Nokia N900 – can it handle the competition? (2)

However, there a few gripes with N900. For instance, N900 scores poorly in form factor and design and it's not the prettiest of devices on the market (it comes only in black and is chunky and heavy, resembling an old-fashioned cigarette pack and weighing 181gm).

Some other niggles are:

* Maemo OS is not unique enough (it looks somewhat like MotoBlur - a screen with a lot of widget-styled apps) and though, marginally better than Android, it still does look dated in comparison to Apple's iPhone OS. Also, Maemo's offering of multiple desktops and screens may make user experience slightly confusing.

* The keyboard on N900, despite being in landscape layout, is surprisingly cramped (only 3 lines), slow to respond and it is quite a challenge to type on its tiny keys with big, chubby fingers. Don't expect BlackBerry-isque experience.

* Maybe I'm biased but I feel Nokia could have done better by giving N900 a capacitive screen instead of a resistive screen. However, this is a matter of personal opinion. Many people claim that unlike the resistive touchscreen in other smartphones, N900's touchscreen can actually pass off as capacitive touchscreen except for the fact that for managing some applications you would need the stylus and in typing the keyboard, you would need to exert more pressure on the screen than is necessary in a capacitive one. Also, forget about gestures such as pinch to zoom.

* Maemo apps that currently available through Ovi Store, Maemo Select (http://maemo.nokia.com/maemo-select/) and Maemo.org Extras (http://maemo.org/downloads/Maemo5/) are far less than iPhone's App Store (currently around 90,000). What the heck - it offer far less apps than even what Android Market or Windows Marketplace has to offer.

However, the biggest drawback perhaps, is the limitation of portrait mode functionality in N900. Almost everything, including texting the shortest SMS, happens exclusively in landscape mode, even with the keyboard closed. Because of this, the N900 doesn't feel like a phone - it's a web-browsing device and it's not meant for easy one-handed operation. However, Nokia has assured that the issue will be fixed in time and the company will include portrait mode support in N900 browser by the end of the year and pervasive portrait support throughout the device later (is this the main reason why N900's launch has been delayed?).

Also, N900 does not come cheap. SIM-free, it will be available in the UK for £450 upwards (N900 is available for pre-order for £499 SIM-free in Nokia UK online store) while in the US it is expected to retail for around $650. That put it in the same price bracket as other slide-out Qwerty-based smartphones such as BlackBerry Bold 9700 (aka Bold 2) and Motorola Droid, which are good messaging devices too.

But Nokia N900 is, no doubt, a smart device. Its camera is far better than what smartphones such as iPhone and Palm Pre have to offer, its Maemo OS supports multitasking (unlike iPhone) and it has a massive internal flash storage (32GB) - far more than what Palm Pre, iPhone (16GB version), HTC HD2 or Motorola Droid have to offer.

In conclusion, N900 can surely take competition head-on. It's better than most high-end smartphones strutting in the market and is good enough for a podium finish in the smartphone race.