Shootout: Nokia N900 versus iPhone and the winner is…(1)

And like iPhone, N900 has a proximity sensor to save on battery life, so when you hold the N900 up to your head the display turns off and then when you pull it away the display turns back on.

Finally, Nokia has also integrated its communications capabilities in N900 and when you select a contact, you're offered a choice of communication options such as Ovi by Nokia, Skype, Google Talk, Jabber and SIP (honestly, I haven't seen ANY other phone that integrates these services into the native phone application).

Simply put, the phone functionality on the N900 may be a dark horse feature that pushes the device over the edge and makes it a must have for the mobile road warrior.

But perhaps most importantly, N900 is built on the Linux-based Maemo platform, offering capabilities like OpenGL graphics. Although Nokia has so far been adamant that it intends Maemo-based devices to complement, rather than replace, its existing Symbian smartphone offerings, industry watchers see Nokia betting more heavily on Maemo as it tries to compete with devices from Research in Motion, Palm, and (of course) Apple.

But like any other smartphone, N900's not perfect and has its own share of niggles. To find out what they are, click Shootout: Nokia N900 versus iPhone and the winner is…(2) .