N900 Accessories

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| 16 || 6 || Team || [http://shop.ebay.com/sis.html?_kw=TEAM+16GB+16G+Micro+SDHC+Card+Class+6+%2B+SD+Adapter&_id=360300236413# Ebay] || HK || OCT 2010
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Revision as of 01:23, 6 June 2011

This list of Nokia N900 accessories is made to only list accessories that are specifically made for the N900, with the only exception being carry cases and batteries that may fit other cell phones as well. The makers name by xyz will link directly to the product on the makers page, where available. And if theres no link, you can Google your way out of it.

Contents

Cases

Hard cases

  • Aluminium Cases (compatibility with all RF [GSM, WiFi/BT, FMTX, GPS] unclear at best)
  • Colored cases
    • Rubberized Hard case for Nokia N900 - by PDair
    • Black Hybrid Protection case/cover/skin - by EMARTBUY
    • Rubber Hard Case Cover For Nokia N900 - by touch.world and/or Sak.Gaming
    • 3 X Rubberized Hard Cases Cover Skin For NOKIA N900 - by itsurprise These hard cases fit very well, and with no undesirable rubbing/interference. However the colors aren't too exciting. Black is a nice understated look. Similar cases are available from other sellers, particularly some with spectacular colors from 'londonmagic'. However this seller doesn't appear to be active (as of June 2010). Some cases will need to be shimmed (with insulation tape, etc.) for a more secure fit, and interfering edges, tabs, etc. may need to be filed.
    • Qubits Hybrid Armour rubberized two-part hard case with screen protector from Amazon UK - photos and review
    • 3 X Protective Hard Plastic Skin Case Cover for NOKIA N900 - by DinoDirect
    • Ruggedized Hard case for Nokia N900 - by OtterBOX
      • Silicone plugs provide coverage for ports
      • Access to touch screen, buttons and features
      • Includes a self-adhering protective film
      • Built-in kickstand for viewing convenience
  • Clear cases
    • Clear Crystal Skin Case For Nokia N900 - by GreyMobiles
    • Nokia N900 Crystal Case - by Accessory Storm
    • A number of vendors on ebay are selling very cheap clear cases. This particular model (the photo of a waterfall inside the packing is distinctive) is functional. The edges around the join are moderately sharp - a moment with some sandpaper smooths the edge round the keyboard, making it more comfortable. All ports are accessible.
    • Nokia N900 Hard Plastic Crystal Cover Case - by DinoDirect

Soft cases

  • Silicone

Flip cases

I have this case for my N900 (PDair vertical pouch with belt clip). The quality of the outer leather and stitching is very good, but the inner faces where the phone slides in seems to be vinyl rather than soft leather or suede. The tension on the phone body seems just right, neither too tight nor too loose. The case is possibly just a couple of millimetres too shallow to protect the N900 at the open end , but that might be just a little picky! A nice case, but not the ultimate, I'm still looking for better.

  • Tradition leather case for N900 - by Noreve
  • Black Leather Vertical Flip Carry Case Cover Pouch For Nokia N900 - by AAJ Trading

Ive tried this case from Amazon, this does not fit the N900 well, or maybe its just my case. Secondly there is transparent plastic strip which holds the N900 in place and it covers the bottom 1/3 of the screen, moving the stylus over it or even doing a slide motion is obstructive. This is my personal opinion, please feel free to correct this post if somebody had a good experience with this.

This is correct, my N900 will not even fit inside this case, the plastic part that covers the bottom will break if I try to push more than 1cm of the phone in. This is a very bad case which is a shame as it looks nice when closed up.

I agree, the AAJ Trading flip case is useless. I can't get my phone in and if I did it would cover up the USB port and also not allow the use of the keyboard. After looking at some of the pictures of other cases I see I was trying to use it wrong. The clear plastic goes over the keyboard not the screen. They it goes in okay. You still can't charge it in the case but at least it is possible to get it in and out quite easily. This case is acceptable now.

It's a beautiful leather case amde from authentic leather. The flip opens to unveil the camera lens at the back of the device. Check out the images to understand what I mean.

Cases with N810-like kickstands

  • Currently this seems to be a gap in the market.

Custom back covers to replace the original

  • Currently this seems to be a gap in the market (I.E. none spotted yet).
  • Aluminium (compatibility with all RF [GSM, WiFi/BT, FMTX, GPS] unclear at best)
    • With N810-style kickstand
    • With N900-style kickstand
  • Plastic
    • With N810-style kickstand
    • With N900-style kickstand

However there's the Mugen backcover mentioned on this page.

Carry cases

- Successor to CP-321. Ports for ports, lens etc (Light Grey)

- Bad points first - it's expensive, and a little bulky. On the other hand it's extremely well made and a perfect fit for the N900. Very tough, and great protection for your phone. A suede pad behind a stiff leather panel protects the screen. I've had mine since they went on sale (8 months or so) and despite bouncing around a workshop and a muddy 4x4 it still looks like new.

Screen Protectors

Also see: Screen protector

The "full body coverage" sadly means you get a lot of small foil parts which must be placed exactly. But even if they are put in the correct place, there are still some blank parts on the body! Especially some of the corners are not protected. Beside that, protection looks very good and handling is improved while usage of the touchscreen is not impaired.
+ Good protection
+ Clear vision
- Sticky surface as in all military type protectors negatively affecting the use of stylus
+

Holders

Holders posted here should have been specifically made for the N900 and have take its keyboard and "landscape only" mode into consideration, with GPS/map use in mind.

