. Well talk about being wrong!
* The Maemo OS used inside the test model of Nokia N900 that I received was an incomplete version of the software, and despite being rough around the edges, it surprised me with its nimbleness and robustness. It didn’t at any point feel like a Linux-based device, and thanks to a hefty processor the N900 feels as crisp as the iPhone.
* The UI of Maemo is crisp and clear, though it does look dated in comparison to Apple’s iPhone. I am going to go out on a limb and claim that the UI is marginally better than Android. Both these operating systems have one common fault: they look very much like a PC-inspired OS. That said, I think Nokia has still not mastered the art of NO. Apple makes its things great by leaving features out, Nokia somehow believes that adding more makes its products great. Maemo suffers from that, but it isn’t something Nokia can’t fix – quickly.
* The biggest problem I had with Maemo UI is that it isn’t unique enough. It is coming late to the market, and as a result it looks somewhat like MotoBlur – a screen with a lot of widget-styled apps. It uses multiple desktops and also multiple screens, which makes the user experience a tad confusing. That’s one of the only knocks I have on the OS.
* Mameo’s most stunning aspect is the tight and seamless integration of the Firefox browser. As I wrote yesterday, Firefox is perhaps N900’s single biggest standout feature. It works just like it does on a desktop and, thanks to the seamless integration of AwesomeBar, a smarter version of a URL bar that uses Mozilla Weave, I can get access to all my bookmarks, my browsing history and other preferences. (Related Post: “Coming Soon: A Mozilla App for the iPhone“) You can’t quite underscore the importance of this feature, especially on a device with cramped keyboard and a challenging touchscreen.
* Nokia is betting big on web-styled widgets. Some of the sample apps they have included in the phone – Evernote, Twitter, Dopplr, and YouTube – all worked well. I am sure more will follow. I am also ambivalent about Nokia’s OVI services which are pretty tightly integrated into the phone.
* It is the basic features on the N900 which are the most impressive: an easy way to get connected to WiFi, instant messaging app, great SMS messaging application and built-in VoIP are among the good things about this device.
Bottomline:
I was conflicted about the N900. I don’t want to give Nokia a hard time on it: they have made tremendous progress and with the N900 they are on the right track. This phone gets a 6/10 from me: mostly because of the progress they have made on the software front. If you have never used an iPhone, this is a pretty good device. In fact, a lot of folks in many parts of the world are going to find this device much more useful than say the N97.
Like a great home run hitter who has lost his swing and is only one double away from getting his swing back, I think Nokia is a device or two from posing a strong challenge to its competitors.
