Went from DROID to Nokia N900...may end up with Milestone?

I enjoyed the (2) DROIDs that I had, for the two weeks that I had them. This board was a great source of info, and I hope I was able to help a few people along the way. The phone would have been "almost" perfect for me (no international or simultaneous voice/data for work purposes) once full Flash support and some sort of Sling/HAVA support was available. However the poor reception issues were enough for me to return them. I went with the DROID spur-of-the-moment, once I decided to upgrade my FIOS internet into a VZ "tripple play", mainly for the discount. I was coming from AT&T and a Motorola Q, which suited me fine, however I was looking for a larger screen, and a "better" browsing experience.

On paper, the N900 has it all, including TV Out and full Flash support now. I was worried that it was going to be way too big, based on web pics, but its actually a little shorter than the DROID and my Q, while being only a little thicker. I also thought I wouldn't like the resistive screen, especially coming from the responsive DROID, but I find the 900 to be much more forgiving, slightly more accurate (in that I can use fingernails) but more importantly, more forgiving. I'm not accidentally "bumping" open links and apps as with the DRIOD, though I do notice the slight loss in size/pixels. The DROID would do well to have this keyboard...FWIW. Keys are individual, separated, and raised, not unlike a PC, but they are really flat...maybe a mm thick...enough said.

Flash sites work...for the most part. Hulu.com, and all other Flash sites, load without any errors, and is displayed just like on PCs, but playback for some streaming media has issues. For Hulu, videos play, but frame rate is only 1fp "5 seconds", while audio plays back normally. I tried playing the same show from Sling's beta site (I thought would be a workaround for SlingMobile software, but no go even w/ Firefox support) and the same show (Modern Family) played video back a "little" faster. I'm wondering if its a network issue as its being linked from another site. I'll try going to abc.com directly. With XM radio's site, pages load up fine (yeah! no more Skyfire) but the radio player itself, Windows Media Player, can't be played by the 900's player...so in a nutshell, you get flash, but may not get all the embedded goodies.

Going thru the phone's native tools and settings, I miss a lot of what the DROID had to offer out of the box, such as the battery/signal monitors, and the system widgets. One cool thing is that the Wifi radio has an adjustable power setting so that if you're close to the AP, you can save battery. For the most part though, the 900 is slightly more stable and bug free, with its native apps. No issues with email... so far, but I haven't done too many advanced tasks. What is nice is the "windows" and the ability to kill apps "from the apps"...unfortunately, there aren't many to use.

Out of the box, the 900 has more to offer as an "all-in-one", including full SIP client support, but that's where it ends. Need to "find" something? No contest for obvious reasons. While maps and NAV are built in (w/night mode) I think DROID has the edge in presentation, while 900 may have a few more "options/settings"...but not many. The phone works almost entirely in landscape mode, but it is cool that you can turn it to portrait with your hand, and it auto opens the "phone" dialer. I think a few people were looking for some sort of "notification (email, SMS) pop-ups", similar to their BBerries...the 900 has it natively. Just setting the phone up was more "fun" with the DROID, and seems like there is more that you can configure. My first few calls on the "Edge (2.5G) network seemed to have really low volume levels, which was really disappointing, but media playback was much louder...need to wait for T-Mo 3G card for comparison. Reception however is not an issue at all. On


It seems like since the update, a lot of new "issues" have arisen...both hardware and software. Though I wonder if its just coincidence as more people join the board, there is a larger sample of "what's out there". I think there are some known issues with the 900 but if you're looking for an alternative, take these observations FWIW. Network could be a big detriment as it only works "fully" with T-Mo. But decent coverage in my area, and voice/data for $39/mo, is hard to pass up for me. I still may wind up with the Milestone, as they are now available at expansys-usa.com, just because with the apps, and google provided functionality, the DROID has much more to offer. The Milestone just give you the global roaming, and what I'm thinking better network connectivity, just due to the inherent signal types and the DROID's ability to manage them. But if you need just the basics (web, email, text, phone) it feels like the 900 is more "ready for production" than the DROID.

Hope this was useful.

p.s/ - I do not get the "typing lag" when posting to this forum w/900 where the DROID did/does.

p.p.s. -The 900 also has a multi-colored notification LED, which is configurable, but not to assign colors based on type...only on/off for given notifier.

p.p.p.s. - Oh yeah, the "sliding camera cover" is cool as it activates the camera when opened.

p.p.p.p.s. - Forgot that the "mouse pointer" is nice as well.

 

N900 runs Maemo 5...newish, which explains lack of apps. However basics are well covered. The only thing I couldn't mimic on 900, found on the Droid, is the LED flashlight, and the Talk To Me app., along with the stupid amount of google search tools.

As far as Motorola, I've only had them as cell devices, the DROID being my 6th. IMHO, the Nokia e71 (not AT&T's neutered e71x) is a beast.

 

^^^ I'm not sure what you're getting at about the swamp opportunity, but what's perfect for one person, may not be perfect for another. After 2 days with the 900, I thought to myself, "this is all it has to offer?", and started to miss the Droid. But then I realized that aside from the search tools native to the Droid and "more apps", the 900 did everything I set my Droid up for (except flashlight)...not a big app user. Others have returned the 900 for just that reason alone...just depends on what you're looking for.

As it stands, UPS has my 900 as its on its way back for RMA. USB receptacle came loose from circuit board. Thought I could solder in back on, but other chips/housings in the way on one side. Even if I could get in back on, the case nor any other supports available to hold it in place. There is something that sits "over it" but nothing to help keep it there. Conversly, I've manhandled my Q for the past 2 year and its still as good as new.

 

"Better" is relative. I'd be perfectly happy w/the 900, as it meets "my" needs, save for Sling/HAVA support (important to "me"), and loud call volume. I'd go w/Milestone (Canadian version for NA 3G support), simply because it will have HAVA support for Android starting in March, but then I'd have to continue w/AT&T, and give up my $43/mo. unlimited voice/data on T-Mobile's 7Mb network.

I'll pass on HTC's offerings, for now, as the TP2 exhibited questionable reception "in the AT&T store", where my Moto Q lives on full bars 3G on AT&T throughout the Northeast.

Right now, I'm trying to see if someone in the maemo community is willing to work on porting the Sling/HAVA app over to Maemo, or wait until Qt is finished, and possibly the Symbian version will work under the unified Nokia OS. Other than that I'm in a holding pattern until something "which meets all my needs" is released.

FWIW, the successor to the 900 may be out by year's end, and have greater app support (all Symbian apps under maemo6/Meego), 1GHz processor, capacitive screen, et al, but no keyboard.