Nokia's
Maemo-based future has begun: the
N900 is shipping. According to Nokia CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the eagerly awaited handset is now en route to at least some pre-order customers. We'll soon see if this new generation of Nokia smartphones will be enough to generate the type of mass-market / high-margin appeal that Nokia needs at the top end of its product portfolio or if it's just a tentative first step on a potentially wobbly new platform.
Update: Nokia's
official blog says to expect the Maemo 5 device to land in "Europe, the Middle-East, Russia and North America" shortly. However, it won't be compatible with the new 3G SIM cards from 3 in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Denmark and Austria until a software update hits sometime later this year.
[Thanks, Juhana J.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Drew @ Nov 10th 2009 5:01AM
Woot! Can't wait to receive mine!
Stem Four @ Nov 10th 2009 5:40AM
This is like watching Swedish paint dry.
When can I get one through a network, on a contract?
If its January then they just lost a customer. Tsk.
wako @ Nov 10th 2009 12:38PM
Forget about it then...
Nokia N-series, have not subsidized by a US carrier in years...if ever...
Stem Four @ Nov 13th 2009 7:37AM
Actually Im in the UK so ner.
Chris Samuel @ Nov 10th 2009 6:05AM
Note that Ari's blog says "The factories are now working full speed and the devices are on their way to distribution" - in other words it sounds like they've not got to people like Amazon, etc, to send on to customers yet.
Ash @ Nov 10th 2009 6:44AM
The N900 left the production facilities over the weekend according to this report:
http://www.phone-review.org/phone-review/nokia-n900-ships-today-maemo-enhancements-get-video-demo
gforce @ Nov 10th 2009 7:13AM
what about the NAM version?
Galen20K @ Nov 10th 2009 10:31AM
They also speak of the NA version with T-Mobile AWS FTW! - D
youngcalihottie @ Nov 10th 2009 2:29PM
no no... tmo 3g FTL
idk why they couldnt just make a 850/1700/1900 us version
why would they make a phone that only works for 30% of NAM HSxPA 3G users?
sendschie @ Nov 10th 2009 7:35AM
N900 now shipping. Maemo select/Ovi store for N900... coming soon.
momchil karabulev @ Nov 10th 2009 8:40AM
check out that cool ad for n900 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxiOKKF721U
Ian @ Nov 10th 2009 10:27AM
What's the advantage of the Nokia N900 over say an HTC Touch Pro 2?
Yep I know there's WM versus an open o/s but at the end of the day they seem to collide on capability. And I say this as an N800 owner.
wako @ Nov 10th 2009 12:44PM
As a previous WM user, I can say that WM is a very unintuitive OS to use that really required the stylus. HTC has tried hard to skin over the OS to be more finger friendly, however covering up the mess doesnt mean its out of the way. You will still find the annoyances once you go into the programs.
Maemo 5 on the other hand seems VERY finger friendly as easy to use right ouf the box.
I loved my WM device and probably would get another, but Ill wait on WM7 before I hop back on with Microsoft. :) Until then, Im excited about the N900! :D
Douglas @ Nov 10th 2009 10:46AM
This will NOT generate mass market appeal, at least I don't think so, based on the fact that it's a landscape orientation only phone, and it's size isn't exactly thin, which apparently is in. Otherwise it's missing the same things the iPhone was missing, that apparently didn't bother enough people to stop them from buying it, except me. You know... MMS, no calling buttons, no equalizers in the music player, and no voice dialing among other things. So, maybe I'm the only one who won't buy something like this purely for those reasons, and millions will flock to this device as well. I wonder how many people will dump their N97 for this...
sendschie @ Nov 10th 2009 11:29AM
whoa... they updated the store since this morning. this is me eating my foot.
CoNFuZeD @ Nov 10th 2009 12:48PM
Its down to $559 on amazon! I had to cancel my pre-order and then order it again. Can't wait to get mine, i used the savings to get 1 Day shipping.
ozziedog @ Nov 10th 2009 9:18PM
I had emailed Nokia USA back in October and asked if it was coming to AT&T and they said no. But who knows it may change.
tnkgrl @ Nov 10th 2009 2:20PM
Finally! This is exciting new... I got mine (a review unit) 3 weeks ago and I love it: http://tnkgrl.wordpress.com/2009/10/21/nokia-n900-first-impressions/
lockstocked @ Nov 10th 2009 9:30PM
when i read "it's just a tentative first step on a potentially wobbly new platform" i looked at the author of the article
and sure enough it was ricker's work