Maemo level = Absolute noob. (Some updates at 8:30pm est)

Past device experience for perspective:

Dell Axim, N-Gage, Tmo Dash, G1, Droid and Archos 5 (The last two devices have same chipset as N900). The OP is also a heavy game and media freak. MAME is favorite though

N900 prep:

Removed cover, installed battery, charged two hours and then installed G1 Tmo SIM. Follow the instruction on cover and use indentation to pop the cover and it is easy to open.

Currently do not have spare microsd, so only using internal until 16gb arrives.

Start up and set up experience:

Best to take time and read the manual some and watch some of the Nokia operation demos. This will greatly reduce frustration, since the OS is not (initially) intuitive. After you understand how the UI works, it is simple. UI could be more intuitive, but the intended audience will have no problems and do this:

N900 status in relation to problems posted on this board:

1. Mic works fine
2. Zero reboots
3. Web pages scroll smooth and standard def Flash works surprisingly well: Tip is to go into the browser and increase the buffer / cache to 40mb. Huge difference then, and I think this is a key reason for some reviews and users having issues.
4. I expected 28gb free, but as soon as you install maps, it eats up almost 2gb! Very inefficient compared to Google maps.

Email set-up:

Simple to set up, but I only use Gmail and my cable's email service.

App installation: - Not much to install right now; patience required, but should be worth it.

Though Michal at My-Symbian posted a Youtube video with some decent apps, those are not accessible at the noob level, unless you want to run into potential OS and memory issues. Noobs like me should stay away until in the official consumer level repositories. I will wait, but would at least like to have the emulators and the FM radio app now

UI experience:

1. Usually very responsive and I love the option of a stylus for more precise interaction.

2. Sometimes even with no other apps open, there appears to be lag from when you touch an icon and when it actually does something. A few times I thought the touch did not register and I would touch the icon a few more times. I would then have several of the same apps open. This does not happen all of the time- just some of the time. For the most part, the UI is very responsive.

Media content installation and experience:

I transferred 18gb of MP3's and 6gb of video with different codecs. Mass storage mount process is simple, but could not figure out how to unmount, besides just pulling the micro usb out. PC would not allow a soft disconnect in Vista 64.

Audio: (Update: I clarified the audio quality point a little better, since the sound quality is very good on the N900 and waaay better than my Archos 5, which is a media player by design. Also a little better than Droid, after more time to compare).

1. dB level / volume is very good and much better IMO than Droid from both the speakers and 3.5mm jack.
2. Sound quality is good from the speakers and very good from the 3.5mm jack, but seems that the sound spectrum curve needs a little more increase in mid and treble frequency ranges for the 3.5mm output ( better sound quality than Droid). Contrary to some assertions, a "flat" sound signature for output is only correct if the output has been setup that way. IMO, we need a chipset sourced EQ to correct this. I used my Zen 32gb and G1 for reference. Both sound a little better to me, since vocals and higher range sounds stand out better on those two devices. I used 13ohm UE's and Vmoda Vibes for comparison.

Video (all tests done with just video app running):

1. Native res or lower avi and Divx looks amazing, but the media player is in desperate need of a buffer option. Every video I tried that worked, stuttered from 5 to 15 seconds and then was very smooth, but when you go back to the same video and it resumes where you last stopped, it plays smooth, so does it have some form of cache but not for start-up?

2. In its current out-of-box state, video playback is pickier than expected. Avoiding the need to convert video is a key reason for me getting the N900. Not a problem long-term though, since drivers should correct this (Archos 5 plays them, so N900 should too).

Besides the amazing avi and Divx playback, here are the not- working ones. I appreciate that there are a lot of parameters that can cause issues.

1. Mpeg tried that did not work - 400X320
2. No WMV tried worked (most were 640X480 wma2 WMV3)
3. MP4 very picky. Examples that did not work: 480X352, H264 1,536kbs. Files that were converted for the Droid worked fine, but seem to look even better on the N900.
4. Avi above native res did not work for me.

