N900 or N97

Four of a kind

I've had the N95 8gb for the past two years(loved it and never had a problem with it). However, i would like to upgrade.

I've played around with the N97 and love its interface. But then I stumbled across the N900 and from what I've read it looks like a better phone.

I'm not a bill paying customer and therefore i would like to get it ready to go. I'm with O2.

Whats the realistice release date for it here in Ireland, and where could I get it?

Also, is there a bill pay plan that would give me unlimited free texts messages to any network and also include a internet data plan?

thanks

DOC09UNAM

N900, from what i've heard it blows everything else out of the water.

N97 from what i've heard is a bit meh, just powerful marketing from nokia for an average phone at best.

You should be able to order it now from nokia.

N900 thread - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055585686&page=32&highlight=N900

Four of a kind

DOC09UNAM wrote: »

N900, from what i've heard it blows everything else out of the water.

N97 from what i've heard is a bit meh, just powerful marketing from nokia for an average phone at best.

You should be able to order it now from nokia.

N900 thread - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055585686&page=32&highlight=N900

Nokia in the UK? Will it be unbranded? I'd prefer an unbranded model.

DOC09UNAM

Four of a kind wrote: »

Nokia in the UK? Will it be unbranded? I'd prefer an unbranded model.

I'm sure you can get an unbranded model if you order it straight from nokia

Oafley Jones

Four of a kind wrote: »

Nokia in the UK? Will it be unbranded? I'd prefer an unbranded model.

You're buying it from Nokia, there's no question of it being branded.

Four of a kind

Thanks guys. Its still only on preorder from nokia.co.uk though. Sure that could mean jan or even feb knowing them.

samhail

check out http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055753503 about differences between the phones.

i only know meteor have a like €85/month unlimited calls/texts with a data bundle.

i asked the same question about a month ago, and ended up bying the N97 for now. keep it for a few months until the kinks (and more importantely the price) of the N900 is sorted.
then a week after they said there starting to ship them ... but still havnt.

Four of a kind

samhail wrote: »

check out http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055753503 about differences between the phones.

i only know meteor have a like €85/month unlimited calls/texts with a data bundle.

i asked the same question about a month ago, and ended up bying the N97 for now. keep it for a few months until the kinks (and more importantely the price) of the N900 is sorted.
then a week after they said there starting to ship them ... but still havnt.

is that bundle only for calls and texts to meteor network...or all networks? IGB per month is fine for general browsing on the phone?

samhail

http://www.meteor.ie/plans/bill_pay/price_plans/#bill_pay_max
its for all networks. 1GB is more than enough for general browsing.
I have a 250mb bundle and i am more than happy with it.

the only reason i post this is because i looked into this when i was considering upgrading... but thats way out of my usage so stuck with a much lower tariff.

Four of a kind

Yeah. I would consider going with that meteor bill pay option if I got the N900. €85 per month for all calls and texts with 1GB data sounds very good. I presume the meteor covergage is fairly decent along with the network?

DOC09UNAM

samhail wrote: »

http://www.meteor.ie/plans/bill_pay/price_plans/#bill_pay_max
its for all networks. 1GB is more than enough for general browsing.
I have a 250mb bundle and i am more than happy with it.

the only reason i post this is because i looked into this when i was considering upgrading... but thats way out of my usage so stuck with a much lower tariff.

Should be mentioned that the 1GB is for GPRS browsing and 3G and stuff, you can still download your movies, watch youtube, and all high consumption stuff on your Wi-Fi Connection.

samhail

thats the thing.
Meteor are just rolling out their 3G coverage and its only available in a hand ful of places
http://www.meteor.ie/plans/coverage/
roscommon isnt covered it looks like.

and you would want 3g coverage with a data bundle. too slow without it. imo.

Four of a kind

samhail wrote: »

thats the thing.
Meteor are just rolling out their 3G coverage and its only available in a hand ful of places
http://www.meteor.ie/plans/coverage/
roscommon isnt covered it looks like.

and you would want 3g coverage with a data bundle. too slow without it. imo.

Was always going to be some sort of fecking catch ! I presume this will be sorted in the future though?

