Pre-Review of Nokia's Unannounced N900 Published

The Nokia N900 has been an oft-rumored device ever since the roadmap for the Maemo 5 operating system became public knowledge. A website with access to a pre-production unit of this Internet Tablet reviews the device, giving some insight as to how Nokia sees Maemo as part of its device and service-enabling strategy.

Maemo 5 Highlights
The Nokia N900 will be the first device utilizing the Linux-derived Maemo 5 operating system, a new version that will apparently makes it debut in this model.

Codenamed Freemantle throughout the course of its development, Maemo 5 will take much of the open source lessons learned from previous Internet Tablet devices and considerably smooth out the user interface and functions.

Nokia N900 Key Features
Some of the most important features of the N900 will allegedly include:

• An 800 by 480 pixel resistive touchscreen
• A three-row, sliding, QWERTY keyboard with integrated directional buttons
• 32 GB of built-in storage
• Memory card support for up to 32 GB microSD cards
• A 5 MPx digital camera, with auto-focus and dual-LED flash
• Built-in accelerometer and GPS receiver
• GPRS/HSPA-data (not voice) capable on the GSM network (SIM card slot included)
• 1320 mAh removable battery

It is not certain if there is an additional front-facing camera, though some other leaked shots of the device show this.

What can also be seen from the pre-review is that Maemo will gain PIM functionality with a Calendar, Contacts, threaded SMS (Conversations), and revamped Email application. 

Nokia Maps will be included with Maemo 5, as will a new browser -- possibly based on the Gecko-engine that powers the current Micro-B and Mobile Firefox (Fennec) browsers.

The Music Player and most of the user interface has seen considerable updates in both functionality and design. Maemo 5 is designed to be totally finger-friendly, though it seems that the N900 may include a stylus as part of the package.

Market Positioning
While hardware and software seem relatively certain, it is not clear just yet where Nokia will position the N900. Right now, the N97 sits at the top of its lineup as the flagship device, though the N900 has a very similar hardware configuration.

Maemo devices have traditionally been geared towards developers and tinkerers; it may be the case, though, that the depth of development in the user interface, combined with Nokia's attention to integrating some of its Ovi services, might render the N900 more applicable to a wider set of power-users.

Announcement and Availability
The N900 has not yet been formally announced by Nokia. Many online rumors have placed its announcement on Sept. 2, the first day of the Nokia World Conference. It is usually the first day of this conference where Nokia announces major devices and/or services.

Also appearing in many rumors is a price of about 550 Euros ($700-$750 USD). Though this device supports 3G frequencies, including the 1700 MHz band used by T-Mobile USA, there has been no confirmation outside of FCC tests that this device will appear subsidized by any carrier.

Via Mobile Review