I know that higher res MP4 works, since there are two demos that are already on the device. I just could not get the same files that work on my Archos 5 to work on the N900. Both have same chipset, so must be a driver issue and the parameters of the files.

Web experience:

Wow. After changing the buffer to 40mb, standard def Flash plays smoothly and the audio sounds good too- even when embedded on the page. I used Google video as my source, since you can access many Flash sites from there- even the more "jiggly" ones

1. IGN.com is a Flash heavy site and played the same as on my desktop and video reviews played smoothly and so did movie previews. Hi-def worked too, but were not smooth- but, they worked.

2. Flash game sites work, but hard to find games that play smoothly or fit the screen correctly. I expected this would be the case

3. To my pleasant surprise, I could use Google map functions in the browser, find a business, click the link, and the phone app would pop up for dial or make a contact

Phone function:

After clicking the option to activate phone when in portrait, the phone functions fine and the ability to call Google map links in the browser is nice, since same function on higher-end smartphones.

Call quality and signal are great and I like how the speaker phone "button" is present for calls. Call quality and signal are the same as Droid- great.

Maps:

Weakest link of the device and almost lame. Map data and app are resource hogs compared to Google's app. If you have Edge or better connection, it is easier and more efficient to use Google maps in the browser.

Summary:

Great device!!!! Not practical really to compare to the Droid, since I now know practically and without a doubt they are for different audiences. If you want a high end smartphone and the phone function is a main priority, Droid, HD2, etc are a better choice.

If you literally want a pocket PC with great web, media and also gaming and more open app possibilities down the road- N900 is the better choice and more phone function will come too. Butter on the biscuit

I actually see a place for the N900 and my G1. At least until the maps and a few phone functions are added- then the G1 will be my back-up. After messing with the N900 and its potential appreciated, Droid is going back tomorrow

Camera:

Works fine and better than Droids.

Suggestions & questions:

1. Where is the the FM receiver app in the repositories? Still not "safe" to add yet? Updated : I must have messed up last night when activating Maemo Extras. Have radio now

2. We need version 3 of OVI maps ASAP. The current version IMO is a liability to impressions of the device. Even stands out more since using Google Nav and layers on Droid.

3. Any way to add Google voice and search or another app to facilitate the function for browser searches, maps and calls? I miss this a lot and so will others.

4. I know MMS is coming, so will zip it on that one

Thanks for taking the time to write the review. Very informative and objective. The buffer increase tip was also very much appreciated

I think this is the first time I've seen mentioned the cache size, which seems vital for browser performance. Very interesting, and useful to keep in mind if, er, when I get the N900.

Thanks for the review. Can't wait for the shipping debacle to end so we can all enjoy it!

Happy Turkey Day!

So how do you increase the Memory Cache again? Is it recommended to increase it to 40mB? What happens with the functionality if I do that?

When you are in the browser app, press down for a second with finger or stylus and browser options will pop up in a menu.

Just go to http://maemo.org/downloads/ and there they are, well not all but most

nice review, i do like to know why do you prefer N900 above the droid?

Did you already enable just the Maemo extras catalog in the app manager? That one should be just fine. I also added extras testing so i dont know anymore what comes from where..

Thanks, noob views are highly valued Thou I think absolute n00b is a bit exaggaration - absolute n00b would be coming from Nokia 3310 or Motorola razr rather from an android device
Did you enable the extras repository? It is included in application manager, but disabled by default:

* Go into the Application manager.
* Tap the menu -> Tools -> Application catalog...
* Double-tap maemo Extras.
* Uncheck Disabled.

The app name is fmradio, I believe.

"Extras" is the noob-safe repository,
"Extras-testing" is for the community people who want to test new apps, and
"Extras-devel" is only for truly adventurous experts

Note that the "ovi maps" versions between maemo and symbian don't correlate - they are completle different products at the moment. Future firmwares should make the maps experience less frustrating. but, I 'm afraid for a truly great map application the best bet would be a separate 3rd party app or a community application being ported.

This is upto google to create, since I believe google voice api is not open for developers.

Thanks for writing this up.

Have you tried http://tomch.com/maemaps.html