Still mad to get the N900 anyways as I've wanted a decent smartphone for ages. I'm not very technicall minded when i comes to phones, so thats why I like boards so much

samhail

go into a local phone shop, car phone ware house and ask them what kind of 3g coverage there is. vodafone might be alot better.

as DOC09UNAM said, i only use that when im out of the house (in dublin where there is 3g coverage). i have the wifi at home.

DOC09UNAM

Four of a kind wrote: »

Was always going to be some sort of fecking catch ! I presume this will be sorted in the future though?

Still mad to get the N900 anyways as I've wanted a decent smartphone for ages. I'm not very technicall minded when i comes to phones, so thats why I like boards so much

If you're not going to use it to its fullest potential, you should just buy the cheaper of the two, they both the same cool simple stuff, N900 is just a step ahead on some advanced sh!t.

Four of a kind

have vodaone the same price plan regarding unlimited calls and texts?

Davy

Four of a kind wrote: »

have vodaone the same price plan regarding unlimited calls and texts?

They did, it was €99 a month iirc. I think it has been replaced with a plan for €99 with 700mins+700texts + 2GB data

Four of a kind

Davy wrote: »

They did, it was €99 a month iirc. I think it has been replaced with a plan for €99 with 700mins+700texts + 2GB data

is there a site that I could compare the different price plans for o2, voda and meteor?
Obviously I'd want a data package if I got n900.

Davy

Four of a kind wrote: »

is there a site that I could compare the different price plans for o2, voda and meteor?
Obviously I'd want a data package if I got n900.

Well their is the callcosts.ie site, but it wouldn't be that great.

Four of a kind

looks like the N900 won't be available until Jan anyways...from what Ive read on other threads. Nokia.co.uk don't ship to Rep Ire?

Davy

Its shipping this week, but they dont ship to ROI

Four of a kind

so how/when/where would we be able to get it?

Davy

Four of a kind wrote: »

so how/when/where would we be able to get it?

Other places that site here, should have ready to ship very soon.

xanthor

Four of a kind wrote: »

I presume the meteor covergage is fairly decent along with the network?

3G coverage on Vodafone and 02 isn't good enough. If it's insufficient on the two main networks, i don't know what you could expect on Meteor.

Four of a kind

Hard Resets.....what exactly does this mean? I keep reading about it relating to smartphones.

Four of a kind

:(is it also true that you cannot use the text function in portrait view?? This is pure silly if thats the case. Only been able to use the phone in portrait view makes no sense.

Davy

Four of a kind wrote: »

Hard Resets.....what exactly does this mean? I keep reading about it relating to smartphones.

Wipes everything from the phone. A soft reset will just wipe the C: drive. So if you have images, music or whatever on the mass memory, or E: drive whatever you want to call it, they will be ok with a 'soft' reset.

Four of a kind wrote: »

:(is it also true that you cannot use the text function in portrait view?? This is pure silly if thats the case. Only been able to use the phone in portrait view makes no sense.

It is true out of the box. A program could be developed from someone though in the future

xanthor

Four of a kind wrote: »

:(is it also true that you cannot use the text function in portrait view?? This is pure silly if thats the case. Only been able to use the phone in portrait view makes no sense.

IIRC, most N900 functions only work in landscape, but a future firmware update will supposedly resolve this.

Four of a kind

xanthor wrote: »

IIRC, most N900 functions only work in landscape, but a future firmware update will supposedly resolve this.

So if you wanted to text a msg...you would have to use the tactile keyboard in landscape mode? Defeats the purpose of touch screen does'nt it????

Four of a kind

Also, the one big factor that will tilt the scale as to wheather or not I buy the N900...is the ability to group my contact list so that I can group text them.

This is something which is essential to my line of work and one that the N95 8GB that I currently have enables me to do.

Does anyone know if this is possible with the N900?

I think grouping is a basic telephone function and if it was not available on the n900....I'd be forced to buy the N97 simply because of its omission

rizzee

Four of a kind wrote: »

This is something which is essential to my line of work and one that the N95 8GB that I currently have enables me to do.

Does anyone know if this is possible with the N900?

Yes it is.

I wouldn't buy a N900 at the moment to be honest with yah... i'll let all the guiney pigs with their pre-orders get them sorted and see if theres any troubles or bugs with them first!! :pac:

Four of a kind

rizzee wrote: »

Yes it is.

