Nokia N900 tested

Nokia N900

Overall verdict from the Your Mobile Phone Reviews Test Team

The Your Mobile Phone Reviews test team were very excited about getting their hands on the Nokia N900 for some thorough testing to commence. We carried out our testing for a one week period & throughout our testing we experienced a mixture of feedback about this Smartphone.

On first appearance the N900 is a good looking Smartphone but unfortunately its size & weight caused our test team concerns, as it is not ideally a pocket friendly handset & it is bulky & heavy to hold when in use. Our testers experienced trouble inserting the SIM card which wasn't a good start, due to the metal SIM card clip being rather flimsy. The side keys & switches are all designed & positioned well for ease of use. The N900 has a high quality touch screen which is highly responsive to both finger tip touch & stylus. Our team really liked the touch screen & its usability plus the Maemo operating system really is the best thing about this Smartphone. Our testers found Maemo to be a great operating system & the user interface got the thumbs up from all our testers due to its user friendliness & flexibility which was a pleasure to use. Our testers were not keen on the actual kick stand itself as it feels flimsy in design although we liked the initial idea of the kick stand just not such a flimsy design for such a heavy Smartphone. Also the battery performance is fine for general use but for heavier users the battery will need regular charging.

There is no getting away from it the Nokia N900 is a powerful Smartphone & we fully respect it for its capabilities & technologies. This Smartphone will suit many business users as long as the user can compromise by having a larger & heavier handset. The Your Mobile Phone Review Test team would like to see a mini version of the N900 as we feel this Smartphone has so much to offer with such a great operating system, high quality design & a wide array of features, please keep them coming Nokia.

Read more details of our testing results below.

Our test team gave the Nokia N900 an average score of:

80%

Appearance & Size

Our first impressions provided the wow factor we were anticipating as it is a great looking Smartphone with a very large touch screen & we were excited about the Maemo 5 operating system. Its casing is heavy & rather bulky in size which many of the test team did not like, as this made carrying the N900 troublesome & when held in both hands it is still a heavy devices weighing in at 181 grams. The casing feels smooth to hold in the hand & all of our testers agreed it felt good although its size made it slightly awkward to hold at times. It is a good looking Smartphone with a 3.5 inch touch screen & a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The back of the casing has a smooth matt plastic coating & the front section is filled with the touch screen complete with a gunmetal coloured edging around the screen which unfortunately shows all fingerprint & smudge marks. This handset needs to be used in its horizontal mode which is also a matter of preference & some of our testers did not like this orientation when using a Smartphone preferring a vertical style layout. Its horizontal layout & design means it is easier to control & use using two hands which is again a matter of preference.

On the front of the handset is a 3.5 inch colour touch screen which provides a fantastic display complete with easy to use touch screen controls, can be activated using either a finger tip or the stylus provided. There is a well hidden second camera lens which is on the left hand side of the screen. On the back of the casing is a lens cover which has a neat rectangular shaped design. This lens cover hides & protects the camera lens & flash which our testers felt was ideal for protecting the lens & obviously when the cover is slid back the camera feature is automatically activated which is perfect for taking a quick snap. Built around this rectangular shaped camera feature is a small easy to lift out kick stand which the team were originally keen on as the N900 can be placed on a desk in an easily viewable position. The kick stand is a great idea but the team felt it was a little flimsy for its purpose & would have preferred a slightly more robust designed stand for such a heavy handset, but saying that it has not been damaged or broken but the team agreed it was treated with much care just in case. On the top edge of the casing there is a well positioned volume or zoom control, a power button, a dedicated camera capture key & an infra red port which are all beautifully designed & located in easy to reach positions. On the right side of the casing there is a built in stereo speaker, a screen lock switch which we really liked as it is actually a switch rather than a button, an AV connector port, a microphone & a fitted stylus which the user can simply slide out of the casing to use. On the left hand side of the casing is another built in stereo speaker, a micro USB connection port & a wrist strap connection option.

