A new article at nokiaphoneblog explores the potential impact of the N900 and how it could completely change the Symbian game. Well worth a read- “The release of the N900 comes at an important time in Nokia’s history. Despite a new Symbian operating system, new touch handsets, and a growing smartphone market, the company’s smartphone division is faltering, with market share dropping 6% in the previous quarter. It’s not too hard to see why: competition is fierce, with Apple and Android phones getting better, cheaper, and faster. Add to that Nokia’s Symbian S60 operating system, which hasn’t evolved with the times, and things are looking pretty grim.
But Nokia now has a new game in town, and that’s the N900. At a recent meetup held at Nokia’s Flagship store in New York City, I had the chance to test drive the mini-computer/smartphone/app phone. I came away fairly impressed – and with the feeling that the N900 could very well start something exciting.
Build quality, like most of Nokia’s high-end phones, is solid, but a little more plasticky than I’d expected. It’s surprising, considering this is a $650 smartphone. The touch-screen is fairly sensitive, and the keyboard works well and feels great (and by great, I mean tactile and clicky – just the way I like it). No more mushy keys, here! Normal keyboard users will have to get used to a new button layout (arrow keys in the bottom right corner, caps/special char key on left side, comma next to P key, etc). It’s a huge step forward from the travesty that was the N97’s keyboard…”
I’m quite lucky I have quite a bit to go with my contract, that way I should be able to choose between some exciting and updated toys coming out. (At least this is what I keep telling myself!) This one looks very interesting to me!!