My Nokia N900 has been feeding me with a lot “Aha!” experiences since I got it last Saturday. I must say that it even surpassed the level of experience I had with my sold-to-Greenhills-store & defunct Iphone 2G. This phone is truly worth the money paid for and I believe that great experiences with it will persist for months to come.
Below are my Top 10 Nokia N900 moments that may influence you to buy this phone:
1. Although N900’s packaging is similar to N97’s, unboxing it (see related post) was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever had. One of the reasons for this is that I waited so long for it to arrive in the Philippines.
2. N900’s multitasking capability is the epitome of AWESOME! I believe that such capability is second to none in the market. Yes, HTC Google Nexus One is out and it’s packed with a snappy Snapdragon processor, but the N900’s multitasking goodness is one feature that I was really looking for.
3. Well, who cares if it doesn’t have a capacitive screen? The N900, having a resistive screen, never failed to meet my expectations when it comes to touch-responsiveness. It’s 93% accurate for me and although I can’t pinch the screen the way I did it on my iPhone, I can always double tap the screen to zoom in or out and I can use its physical keyboard to navigate the web.
4. You will agree with me when I say that the keyboard is a little bit cramped but it really looks slick and truly functional – thanks to its ability to recognize well-known keyboard shortcuts. Ctrl-C then Ctrl-V, anyone?
5. It isn’t out in the Philippines yet but apparently flip case (by Capdase) for HTC Touch Cruise surprisingly fits with the N900. Although the protective right side panel covers the camera key, I can easily slide the phone to the left in order to press it.
6. Nokia was not lying when they said that the Maemo 5 MicroB (the mozilla-based built in browser) emulates a true-desktop web experience. With full flash 9.04 (will soon be upgrade to flash 10), N900’s browser is top of the line. I can visit Youtube and play videos and harvest my Farmville crops in Facebook using MicroB.
7. Software update notification is truly convenient. If you get online, N900 automatically checks if your installed application needs an update. With hundreds (soon to be ‘thousands’) of available applications through its built in Application Manager and the recently launched Ovi Store beta, you will surely be fed with simple to fabulous applications made by genius developers all over the world – of course with OTA upgrade notification for your ease.
8. I’m not using my laptop’s YM client anymore because of N900’s Conversations app. Since the latter integrated SMS and IM, I never missed to reply to my friends’ SMS and IM using a single device! In default, the N900 only has Gmail and Ovi IM setup accounts available, you can easily install YM, MSN and other IM accounts by installing a plugin without paying!
9. The inclusion of a 5 megapixel camera to the N900 is a plus factor that truly made the phone an all-in-one gadget. Also, with a few clicks, I can easily share my pictures to several social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. One plugin that I love the most is the Pixelpipe plugin. With this plugin, I can simply tag a picture with “@facebook” “@twitter” or “@flickr” using my N900, share it through my Pixelpipe account, and the picture will automatically be published to the social accounts I tagged earlier. Purely genius and easy!
10. It’s really a computer in my pocket. I am writing this blog through WordPress 2.9.1 using the N900. What else can I ask for? Now it’s time to sell my laptop!
Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.