All in all our team liked the look of the Nokia & thought it had some really useful design features but the overall size, weight & the flimsy designed kick stand lost this Smartphone important scores unfortunately.

Our test team scored the appearance & size at:

65%

Durability & Usability

The team put the Nokia N900 through the mill so to speak, using this handset for normal day to day usage whilst being carried in bags & cases, being handled by children & it generally withstood the test of time with no scratches or marks to its casing. Although none of our testers managed to drop it but all have stated they believe it could withstand minimal bumps & knocks, but not so sure about the results if it were to be dropped on to solid surfaced flooring.

When mentioning durability the kick stand issue comes & raises its head again as the kick stand on the back is a brilliant idea but not such a brilliant design, we feel this stand is too flimsy for such a heavy Smartphone.

Another durability issue started before the team had even turned the handset on, which is regarding the delicate metal clip that holds the SIM card in place. This metal clip is designed to lift up then the user is expected to place their SIM in the designated position & the clip then covers the SIM card & clips into place. Realistically this is not what happened to our team as after 15 minutes of carefully trying to place this clip over the SIM without breaking it, the frustration started to build up & we wondered at this point would we ever get to test the N900. We eventually secured the SIM with much patience needed, but to be honest this whole clip design is not a good experience & it is far too delicate. Our team feel a simple slide in SIM card holder would provide a more solid & secure placement plus it causes much less frustration for the user.

Our team really enjoyed the Maemo operating system which was what we were all looking forward to testing. It some of our testers a few days to really start to enjoy the operating system & the user interface but basically it is very self explanatory interface & amazingly user friendly. The Your Mobile Phone Reviews test team found the touch screen to be highly responsive which makes a huge difference when you are trying to view applications quickly & using a multiple of feature on the N900. Maemo is fast & efficient & out testers really like the four customisable screen & all commented on the flexibility when using the N900, a thumbs up for Maemo.

Using the slide out QWERTY keyboard was a slow experience for some of our testers in the beginning of the test period but after a few days almost all of our testers agreed this was a fairly good keyboard although the initial reaction was its far too small for day to day use. If any negatives were to be given about the keyboard it would be the size of the individual keys, as all of our male testers struggled to begin with due to the size of their finger tips. So if we are being picky we would prefer slightly larger keys & maybe the slide out section to be bigger as our fingers & thumbs keep hitting the touch screen section when trying to input text at high speeds.

Our team is mixed when it comes to using either a stylus or finger tip touch screen controls, but both are possible with the Nokia N900. The screen is very responsive to both methods of controls, so its user gets the preference to use either the stylus or their finger tip to control their selections.

Our test team scored the durability & usability at:

60%

Battery

Our team were impressed with the casings back cover which provides access to the battery as it is very easy to remove & it just clips back into place with no complications.

During the test period we found the battery to be fair when used simply for calls & messages, but when accessing the Web & using 3G connectivity the battery was rather poor on performance. Most of our testers were always on the Web so it did drain the battery rapidly, & as this Smartphone offers such a fantastic Web experience is was hard for our testers not to browse continuously, there is a compliment there. When tested by our lighter users some of them actually gained over 2 days of testing without the handset needing charging, however heavier users should take into consideration the battery performance & be charging their handset whenever possible.

Our test team scored the battery at:

85%

Camera

Our tester really enjoyed the camera feature on the Nokia N900 which is a five megapixel camera supporting a Carl Zeiss™ lens. Our testers have enjoyed Nokia's five megapixel camera on other Nokia N Series Smartphone's & the N900 benefits from this user friendly camera feature. Usability couldn't be any easier as our testers either accessed the camera by simply sliding open the lens cover or some of our testers preferred accessing the feature via the camera icon on the main menu. Many functions & settings can be adjusted from the cameras main touch screen display. Our testers could change the camera mode, video mode, white balance, ISO sensitivity, exposure, resolution & flash settings or access a display of all pictures stored, plus view them as a slide show. The Your Mobile Phone Review testers found this camera feature easy to use & its performance was good providing clear & well lit picture capturing. It did not give our testers the wow factor but it is a reliable feature & a good camera feature.

