Nokia N900 - Features - Bluetooth - Camera - OS

The Nokia N900 is relatively new to the market even though it was being launched a while back. Having said that, it is time to provide a review into the many other functions of the mobile device.

Bluetooth
As per Nokia, using Bluetooth is always a breeze on any of its devices. The same quality also goes to the Nokia N900. I've tried to sync the device with my laptop via bluetooth and it was done without much of a hassle. It is a far cry from the Apple Iphone 3GS and the HTC HD2 where Apple's Iphone 3G/3GS will NOT allow me to bluetooth it to my laptop and HTC's HD2 was rather tricky when it comes to using bluetooth. The Windows Mobile 6.5 on the HD2 does not seem to like me using bluetooth though.

Nevertheless, if you try to connect your Iphone to your laptop/pc through bluetooth, just forget about it. This is because it will never work! I just don't understand why Apple is so stubborn! This is a far cry from the user friendliness of Nokia! Do you know why? Through Nokia's PC Suite, you could send/receive text or calls through your laptop/pc. That is just so convenient! Just imagine if you are short of time and you need to send a long text message. It will take ages for you to do so on a typical phone but with the N900, it is so much better because the keyboard's layout is much better as compared to the more traditional keypad. Couple with Nokia's PC Suite, you could easily finish typing a long text message equivalent to 10 messages under 5 minutes! Just try to do it on the Apple Iphone or the HD2. With the N900's Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, it supports stereo bluetooth too. I have tried stereo bluetooth and it works perfectly without any hiccups!

Camera
The N900's 5MP Carl Zeiss lens is a total beauty. I have tried to switch off paranomic mode when taking any pictures as I don't really like wide angle pictures unless it is scenery pictures. The best part is that the camera comes with an activation camera lens to protect the camera when it is not in use. Couple with the powerful dual LED flash, it is close to perfection. I have to say that the firmware was smooth as I have not encounter any difficulty when taking pictures. The best part is that taking pictures on the N900 is a breeze. It takes only around two seconds for you to take a pictures. Mind you, it comes with autofocus. It allows the user to pin-point the focus point! That is just marvellous, don't you think so?

When taking a pictures, you would only need to open the lens cover and the button to press to take a picture is featured at the side of the device (when you actually point the camera, the camera button will be at the top). You could also change it to video mode (maximum at 25fps) and it supports up to 800x 480 pixels.

There is a secondary camera at the front. It is useful if you want to make a video call. I have tried to make a video call as it is part of the inclusive minutes if you are on the O2 UK network and the quality is just so so. I have no complaints against it beause it is just a VGA camera.

A comparison between the N900(below) and HTC HD2 (at the top)

OS

The N900 runs on the famous Maemo 5 OS. The Maemo OS itself have come a long way. One good example will be the N800 and the N810 internet tablet device which is constantly perfecting itself. With version 5 on the N900, it seems to me that the OS needs more tender loving care in further developing it.

With the Maemo 5 on the N900, a user of the N900 can easily customise widgets, shortcuts and bookmarks on their desktop/frontpage. At the moment, I have three main pages. I am quite used to the fact that the device resembles both N800 and N810 but with a twist - you can now use the device to make and receive calls or text messages as it has a radio chip!

In a nutshell, I have to say that I was quite impressed with browsing through the menu. It was done with less fuss and in great speed. Most probably the ARM Cortex A8 600mhz had something to do with it though. It was a vast difference when I tried to do the same on my Nokia E72. The menu just freezes!!! I think I can't compare an ARM 11 600mhz on the E72 to the ARM Cortex A8 600mhz on the N900 as the later is always superior!

I think I should give a pat on the team who designed Maemo 5. It is very stable (no crashes at all) and very fast. However, I was not very happy with the not-so-user-friendly-OS-like-the-Symbian as it will be discussed in my evaluation of the product itself.