I wouldn't buy a N900 at the moment to be honest with yah... i'll let all the guiney pigs with their pre-orders get them sorted and see if theres any troubles or bugs with them first!! :pac:

you mean that you can create groups to send group texts to?? I read reports that it was not possible?

rizzee

I'm pretty sure mate, i'll double check for you tommorow afternoon, have a few links here somewhere

Seems fairly standard though, don't you think?

Four of a kind

rizzee wrote: »

I'm pretty sure mate, i'll double check for you tommorow afternoon, have a few links here somewhere

Seems fairly standard though, don't you think?

I would have presumed that a function like that would be "very" standard on most modern phones...never mind the n900! I know the n900 is more a computer than a phone at this stage, but if they go neglecting basic telephone functions then they might as well retire

Cheers for the replies mate and I'll check back here tomorrow to see what you found re: grouping of contacts.

Thanks

matrim

i don't think group contacts are supported yet. There are limitations on the phone functions that anyone looking to buy should know. I'll try to post a list later when i'm at a pc

Ok, heres the list I know of so far. If any of these are something you regurarly need then the N900 isn't the device for you (yet)

* contact grouping \ individual ringtones for contacts
Not supported but there does seem to be alot of requests for it, so it will probably be added in the future

* Portrait mode
At the moment only the dialler supports it. Other apps can add it as they want (even now) but it's limited e.g. No on-screen keyboard in portrait etc. I think better support is planned for the next firmware update, which is due before christmas

* USSD codes i.e. *#
These aren't supported now but apparently it is being worked on at the moment

* MMS
Not supported yet. There is community discussions about how to get it working. I haven't seen anything about what Nokia plan for it is.

*Video calls
Not supported. Apparently planned for a future update

Four of a kind

matrim wrote: »

i don't think group contacts are supported yet. There are limitations on the phone functions that anyone looking to buy should know. I'll try to post a list later when i'm at a pc

Ok, heres the list I know of so far. If any of these are something you regurarly need then the N900 isn't the device for you (yet)

* contact grouping \ individual ringtones for contacts
Not supported but there does seem to be alot of requests for it, so it will probably be added in the future

* Portrait mode
At the moment only the dialler supports it. Other apps can add it as they want (even now) but it's limited e.g. No on-screen keyboard in portrait etc. I think better support is planned for the next firmware update, which is due before christmas

* USSD codes i.e. *#
These aren't supported now but apparently it is being worked on at the moment

* MMS
Not supported yet. There is community discussions about how to get it working. I haven't seen anything about what Nokia plan for it is.

*Video calls
Not supported. Apparently planned for a future update

Ah here, complete joke if they release it without these functions already on it. The no grouping function alone is the only reason I won't be buying this phone...
Why can't Nokia just keep the telephone side of things the way they usually are?

I use the group function 90% of the time I text....texting out a text to over 100 numbers twice a week individually does not seem a very attractive option with this phone.

DOC09UNAM

Four of a kind wrote: »

Ah here, complete joke if they release it without these functions already on it. The no grouping function alone is the only reason I won't be buying this phone...
Why can't Nokia just keep the telephone side of things the way they usually are?

I use the group function 90% of the time I text....texting out a text to over 100 numbers twice a week individually does not seem a very attractive option with this phone.

Does Vodafone's online messaging system have option of group texting??

rizzee

Sorry, there is no group SMS. I must've been reading something else.

Four of a kind

DOC09UNAM wrote: »

Does Vodafone's online messaging system have option of group texting??

no idea. Am with o2.

Dr Rod Doom

Look at the N97 Mini, it's the newer version of the N97 which ironed out all the hardware bugs of the original N97. The only drawback is the 3.2 inch screen compared to 3.5 and 8Gb storage instead of 32Gb. Otoh you get better RAM, mature firmware out-of-the-box, and better build quality

The N900 is an Internet Tablet that had the phone functionality added to it. The Maemo operating system family it uses has only been used for Tablets up to now, and that's why a lot of the basic phone functions are missing. They'll be added later, but knowing Nokia it will take at least 6 months to a year before it has a relatively mature phone system in it.

