Nokia World 2009 QA

These are questions originally posted for attendees of the Nokia World 2009 event. The answers come from people attending this event or the Maemo Summit 2009 in Amsterdam and owning a N900 prototype. Feel free to add answers or remove wrong/outdated answers - it's a wiki!

Contents

[edit] General

  • What is your favorite improvement?
    Size, screen, responsiveness & UI --Jaffa 16:17, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
    Size, speed, comms integration (transparent skype/gmail/voip/GSM talk), Maemo5 --tom2 14:54, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
  • What is the biggest change from previous tablets?
    Always-on data - really changes your use cases --Jaffa 16:17, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • How has holding and playing with the N900 changed or re-enforced your previously held opinions about it?
    It's definitely a cool device; I want one and it's going to compete with WebOS & Android IMHO --Jaffa 16:17, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
    It simply rocks. Things like screen size and keyboard become irrelevant the moment you begin to use it. I'm still blown away by the power and potential of the N900 --tom2 14:54, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Carrier and release date

  • Is there a CDMA version planned and, if yes, when?
  • Are there any (later) release plans for the "unselected" markets

[edit] Answered

  • Is the purchasing of the N900 independent from a special carrier and/or a special contract? If not, who are the carriers?
    It'll be available direct from Nokia at an unsubsidized base price of €500 (+ taxes). It'll also be available subsidized via carriers --Jaffa 16:19, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
    I heard (at #maemo) that carriers could add a discount around 150€ or larger if signing a 2-years contract
  • Which are the selected markets?
    Supported languages in http://maemo.nokia.com/n900/specifications/ may give some hint, at least Czech and Polish is new since N810 days --fanoush 10:40, 8 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Is possible to disable data tranfer when in roaming?
    Yes, there's a menu option for data when roaming - default is "ask", AFAICT --Jaffa 16:19, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

[edit] General hardware

  • Is the screen transflexive as on the N810? If not how is readability is glaring sunlight?
  • Does the 3.5mm connector support audio-in?

[edit] Answered

  • Is the touchscreen pressure sensitive?
    I don't believe it is. --LA 10:10, 7 Sept 2009
    I do think it is, instead...why it shouldn't? --anidel 11:58, 7 September 2009 (UTC)
  • What's the "button" on top, right of the camera button?
    It's the consumer infrared port (CIR).
  • Will I be able to charge while listening to wired headphones? {E.g. on a long car trip} --RWFarley 02:09, 5 September 2009 (UTC)
    Yes. Charging goes using microUSB, listening is with 3.5mm headjack --twaelti 12:18, 5 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Is there a compass (for so-called "augmented reality" apps)?
    It seems not --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
    But a Nokia representative said on video that it has a digital compass? http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=31292
  • Is the battery hot-swappable?
    No. --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • How usable is the N900 in portrait mode?
    Things which support portrait (e.g. phone, Conboy) are fine. It's not very widespread in built in apps. --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Is the N900 going to have dedicated keys for language specific characters (like åäö for us swedes for example?)
    There's a character palette which pops up as an overlay when you press blue arrow/Ctrl --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
    Will have physical skands: http://www.matkapuhelinfoorumi.fi/keskustelu/showthread.php?t=53304 or google translate
  • Where will power come from for extended host-mode
    Given Nokia don't "support" host mode, it'll have to be some kind of adapter if you want to charge the N900 and power an external device --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Does the camera zoom while shooting video?
    Yes. Currently in steps - dunno if they're going to make it smooth. --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Is there a lanyard attachment?
    NAFAICT. --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
    Not included in the box, but there is a lanyard fixing on the bottom left corner.
  • Does the "vsync tearing" as seen in videos (e.g. when swiping left and right between the desktops) appear in real life, or is it just an artefact that shows up when being videoed?
    There's a small amount of tearing in real world usage, but this is still pre-production software & hardware. Not really noticeable --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • How long the battery last in a normal usage?
    Don't know yet - again, there's still lots of work going on to get it as much as possible. --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • possibly 3 days for normal phone usage. with some occasional webbrowsing maybe 1 - 2 days. it easily survives a day, though
  • Is the memory card hot-swappable?
    Answer: Yes
  • Is a stylus included and, if yes, is there an extra stylus too?
    Answer: A stylus is included. But no extra one.
  • Will charging be possible with a 2mm Nokia charger in addition to USB charging?
    Answer: Nokia charger adaptor (CA-146C) is included. With this adaptor you can use conventional Nokia charger to charge via USB
  • Can we use FM without plugging in headset, i.e. does it have an internal FM antenna?
    It does not have an internal antenna. However, there will be software that allows listening through the loudspeakers while the headset serves as antenna. --tom2 15:45, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
    It has BCM2048 Bluetooth / FM receiver combo chip and there is software for it available from the community --pycage 14 October 2009
  • Does the TV out support VGA out too? And what are the available modes (PAL/NTSC/?)
    Uses a Nokia CA-75U cable for video out. --nathanael 20:03, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
    Menu in "Settings" shows NTSC & PAL as options. --Jaffa 16:26, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
    VGA is not supported, only PAL and NTSC. The cable is 150cm long. --tom2 15:45, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
  • Does it have a backlit keyboard?
    Yes. It is lit depending on the information from the light sensor --tom2 15:45, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
  • Is there a front-facing camera?
    Yes, Specs are 640x480 --nathanael 19:45, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Is it possible to turn off the cellular radio?
    Yes, independently from the usual Offline mode which also turns Wi-Fi off (as shown on a menu screenshot). --javispedro 23:49, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
    Quim in a thread, stated removing the sim card will disable the cellular. --nathanael 21:41, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Does it have a true GPS chip or just A-GPS
    Proper GPS. If you want coarse accuracy (e.g. to report city-level location as part of IM status) it can use cell data. This is also used to give A-GPS fast fixes. --Jaffa 06:40, 3 September 2009 (UTC)
    The pre-production devices have issues acquiring a lock without a network connection [1]. Perhaps this will be improved in the final firmware. --joenix 13 November 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Audio

