New users

''Note: Fleshing out as we go along, please help if you'd like to make it clearer! Note that this doesn't actually bring anything new per se, but hopefully starts putting it in a single place. Or something.''

Welcome to maemo.org, the heart of the Maemo community, and the central clearinghouse for things related to the Maemo operating system, and the devices that run it (including the 770, N800, N810 and N900). You may have come in here from the intro page, or from a web search, for from a link to the New Users page someplace. Wherever you came from, here's hoping this little page can help satisfy your needs.

If you're new to Maemo, thinking of buying a device like the N900, or just interested in whether or not this is for you, you've come to the right place. Here, and in the pages we point to from here, we'll try to answer your questions and concerns. If we don't, then all you need to do is ask (we'll tell you how to do that too).

There's now an unofficial Newbie Helpers Organization - look at the thread for now (later we'll have a page up here for you to see) and feel free to ask the people who have spoken up there questions if you need a helping hand.

Ready to dive in?

What is Maemo
Best answered by having a look at this page: Maemo basics and then here if you feel adventurous!

What Devices does Maemo Power?
Maemo was originally created to power Nokia's entry in to the Internet Tablet market. The first device to make use of Maemo was the Nokia 770, followed by the Nokia 800 later renamed to the N800. Both the 770 and the N800 made use of high resolution touch screens and a stylus. The N810 was subsequently introduced with a slide out keyboard as well as the touch screen.

If you want to know more about the N810, N800 or 770 Internet Tablet, the best place to start is  here and follow the links. You can find out more on the History of Maemo here.

Because the N900 is likely why you're here, let's talk about that.

The N900
The N900 is the first iteration Nokia's Internet Tablets to incorporate full Phone functionaility. It is due to be released to the public in the last quarter of 2009. We'll also sketch out some details here, and try to answer some of your more immediate questions.

If you're in a hurry to get answers, try out the N900 FAQ page. As well, Nokia's Official N900 page has a great overview you might enjoy reading. There's also the regular FAQ, which covers some other aspects of Maemo devices in general.

In brief...

Hardware
The N900 is a pocketable computer with plenty of power (speed and memory) for running many demanding applications. The Nokia N900 hardware page can be found here

Software
The N900 runs the Maemo 5 Operating System. Maemo 5 is often referred to by its release name "Fremantle". You might be interested in gaming, or office applications, scientific applications, social media, movies or tunes. There will be specific Fremantle versions of your favorite applications.

If there's not an app yet, there almost certainly will be one at some point (you could also write it or port it yourself...). Of course the N900 comes with a collection of built in applications that handle most mobile computing needs.

If you want an easy intro to many of Maemo5's features you might enjoy the videos on the Maemo5_101 Maemo5 101 page

Applications
Internet Tablets use the concept of software repositories, a concept carried over from Linux. You can tell your N900 where these repositories are via the Application Manager. The Application Manager automatically then presents you a list of available applications that can be installed on your device, and takes care of any dependancies that may be required.

There are multiple repositories available for the N900:

1.Nokia's Ovi Store

2. Commercial Application Vendors

3. Community Applications

The Application Manager also allows you to uninstall applications as well as keep you notified of updates to your installed applications.

You will also find One Click Install Applications on the web for instance in the Downloads section of this web site.

Emulators
As well as native applications via the repositories Maemo also supports applications from a range of Emulators.

-Flash Games. As the N900 supports Flash 9 and has a hardware keyboard, many flash games should just work

-Garnet the Palm Emulator

-SNES Nintendo Emulation. nice video here

N900 FAQ
''What are some basic questions that keep coming up regarding software? Answer them here''

There are a few pages on the wiki that refer to the N900. For technical details, if that's of interest to you see [|this page].

But for a set of questions and answers, click here

How do I find more information?
If you're into reading FAQs, we have one here.

Then, say hello, then you can post a message (question) here, or perhaps just read on!

The talk.maemo.org site is a community-based discussion (bulletin) board with a great many knowledgeable users, developers, and just plain curious types. It's a great place to find answers to your questions, but you should be sure to use the Search facility first.

Who can I ask?
''We can put something related to greeters of helpers here, including the possibility of asking a helper directly? Perhaps a text entry box to ask the burning question? (If you wanted to know one more thing, what would it be?)''