AJ
The N810 had wayfinder and from what I have read on their site it is not on the n900 or is their any indication it will be developed. I still have my n810 and considered it as a full time sat nav but it didn't offer value for money compared to other software that is available.
Maemo mapper is cumbersome but also googlemaps is cumbersome in the full screen browser on the n900 requiring you to use the stylus for controlling it as the interface is too small. It also relies on a microb add on called maemo-geolocation for engaging with the built in gps. However since the recent firmware update mine as stopped working. It will be better when sygic mobile maps is released offering a more dedicated sat nav experience. The built in ovi maps is comparable to google maps on a smart phone of which may be sufficient for people but personally i consider it a kludge when considering the n900 is a flagship device and how limited ovi maps is. When compared to other s60 devices such as the 5800xm you can get the full ovi maps experience now for free.
Whilst psion did not have sat nav there was tomtom route planner and city maps. I do also recall a voice navigation system being available for the psion 5 that used predetermined routes. However I cannot recall the name. Ovi maps on the n900 is more akin to route planner and city maps without the internet connectivtiy.
The n900 calendar will sync with an exchange service for example I use and pay for mail2web exchange services at $5 per month. It works but I have found when compared to my other devices such as my e90, e63, e75 and palm pre it doesn't sync everything correctly such as calendar reminders. But I have also found my htc hero has the same issue where calendar reminder alarms over one day dont work.
I say the pim is weak because the types of events are limited with reference to repeat conditions/combinations. The psion did this brilliantly but the n900 has to mature on this.
It is possible to sync the n900 to google services using the exchange syncing for calendar and contacts but I have heard of mixed results. Also it will also only sync with one google calendar only.
I do read pdfs, listen and download podcasts (over 4gb per month across 15 podcasts on the n900 over its builtin hsdpa modem), watch videos and read 47 rss feeds daily,
i am constantly connected to twitter, facebook, have skypein and skypeout running, Yahoo,msn, icq, skype and facebook instant messaging. i am using push email with nokia messaging and occasionally I make or receive a phone call with the n900.
Pdf reading is okay on documents upto 20mb either using evince or the built in pdf reader. But if I try my 110mb colour pdf magazines for linux that i subscribe to it chokes. Whereas my n810 and htc hero work fine with the same pdf.
For rss i am using feedingit as its quick and simple and better than the built in rss reader that is similar to n810. Feedingit is more finger friendly.
I use panuci for playing audio podcasts as it has resume playback from the last postion. I get my podcasts using gpodder for both video and audio feeds.
With the built in media player I have had it playing 350mb divx files hooked up to a tv with the tvout. There was a mild stutter but it worked.
The media player is good but I dont listen to music often but the stereo speakers are very loud on a par to the n95 or 5800xm. There are other media players such as canola if you saw this on the n810.
Again you can view images on the phone, share them with social networking/picture sites such as flickr, picasa, facebook and twitter either using pixelpipe or other native plugins. Also if you are an evernote user there is a plugin to upload pics to evernote.
There is limited editing of pictures such as brightness/contrast control. Red eye removal and cropping. There is no video editing.
It is not my intention to gloss over things because as I said at the end of my previous reply please feel free to ask questions. There are many reviews online about the n900 and its functionality. However I am more than happy to talk with people on any questions they might have and give an opinon albeit my own using the device daily as my main device.
As you have highlighted there is a choice of development streams such as "C, C++, Python, Ruby, etc. Its also possible to build apps using web technology that run locally on the device."
However the n900 is still too niche at the moment and does need more developers. I sincerely hope the recent announcement with nokia and intel - meego does encourage this.
Personally I more interested in the unix shell scripting to run batch processes like clear down scripts for old podcasts, be able to start apps on certain events such as call recording or automatically backing up files to the cloud.
As I have said before please keep the questions coming and I'll see if I can assist you or alternatively follow me on twitter @cragnet or read my blog at the address below.
I believe people should make an informed decision when making a big purchase such as the n900. I am too much of an early adopter (already had 5 smartphones in the past year). What I have now in the n900 is what I wanted the n810 to be. But am finding that no one smartphone fits everything. The n900 could be there but it still has some way to go.
Craig
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Blog:http://www.cragnet.co.uk
Att.: Chris Handley
Re.: n900 - For us mortals could you explain what "Maemo" and "MeeGo" are ? Has this got anything to do with the earlier Symbian or has that platform been abandoned ? And why would Nokia develop yet another system when the Android (or something like that) already exists ?
Best regards,
Itamar