Nokia N900

The Nokia N900 is a smartphone made by Nokia, launched at Nokia World on 1 September 2009 and released in 11 November. Superseding the Nokia N810, the N900's default operating system, Maemo 5, is a Linux-based OS originally developed for the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. It is the first Nokia device based upon the Texas Instruments OMAP3 microprocessor with the ARM Cortex-A8 core. Unlike the three Nokia Internet tablets preceding it, the Nokia N900 is the first Maemo device to include telephony functionality (quad-band GSM and 3G UMTS/HSDPA).

The N900 functions as a mobile Internet device, and includes email, web browsing and access to online services, a 5-megapixel digital camera for still or video photography, a portable media player for music and video, calculator, games console and word processor, SMS, as well as mobile telephony using either a mobile network or VoIP via Internet (mobile or Wi-Fi). Maemo provides an X-terminal interface for interacting with the core operating system. The N900 was launched alongside Maemo 5, giving the device an overall more touch-friendly interface than its predecessors and a customizable home screen which mixes application icons with shortcuts and widgets. Maemo 5 supports Adobe Flash Player 9.4, and includes many applications designed specifically for the mobile platform such as a touch-friendly apps. Often referred to as a "pocket computer", the N900 and its Maemo software were well received critically; it was followed up by Nokia N9 in 2011 running on Maemo's successor MeeGo, although by this time Nokia had committed its smartphone future to Windows Phone.

The Nokia N900 was announced on 17 September 2008 during a keynote presentation by Ari Jaaksi of Nokia. New supported features were announced for Maemo 5 such as cellular connectivity over 3G/HSPA, TI OMAP3 processor and high definition camera support. No news on backward compatibility for older Internet Tablets and no time frame was established. The release of the pre-alpha Maemo 5 software development kit, in December 2008 targeted exclusively the OMAP3 architecture, revamped the user interface, included support for hardware graphics acceleration and other functionalities not found in Internet Tablets at the time such as cellular data connectivity and high definition camera support.

The first photo and specifications of the N900, codenamed Rover while being developed, came out in May 2009. The release of FCC approval documents in August 2009 confirmed the device and provided the second codename RX-51. The Nokia N900 was officially announced on 2 September 2009 at Nokia World 2009 in Germany. Nokia says it is step 4 of 5 in the line of Maemo devices which started in 2005 with the Nokia 770.

The device was initially available in selected markets starting November 2009 (4 December in the UK) with a retail price of €599 in Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain, €649 in France, 2499 zł in Poland, 5995 kr in Sweden and £499 in the United Kingdom, all prices including VAT but excluding subsidies. The retail price at launch was US$649 in the United States excluding sales taxes and subsidies.

Black was the only color available at launch. Initially, availability was extremely limited, leading to further delays. The statement from Nokia was that there was higher pre-order demand than expected. The Nokia N900 launched in Hong Kong on 29 May 2010, with added features to facilitate character handwriting input, and at a launch price of 4998 HKD. It subsequently released in Australia via Optus.

The Nokia N900 is powered by OMAP 3430 ARM Cortex-A8, which is a system-on-a-chip made by Texas Instruments based on a 65 nanometer CMOS process. The OMAP 3430 is composed of three microprocessors; the Cortex A8 running at 600 MHz (up to 1.15 GHz with correct overclocking) used to run the OS and applications, the PowerVR SGX530 GPU made by Imagination Technologies which supports OpenGL ES 2.0 and is capable of up to 14 MPolys/s and a TMS320C64x, the digital signal processors, running at 430 MHz used to run the image processing (camera), audio processing (telephony) and data transmission. The TMS320 C64x main purpose is to offload the Cortex A8 from having to process audio and video signal. Moreover, the OMAP 3430 on some N900 devices has been successfully over-clocked up to 1150 MHz by using a modified kernel and editing the kernel power configuration file. The system has 256 MB of dedicated high performance RAM (Mobile DDR) paired with access to 768 MB swap space managed by the OS. This provides a total of 1 GB of virtual memory.

The Nokia N900 has a 3.5-inch (89 mm) resistive touchscreen with a resolution of 800 × 480 pixels (WVGA, 267 ppi). According to both Nokia and the Xorg.log, it is capable of displaying up to 65k colors (565 RGB). Nokia N900 camera capability is 2592x1944 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, Dual LED flash, video light, geo-tagging The LCD is transflective to permit usability over a wide range of luminosity (from daylight to dark). Haptic feedback is provided to touchscreen input by applying a small vibration or a sound; the user can choose whether to have this feature enabled. A stylus is provided to allow more precise touch input and access to smaller user interface elements. A 3-axis accelerometer allows the orientation of the screen to change between portrait and landscape mode in certain applications, or it can be used as user input in games and applications. While the dashboard or desktop is active, rotating the device from landscape to portrait mode activates the phone application (a feature that can also be disabled at user discretion). With update PR1.2, It became possible to view web pages in portrait mode. Developers may add support for portrait mode in their applications if desired. There is a proximity sensor which deactivates the display and touchscreen when the device is brought near the face during a call.