The Nokia N900, an Overview

The Nokia N900 is a strange but impressive model that is not a netbook but can hardly be referred to as a traditional mobile thanks to its rather bulky appearance. Nokia themselves refer to this model as a tablet with phone capabilities and that is probably the most accurate description of this powerful handset.

Thanks to a large 600Mhz processor, 32 GB of built in storage memory and a further 1GB of application memory (256MB RAM and 768MB virtual memory), the Nokia N900 handles most tasks with ease. The internet browser is built by Maemo, the people who brought us Firefox on our home PC's and laptops, thus as you would expect it is an impressive affair. It certainly matches the iPhone for speed and ease of use but goes that step further thanks to its ability to playback flash content. This means a host of additional websites can now be displayed, a prime example of this being BBC's i Player. Instead of having to pinch your fingers to zoom like most smartphones, Nokia have implemented a different method on this model which involves you twirling your finger around in small motions to zoom. Although this does feel strange at first you soon get used to it and it does work very well. As you would expect there are numerous data connection methods available inlcluding EDGE and WIFI.

Despite being a large handset, the N900 measures 110.9 x 59.8 x 18mm, it does sit rather comfortably in the hand. It does also weigh quite a hefty 181 grammes, however when the full Qwerty keypad is slid out this only adds to the stable feel of the phone. The front of the handset is void of buttons, thanks to the high quality 3.5" screen. This is capable of displaying a resolution of 480 x 800 and is a resistive touchscreen. Despite this it responds well to touch and is generally easy to navigate.

The Nokia N900 thanks in part to its massive screen really does lend itself to multi media usage, and Nokia have acknowledged this by loading the handset with the massive 32GB of storage and adding a micro SD port allowing further expansion if necessary. The built in camera is of a good standard, boasting a 5 mega pixel resolution coupled with autofocus, dual LED flash and a high quality Carl Zeiss lens. The 25 frames per second capture rate on video also catches the eye, and video playback does look great on the screen, colours are vivid and pictures are clear.

The impressive feature list, large screen and powerful processor make the Nokia N900 a handset to be reckoned with. The only potential drawback is its size, but those looking for a compact handset would not be looking at a device of the N900's spec to start with. All things considered, Nokia have produced a quality model.

The Nokia N900 and the Nokia X3 are available now.