  • What are the maximum sampling rates on audio output/input?
  • Is it possible to record high-quality (i.e. high bitrate) audio from the built-in microphone?
  • How is the noise floor?

[edit] Answered

  • Does the N900 support any kind of remote control (with next/previous song, play/pause and volume buttons) for the music player? Is it possible to use the remote (AD-54) that comes with N97 and N95?
    No, not according to the manual --tom2 15:47, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
  • How does the N900 compare in volume to the N95/N800/N810 speakers
    Comment: Will depend on hardware available (I'll have my N810) and loudness on show floor. --06:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
    Seems the same or close to me-- in other words, too low IMO.--texrat 10 November 2009
  • Could you test the sound with high-quality headphones?
    Unlikely - unless there are very good headphones available there. I'll take my "normal" headphones --06:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Is there of will be Vorbis OGG support?
    Ogg Vorbis and FLAC are supported by a community add-on --pycage 14 October 2009

[edit] Maemo 5

  • Will we be able to set the processor governor to performance mode like we could with the OMAP2 in the N8x0 devices?
  • Are Dynamic WEP 802.1x WiFi connections supported?
  • When a BT or USB keyboard is plugged in, can you switch tasks with Alt-Tab? Does it work like a desktop Alt-Tab or like the Diablo Alt-Tab?
  • Output of
    • df
    • cat /proc/partitions
    • free
    • cat /proc/meminfo
    • dmesg
    • lsmod


[edit] Answered

  • Are there connectivity preferences (i.e., choose WiFi over cellular)
    Yes. Autoswitches - seems very cool --Jaffa 16:29, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
    In Internet Connection Settings, there's an option to 'Switch to WLAN when available'. So, yes, it will switch to WIFI from Cell network if you tell it to. -- LA 10:16, 7 Sept 2009
  • Is DUN supported?
    Not out-of-the-box, but see threads on tmo for details of how BlueZ should make it straight forward (same for PAN, too) --Jaffa 16:29, 2 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Is it possible to disable transitions?
    Answer: There's already an app in Fremantle extras, put together by Urho Kontorri. --Jaffa 06:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Which kind of "Shared Folders" (Bluetooth, UPnP, Samba) appear in the File Manager?
    Answer: Samba is no longer supported. --javispedro 22:14, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
  • How do you pull up a menu?
    Answer: Tap the title bar as in every Maemo version to date (see SDK & videos) --Jaffa 06:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
  • How do you switch tasks, or close the app?
    Answer: See the videos, screenshots and SDK. Tap top-left to open Exposé-like switcher which has a close button. Top-level screen of each app also has an "X" icon. --Jaffa 06:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Can we connect USB or Bluetooth keyboard, gamepad and mouse?
    Answer: From Threads: Yes, as is supported by BlueZ stack.
  • Is there any system monitor to see in real time?
    Answer: Every Maemo device to date has shipped with top --Jaffa 06:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
    http://maemo.org/packages/view/maemo5-load-applet/ --Jaffa 22:14, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/clankennedy/3868820466/ -- qwerty12
  • Is the telephony stack on the N900 open source? Did they use the oFono stack, or something proprietary?
    Answer: oFono is not used in the N900 (for Fremantle): http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=317522&postcount=6 --qwerty12

[edit] Harmattan

  • Will Harmattan support the N900? If so, how is the upgrade process likely to work?

