Rags 'n Ram » Nokia N900

Mobile-phone Photography: the Wonders! [Updated]

Filed under Tech, Visual Graphics & Images

Who needs to carry around DSLRs anymore? It’s 2010, and with the coming of SE Vivaz, Nokia N8, and other future camera-oriented mobile phones, the need for carrying around such huge bulks will slowly be fulfilled. Just check out some of these images below, taken from 5MP to 8MP phone cameras (Nokia N900, N97, N86, N82 and others!). You guys have seen my own photos already, so it’s turn to show some other talents

From the famous qwertymak. Taken from the mighty N86:

Checkout more from other photographers!

Tags: mobile phone photography, N82, N86, N97, Nokia N900

Read more | Comments (0) | May 16th, 2010

Nokia N900 Full Review [Image Heavy!]

Filed under Reviews, Tech

Here it is, my long overdue full review of the Nokia N900. It took me almost a month to compose this lengthy review. Before I proceed however; a sincere thanks to the great WOMWorld/Nokia!

The Nokia N900: Best of Both Worlds

Take note that this review is for the pre-PR 1.2 firmware N900; so some of the glitches/problems have been addressed and solved.

A brief intro

When Nokia introduced the N900 back in September 2009, it was understood that Maemo 5 was the fourth step (in a 5 step program) to develop a mainstream smart phone platform. And until I laid my hands on Nokia’s flagship, the aforesaid N900, I frankly could not deem that notion. It was truly a refreshing ‘exploration’; a whole new level of user experience and above all, a whole new level of contentment. But how far can it go in fulfilling the needs of mass-market users? Can the so-called ‘geek phone’ N900 go among the masses and sell well? In my opinion, I think it might just do fine, serving all tech-savvy users, power users and common users alike.

Here’s a gist of my review:

28 Reasons to like the N900

- The built quality
- Display
- 5 MP Camera
- Camera UI
- ARM Cortex-A8 with 256MB RAM (1GB Virtual RAM)
- Excellent Multitasking
- Slide-Out QWERTY keyboard (on-screen keyboard too!)
- Kickback stand
- 32GB internal storage (with microSD extension)
- Portable Multimedia powerhouse
- Media player
- Stereo Speakers
- Maemo 5 (Fremantle)
- UI (Hildon)
- Panoramic desktop with customisation
- Notification light
- App management
- Clean menus
- Ease of use
- Menu/Dashboard/Desktop Contextual button
- Quick Launch
- Clock/Alarm App and UI
- X-Terminal
- Built-in screenshot function
- ‘Always online’
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Professional use
- Browser with Adobe Flash 9.4

28 Reasons not to like the N900

- OS glitches
- Resistive Screen with Weak Plastic front (Scratches)
- Distortion of Messages in Conversations
- Bulky
- Narrow Slide-out Keyboard
- Wrong placement of Headphone jack
- Non-Active/dynamic Kickback Stand
- No Portrait Mode
- Limited Media player options/features/settings
- Browser issues
- Outdated Ovi Maps
- Weak LED Flash on Camera
- No MMS and Video Calling
- Jittery Video Capturing
- Drastic Colour and Exposure balancing on Videos
- Built quality doesn’t equate to €600 price-tag
- No Digital Compass/Magnetometer
- Battery life – Needs daily charging
- Poor Image stabilisation
- Design flaws
- Making calls is difficult & Slow “Rotate to launch call” mode
- No Scroll bar for long Menus
- Inconsistency in file management
- Inconsistency in Contact/Phonebook
- ‘Inactive’ Menu
- Limited support on Nokia PC Suite
- Multiple Selection is difficult and/or missing
- Poor Headphones built quality

28 Places Where the N900 Could Improve

- Portrait Mode
- More Options in Apps
- Spring-loaded SD slot
- More options in Photo Gallery
- Apps on Ovi Store
- More native video formats support
- Ovi Maps need Upgrading
- More options on Camera App & Dedicated video-still image button
- Rearrangable Menu
- More buttons for Browser on Portrait mode
- USB On-the-Go option
- Support for 32GB SD cards
- Long press to get secondary symbols
- Support for Service Messages
- Sharing of videos (“Send” option)
- General Power Saving mode
- Menu icons to rotate about their own axis during screen aligning
- Video light
- Voice dialling
- More Profiles
- Easier personalisation of ringtones for different contacts
- More options for Contacts
- Bluetooth pairing with headsets
- Zooming controls in photo viewer
- Wasted real estate space, like on iPhone
- Better Battery management
- Minimal screensaver
- Front camera usage

Click here to read the FULL REVIEW

Tags: Nokia, Nokia N900, Nokia N900 review, WOMWorld/Nokia

Read more | Comments (11) | May 11th, 2010

Nokia N900: 28 Reasons to Like/Love it!

Filed under Reviews, Tech

The Nokia N900 is definitely not a perfect phone, but there are just so many reasons to like or even love it. It may lag behind in certain features/functions, but as a whole, it’s one of the best devices out there! This list below isn’t exhaustive, more are still to come:

- The built quality
- Display
- 5MP Camera
- Camera UI
- ARM Cortex-A8 with 256MB RAM (1GB Virtual RAM)
- Excellent Multitasking
- Slide-Out QWERTY keyboard (on-screen keyboard too!)
- Kickback stand
- 32GB internal storage (with microSD extension)
- Portable Multimedia Powerhouse
- Media Player
- Stereo Speakers
- Maemo 5
- UI (Hildon)
- Panoramic desktop with customisation
- Notification light
- Easy App management
- Clean menus
- Ease of use
- Menu/Multitask/Desktop Contextual button
- Quick Access
- Clock/Alarm App and UI
- X-Terminal
- Built-in screenshot function
- ‘Always online’
- Bluetooth 2.1
- Professional use
- Finally, the crown jewel: MicroB Browser with Adobe Flash 9.4