  • Table/desk Stands
    • Laser-Cut Stand for N900 - Landscape only table/desk stand for use with keyboard in or out, including an easy accessible stylus holder. Available in plywood (wood colored or black, and possibly other colors) and acrylic (transparent). International shipping.
  • Windscreen Car Holders
    • Brando Universal Holder - Rotatable 360 degree - For the 'landscape only' buy the wider version which can hold securely the N900 and you can even use the keyboard at the same time; it rotates 360 degree so easily can serve the N900 phone functions. The downside is that the holder is quite big.

Cables

  • Data Cables
    • USB Data Cable (CA-101) For Nokia N900 by CellPhoneShop
    • Mini to Micro USB adapter with Charge-only/Data switch by Brando (useful if you want to charge from a source other than a computer or Nokia charger, such as a car USB adapter or an external powerpack such as Energizer's XP8000) - Requires a Mini USB cable (available at Brando's website too). The switch does the mandatory D+/- shorting according to USB charging specs, so it's a great alternative for those reluctant to do a simple cable hack, to make all those random chargers out there work with N900
  • TV / Audio / Video Cable
    • Nokia TV/ Audio/ Video output cable Nokia CA-75U by ShoppingTelecom. To make the N900 work with this cable for a simple hookup to your home stereo you need to short the yellow plug (use tin foil / whatever you feel might do the job)

Batteries

Internal batteries

Official Nokia battery

  • The standard internal battery included with the Nokia N900 is the 3.7 V 1320 mAh Nokia BL-5J providing a total of 4.9 Wh of power.

Extended batteries

  • The Mugen Power HLI-N900XL is a 3.7 V, 2400 mAh after-market replacement battery designed for the N900, providing 8.88 Wh of power at the cost of replacing the back cover and increasing the thickness of the phone by 7 mm. It is reviewed here.
  • According to an extensive # thread where several types of aftermarket batteries were tested, the most powerful direct substitute of the stock Nokia battery so far (June 2011) is the 1420 mAH blue Scud battery, which performed better than its own claim, showing a real 1510 mAh capacity.

External batteries

Warning: many external power packs are reported not to work well or not to work at all with the Nokia N900. There are two principal reasons for this:

  1. The N900 uses a strict implementation of the USB specifications, which means you need a dumb charger (or a cable) that adheres to the spec. (However see "about D+/- short" on this page)
  2. The N900's internal battery holds 4.9 Wh of power, so charging it fully from a charger based on one or two 1.2V 1800m Ah AA rechargeable cells (totalling 2.16 to 4.32 Wh of power) is simply not possible and never will be.

Therefore, this section lists only external batteries that are explicitly marketed as being compatible with the N900 or are confirmed as such by multiple reviews.

  • The Nokia Extra Power DC-11 is a 3.7V 1500mAh external battery pack, providing an additional 5.55Wh of power. It is marketed by Nokia as being compatible with the N900. However, users report that while it can top up the N900's battery, the DC-11 is not capable of recharging it from flat.
  • The Proporta USB Turbocharger 3400 is reported to work well with the N900 both in this review and also here. It holds a 3.7 V, 3400 mAh external power pack (providing an additional 12.58 Wh of power) and provides a charging current of 700 mA at 5.5 V (3.85 W). Note that the basic version does not come with a mains adapter and so it charges only via USB. The Proporta USB Turbocharger 3400 World Pack is the same device with the addition of a worldwide mains USB charger and a car charger. This increases your charging options, but be aware that it will not increase the charging speed.
  • There are multiple reports of the Energizer XP2000 working with the Nokia N900: 12

Gaming

Memory Cards

The device

The N900 has a memory card expansion slot, which can be accessed by removing the back cover. It is next to the camera lens. This is not to be confused with the sim-slot, which is under the battery, because they are not dis-similar in size. If done carefully, the device does not need to be turned off while inserting or removing a memory card. Using such a card can double available storage and can be very useful when running other O/Ss, such as Android.

Compatability of cards

The N900 supports micro SDHC cards; it does not support micro SDXC cards. are available in range of sizes/capacities (GB), data transfer speeds (class) and types. When the N900 was released, the maximum capcity micro SD cards was 16GB (commonly available). Now, 32GB cards are available.

The fastest cards available in SDHC format are UHS-1 (Jun 2011), thers is some suggestion that these can work in the device (TBC) but there are confirmed reports of a number class 10 cards working well.

Maintenance

Micro SDHC memory cards are fragile and should be treated with the same care as any electrical device with exposed terminals.

Memory cards of this type are designed to be easy to remove and insert. However, in order to achieve an optimal lifespan, cards should be taken out of and put back into the device, as little as possible. Continual extraction and replacement will cause ware to the contacts, of both the card and device.

Cards that present as malfunctioning often do so because of damanged contacts. Eroded contacts can be repaired, using a little contact spray. In order to clean the device contacts, put a litlle cleaner on a card's contacts and insert into the device before the cleaner dries; repeat if necessaey.

Cards available

Unfortunately, not all cards are equal. Some perform as advertised, while others have less storage and/or are slower than advertised. This is particularly so, the higher the capacity and speed. Furthermore, unbranded or unexpctedly inexpensive cards should be treated with extreme caution.

The lists below are results of experiences using the N900 with the each card.

The Good List

The following cards were found to work as expected:
Size (GB)Speed (class)BrandVendorCountryDate Bought (Approx)
4 2 SanDisk Moby UK Nov 2007
16 4 SanDisk carphonewarehouse UK APR 2011
8 6 Transcend Amazon UK Jan 2011
16 6 Team Ebay HK OCT 2010

The Bad List

The following cards were found by some users to be unreliable
Capacity (GB) Speed (class) Brand Problem