[edit] Built-in applications

[edit] Answered

  • Is SIP supported?
    Yes, through rtcom-accounts-plugin-sip -- joenix 13 November 2009
  • How is video chat support?
    Currently there is no support. However, this might change with final software and later patches --tom2 15:50, 14 October 2009 (UTC)
  • Is there support for "normal" Jingle as opposed to the version Google Talk uses?
    Yes, voice works with other clients as well (tested with Empathy) joenix 13 November 2009
  • Is it still possible to connect to non-Google/Ovi XMPP servers?
    Yes joenix 13 November 2009
  • What calendar sync features are supported? Is the synching with Google Calendar supported similar with Android one?
    Using the included Mail for Exchange, you can easily sync your Calendar and COntacts from Google to your N900
  • Will the calendar application be open source?
    Currently the calendar is closed source. There are open source alternatives, like mcalendar and gpe-calendar. joenix 13 November 2009
  • Can the calendar application access remote calendars over caldav?
    No joenix 13 November 2009
  • Is WebDAV synchronization supported?
    No joenix 13 November 2009
  • Is it possible to have multiple calendars, contacts, task lists and lists of memos?
    Yes joenix 13 November 2009
  • Is it possible to sync via the USB cable with a Free, Open and Documented protocol?
    => Is it possible to sync with Evolution ?
  • Is it possible to extend the "sharing" feature of the Camera application with plugins to support, for example, Picasa, TwitPic, Imageshack ecc... ?
    Yes Documentation/Maemo_5_Developer_Guide/Architecture/Imaging_and_Sharing joenix 13 November 2009
  • Does it support sending/receiving MMS?
    It seems not for the time being[2]
  • What is the exact protocol used in Google VoIP
    Answer: XMPP
  • Is there Jabber/XMPP support?
    Answer: It has been supported in Maemo since the very first days, and it actually appears in the videos. --javispedro 22:12, 1 September 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Browser

  • Does the browser support client-side SSL Certificates?
  • Will be there support for Nokia WRT or W3C widgets?
  • How is HTML5 support?
  • How is playback on sites like [Hulu.com], [openflv.com]?
  • Does it crash when you add stuff to your basket on [amazon.com]?
  • Does the Flash plugin support the front webcam to be able to use it in websites like www.ustream.tv or www.justin.tv ?
  • Can I connect via a VPN tunnel?


[edit] Answered

  • Can I log on to secure websites and pay bills?
    Yes joenix 13 November 2009
  • Does the browser support Java applets?
    No, there is currently no Java on the N900. joenix 13 November 2009
  • Does the browser run in portrait mode?
    Yes joenix 13 November 2009
  • If yes, does it rotate according if you turn the phone?
    No joenix 13 November 2009
  • Can you perform standard "right-click-operations" like: open in new window; copy link; save image; copy image location; ... ?
    Yes, by pressing the link for a couple of seconds.
  • Can you scroll while a page is loading?
    Yes. Can be seen in this video. (Video removed from User???)
  • Are Firefox plug-ins supported?
    No. Not with the built in browser
  • Is text re-flowed to fit to screen when zooming?
    Nope, it just zooms into the page. All the elements stay the same size.
  • Is there a "view source" option?
    No, according to http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=33097

[edit] Third-party applications questions

  • Can we set a third-party browser as the default browser?
  • Is there a key combo to bring up the menu?
  • How do you toggle fullscreen in applications like FBreader?
    • Comment: Video shows Ctrl-Backspace. Will test. --Jaffa 06:56, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
    • Ctrl-Backspace will open app switcher. Apps will have to provide own unfullscreen functionality (no button AFAICT) --Jaffa 22:13, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
  • Will it be possible to run android on the N900, preferrably as a dual boot option to maemo?

[edit] Answered

  • Can we install a third-party browser?
    • Answer: From Threads: Yes.
  • Does Skype support video?
    • Comment: not yet. the person presenting skype at maesum said they've been busy getting the core functions working on the n900, but wouldn't reveal any other intentions than that skype are looking into the possibilites of video support. --thomas

[edit] Gaming

  • What games will Nokia publish for Maemo

[edit] Answered

  • Will the N-Gage gaming platform be available?
  • What games are pre-installed?
    • --Answer: Bounce, Chess and Mahjong--
    Blocks, Chess, Mahjong, Marbles. Bounce is available in repos --Jaffa 14:41, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Development and hacking

  • When will the Ovi Store open for Maemo?
  • Could community suggestions and concepts ever make it to the device with support from Nokia? (eg. community created concept, code developed by Nokia)

[edit] Answered

  • Are we going to be able to run a chroot environment?
    • Answer: It's GNU/Linux and you have root permissions... why not? --javispedro 22:26, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
  • What development tools will be available for developers (C++ framework name)?
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