Having said that, I'm waiting on my pre-ordered N900, and fully expect it to be the greatest shiny toy I've ever owned

Four of a kind

Dr Rod Doom wrote: »

Look at the N97 Mini, it's the newer version of the N97 which ironed out all the hardware bugs of the original N97. The only drawback is the 3.2 inch screen compared to 3.5 and 8Gb storage instead of 32Gb. Otoh you get better RAM, mature firmware out-of-the-box, and better build quality

The N900 is an Internet Tablet that had the phone functionality added to it. The Maemo operating system family it uses has only been used for Tablets up to now, and that's why a lot of the basic phone functions are missing. They'll be added later, but knowing Nokia it will take at least 6 months to a year before it has a relatively mature phone system in it.

Having said that, I'm waiting on my pre-ordered N900, and fully expect it to be the greatest shiny toy I've ever owned

Yeah I think i'll go with the N97 for now and if the N900 does add these other functions then I'll switch over.

is teh mini really that much better than the N97? would installing the latest firmware v2 on the N97 not take away all the bugs?

How much is the mini btw?

matrim

Four of a kind wrote: »

Ah here, complete joke if they release it without these functions already on it. The no grouping function alone is the only reason I won't be buying this phone...
Why can't Nokia just keep the telephone side of things the way they usually are?

I use the group function 90% of the time I text....texting out a text to over 100 numbers twice a week individually does not seem a very attractive option with this phone.

It depends on what you want, this is a completly new platform and will take time to get all the features up and running. Nokia have never denied that and all this info is out there so you know what you get if you spend the 500 euro on it.

If the N900 doesn't have what you want go for a Symbian phone which has all these features.

Of the missing features the only one I really want is portrait mode which will probably be out in the next month.

Contact Groups - I've never used this
MMS - I use about once a year
USSD - Last time I used this was about a year or two ago

So every user has his own requirments and it's up to you to decide which suit you.

Dr Rod Doom

New FW sorts out most of the N97 problems, I've heard, but if you go for a network branded phone you'll be waiting for them to cripple "customise" the FW before pushing it out to your phone.

There's a good comparison of the 2 phones on AllAboutSymbian here - http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Nokia_N97N97_mini_part_3-Camera_Multimedia_and_wrap-up.php (that's Part3 of the review but it's got the wrap-up in it, and links to Part 1 and 2)

based on that I'd definitely go for the mini myself

Four of a kind

yeah true!

So where stocks an unbranded N97 mini? I'm with O2 on ready to go and want to stay that way at present.

Dr Rod Doom

Ah, there's a problem - not too sure about O2. Vodafone have the Mini alright, and it's a bit cheaper than the original N97, but I don't know if O2 have plans to pick it up yet

Dr Rod Doom

Sorry, answered the wrong question there - you want an unbranded one. Expansys sell them here - http://www.expansys.com/d.aspx?i=187375

But that does seem like a ridiculous price... not sure where else has them. Maybe Carphone Warehouse?

Four of a kind

On the other hand, an alternative solution to the grouping problem, would be to get the N900 and then when I have to send out a group text(twice a week)...which over my sim to my current N95 8gb and use it that way............:D

Dr Rod Doom

I used to be on O2 a few years ago and IIRC there was a way to set up groups on the webtext. If that's still there another option would be to use the N900 Browser and send your group texts through O2.ie - even saving you a bit of money along the way!

Four of a kind

Dr Rod Doom wrote: »

I used to be on O2 a few years ago and IIRC there was a way to set up groups on the webtext. If that's still there another option would be to use the N900 Browser and send your group texts through O2.ie - even saving you a bit of money along the way!

Very good Idea! Wouuld be interested to see if that would be available. I have the free text bundle with them anyways as I send about 300 groups texts per week, so I make use out of them.

Would it be possible to use my free text bundle like you said online with O2 to send out my group texts?

Dr Rod Doom

Looks like Group texting is still supported there and you can use your 250 free Webtext allowance for it as well -


We've added a great range of new features:

• Send 1000 Characters
• Save sent Webtexts
• Send a Webtext in any language to any country
• Group and individual Webtexts are used from your 250 free text allowance
• Delivery status in your "Sent Webtext" folder

Should be easy to manage using the N900 browser