Ovum on the Desktop Linux Derived Maemo 5 Based N900
>> Nokia's N900: a PC in Handset Clothing
Tony Cripps
Ovum
February 10, 2010
ovum.com
Nokia's N900 is, in some respects, the most sophisticated mobile handset to date, offering a complete, desktop-derived operating system in the shape of Maemo 5. Yet, while several major operators have picked up the N900, Nokia is a long way from fully exploiting the device and its software platform in terms of the overall user and developer experiences. This must be addressed if Maemo is to be established as Nokia's high-end platform of choice.
The N900 Is Not Well Aligned with Current Smartphone Expectations
Once you overcome the shock of its great weight (181g) and the failure of that weight to be counterbalanced by a giant display (3.5 inches seems meagre in a device this size), the standout impression of the N900 is its lack of applications, both on the device and available for download.
With iPhone and Android device owners now having access to tens of thousands of applications, N900 buyers may well feel short-changed. Post-App Store, a top-end handset with very few applications available for download ends up seeming less capable than a mid-range handset with lots of applications.
Things should improve once the device is fully integrated with the Ovi Store - a beta Ovi Store client for the N900 is now available for download. This will certainly provide developers and users with a more direct channel to the device than the current application manager, which requires users to subscribe to (often obscure) online software repositories to discover and download new applications.
However, there's a sense that Maemo itself may be the root cause of the current dearth of applications. If so, this may prove harder to cure than simply offering a more usable storefront.
'Linux-based' is Preferable To Full-Blown Linux on Phones
The problem lies in the origins of the OS. While Linux has successfully formed the basis of other mobile phone OSs, no phone platform other than Maemo uses a complete desktop-derived software framework for its UI and application environment. Android, for instance, offers the mobile Java-derived Dalvik runtime on top of Linux, while Palm's WebOS leverages web technologies for third-party application development. Whereas these take Linux as a foundation, Maemo really is Linux.
If the majority of the applications we've seen to date are anything to go by, Maemo appears to be attracting hardcore Linux developers. Many of these are drawn in by the 'hackability' of the platform and create very niche, often left-field apps. Such developers stand in stark contrast to the more commercially minded mobile developers that S60 or the iPhone have attracted.
The adoption of Qt as a common application environment across Nokia's device portfolio may aid this situation, but Nokia will still need to invest a great deal of money and effort in persuading mainstream developers to come on board with Maemo. Submerging the desktop heritage of the platform further from users and developers would also be beneficial, in our view.
Benefits of a PC-based Platform Emerge in Multimedia
Nonetheless, Nokia's efforts to bring the N900 to market, exploring the intersection between the PC and the phone from the PC down, rather than from the phone up, which is the preferred strategy of rivals such as Google and Apple - and of Nokia itself in other instances - are to be applauded. Its desktop descent origins mean the N900 really comes into its own as a web tablet and media player, rather than as a smartphone.
Indeed, the video player and web browser are probably the highlights of the device. We have been able to play back a very wide range of video files, including variously sourced AVI files with many different encodings, and the device appears able to handle most of them comfortably - this is a first for a mobile phone in our experience, and gives the N900 a major advantage as a media player for certain types of user.
Equally, the native web browser is very powerful (as is the downloadable Firefox Mobile) and, unsurprisingly, as close to providing a desktop experience in a mobile phone as we've yet seen. The only downside is, again, the relatively small dimensions of the display, which make the experience of using the browser less optimal than it might be.
Overall, the N900 offers much of the extensibility of the desktop PC, but hasn't capitalised on it by attracting application developers in large numbers. As such, it does not look to be a particularly competitive option in its price range right now. It will be interesting to see how Nokia goes about changing that. ###
There are several good available reviews of the N900. This one below provides a reasonably decent overview (as opposed to in depth hands on) accompanied by a few dozen photos and screen shots and is broken down into seven sections ...
>> Nokia N900 Review
Ilse Jurrien
LetsGoMobile
February 7th 2010
letsgomobile.org
1. Introduction
2. Internet & Multimedia: The MultiTasking Menu and Programs; Web Browser, Misic, Video & FM Radio
3. Digital Camera: 5 megapixel with Carl Zeiss Optics; Focusing and Settings
4. Maemo Software
5. Camera Picture Gallery
6. Smartphone Menu
7. Nokia N900 Test Conclusion
The combination of Maemo 5 and a mobile phone from Nokia, creates a new user experience for Nokia fans. The Nokia N900 has a nicely designed menu structure. It does take some getting used to, but generally it is very clear. The Internet applications are very good, both the browser, which also supports Flash, as well as the easy to set up email application. Thanks to several layers in the menu, you can work through multiple windows and switch between them very easily. The range of software for the Maemo operating system is still scarce, but will certainly grow in the future. The Nokia N900 is a phone for many applications, although it is rather chunky and the standby time is not particularly special. The N900 is quite different from the Nokia phones we know so far. However, with this step to Maemo, Nokia shows that the brand is able to also meet the requirements of the demanding user in the future. ###
- Eric - |
