What else touches the phone? Read the many reviews out that are highlighting the negatives of the phone, maybe then you will have a balanced opinion. Until then, man up and stop whinging. Lets look at these common criticisms from major reviewers:
- The resistive screen is not as good as a capacitive in practise
- Camera is average
- Kayboard is poor
- Maemo 5 is pretty but lacks polish
- Very few major apps
- Only caters to a very specific crowd
Addressing those points...
The screen - it's supposedly about the best resistive screen on the market and the only people who will even slightly care are those who've owned an iphone. The screen is supposed to be very very good, so what's the problem?
Camera - it's a phone and one with a pretty good camera to boot, better than most of the competition at this end of the market. The phones with the best cameras aren't the best at anything else. It's a decent camera for most things, want a good camera? Buy a DSLR tbh.
Keyboard - it's better than that of the iphone, which doesn't have one. It's better than all the competition tbh, as they don't have one and you can use on-screen as well, so what's the beef???
The OS - it's a phone and tablet, the OS is fine for that and being open source it will improve throughout it's life cycle. It'll be better than any phone most of us have owned anyway.
Apps - it's been out 2 minutes, the apps will be out very quickly, converted from symbian etc. Plus, as above, it is an open source OS so, theoretically, MORE apps can be developed by anyone who wants to - great as it will mean more free apps anyway. Plus, I use about 10 on my E71, most of which are already available for the N900. Who actually uses ALL those iphone apps?
Caters for a specific crowd - well, yes and no. When it hits the shops (fails4U, carphone warehouse etc) then it will sell. The original iphone catered to a specific market, mainly those who have style over substance - it didn't even have 3G which was several years behind the competition. So what? They are being quite clever with the specific market - it will have been beta-tested already and we're the next step. There will be about 6 weeks for us to identify any real world issues and them to be fixed for when it goes to Joe Public. Nokia are aware of this, we are aware, so give us the damn phone tbh.
When you factor in that even Nokia themselves didn't expect it to sell amazingly well, and themselves said it was a stop-gap to the next version, then it doesn't take a genius to work out that this phone has no real longevity. I have no ties to any brand, just has with PC hardware, and my opinion is wholly objective.
Nokia haven't said they didn't expect it to sell well, no company listed on ay stock exchange could justify that. Phones develop at a frightening rate anyway so yes, it will be replaced by another top end model, probably in 9 - 12 months, maybe sooner. The phone will still work, it will still be great for the internet and will have a hardcore following continually develop the OS and apps. The same can be said for any phone - it will be surpassed very quickly, such is the nature of technology. But, the beauty of the N900 is, there is talk of it being compatible with the next gen OS - not an update, a new OS!
The iphone came out 2 years ago and there have already been 2 more released since then. Nokia will follow suit, so will the other manufacturers. The iphone 3GS mk2 or something will be out in the summer no doubt, so with the 3GS have no longevity? Of course not. High end users will use it for 9-12 months, then sell it on ebay for £150ish. The middle of the road lot will get it for free next year on contract or buy the high-end users 2nd hand. They'll keep it well into 2011. By the time the London Olympics come round, it will be in the hands of someone who just likes it. Same with the N900. Check ebay for N95 and original iphone - they are well into 'outdated' technology, but people like them. Very few people can afford to keep up with technology and very few people will actually use every feature of any phone, we just want something a bit cool, useful and innovative. The N900 ticks those boes for me and I want one as soon as I can get my mitts on it, what's wrong with that?
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