Our test team scored the camera at:

80%

Music

Great sound & loud enough for entertainment on the move, our testers liked the music & sound on the N900. The N900 has an easy identifiable media player icon which is on the main menu. This icon takes you directly to a selection of music features with icon displays including a music icon, video icon, internet radio icon & a shuffle feature icon. Our team liked the easy to activate touch screen controls as well as album art displays allowing easy to select options. No complaints from our tester regarding any of the sound, volume, music or radio features.

The N900 comes with preloaded games which include Blocks, Chess, Mahjong & Marbles. Our games enthusiast tester was pleased with the overall gaming experience on the N900 & stated that the screen size & intuitive touch screen makes gaming a pleasure although most users will wish to install new games on their handset as the preloaded selection is a little limited.

Our test team scored the music capabilities at:

90%

Messaging

With its slide out QWERTY keyboard this Smartphone is geared up to provide the user with an uncomplicated selection of messaging services, however some of testers were not so keen on the keyboard due to hitting their thumbs & fingers on the lower edge of the touch screen. The Your Mobile Phone Reviews testers really liked the conversation style messaging & all the messaging services are easy to access from the main menu. This Smartphone supports all messaging services including instant messaging, push email, MMS & of course SMS. Unfortunately there is only the slide out QWERTY keyboard method to input text & some of our test team would have liked the option of a touch screen keyboard on this Smartphone. It really is a matter of choice with the N900' messaging services as we had mixed feedback from the team, some liked the keyboard & its usability & others just simply could not get on with it, but we all agreed the variety of service available were excellent.

Our test team scored the messaging capabilities at:

75%

Connectivity & Technology

What a powerful Smartphone! - A comment from one member of our test team.

We all liked the speed of the Nokia N900 & it is most definitely cramped full of high speed & useful technologies. Connectivity is excellent & the processor is brilliant. Mostly the Maemo operating system makes this not only a powerful device but a fun & pleasing Smartphone to use, we all loved having multiple application open which is extremely user friendly & straightforward to use. Connecting to the Web is a simple task & using Bluetooth® or micro USB to connect to our computers was a breeze for our testers. The Nokia N900 was testing in the UK with a UK network service provides SIM card & network coverage was fair throughout the duration of our testing. The Nokia N900 supports GPS which was great when using the geo tagging feature with the camera but our testers were not so keen on the Ovi maps application when compared to other navigation applications.

Our test team scored the connectivity & technology at:

90%

Screen & User Interface

The 3.5 inch screen is a winner as it's large, clear, bright & provides a high quality viewing experience. It has responsive touch screen controls & the screen calibration can be found under setting, in the general section, although not many of our testers felt the need to use this calibration setting as the touch screen is rather accurate to begin with. The screen does show the occasional finger print mark but this is easily removed with a gentle wipe. The gunmetal finished edging around the screen does highlight fingerprint marks & smudges which irritated some testers. The touch screen is fairly durable but our testers would not carry out a drop test to find out how durable as this is a heavy Smartphone & damage could be immense. Most of the team used finger tip touch controls rather than using the stylus provided but the stylus may be preferable for some users so therefore it is good to have a choice with the N900.

The user interface is magnificent as it is so simple to use & supports customisable settings & feature. It comes complete with four home screens which can be customised to suit each users need. Accessing application is an effortless experience & our test team where extremely impressed with the ability to have up to sixteen applications open & viewed on the 3.5 inch touch screen. The main menu where the applications & features are accessed comes with easily identifiable icons which are appropriately labelled for each feature.

Our test team scored the screen & interface at:

95%

Nokia N900 Gallery

Nokia N900 back cover removed with battery taken out

Would you like to learn more? Read our users Nokia N900 reviews

Many thanks to our friends at mobiles.co.uk for providing the Nokia N900 for testing.

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Nokia N900 © 2006 - 2012, Your Mobile Phone Reviews UK Limited

UK mobile phones tested - Nokia N900