Nokia N900 vs. Motorola Droid / Milestone - Page 12 - maemo.org

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Rushmore	2009-10-20 , 01:28
Posts: 1,255 \| Thanked: 393 times \| Joined on Oct 2009 @ US	#111

Originally Posted by gerbick

Technically speaking, Android is Linux.

Biiigg' stretch but correct (kind of). A more relative point (IMHO) is:

Maemo = Linux (very resource efficient)

Android = Linux with all (non framework) apps running in a java layer (not efficient at all)

Last edited by Rushmore; 2009-10-20 at 01:49.

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Rushmore	2009-10-20 , 01:49
Posts: 1,255 \| Thanked: 393 times \| Joined on Oct 2009 @ US	#112

Originally Posted by christexaport

Market cap is based on stock price and cash, neither of which are real guages of value. As Palm benefitted from Nokia merger rumors to increase its value, so too do others. Let Steve Jobs die, and Apple stock will fall, even though its devices may be selling well at brisk profits. In the case of the phone market and mobile communications and services, Nokia IS BOSS.

Do not let some in the community offend you. A lot of emotional people here due to the delay of the N900.

Still, I better get my damn portrait mode and audio EQ

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Rushmore	2009-10-20 , 01:55
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Originally Posted by Bratag

Its already been explained by nokia several times - do a search and I am sure you can find the reason.

Something to do with the camera??? Hmmmm. I think I found a link

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sschueller	2009-10-20 , 02:29
Posts: 34 \| Thanked: 6 times \| Joined on Oct 2009	#114

Originally Posted by UCOMM

i believe droid is verizons moniker for it, the gsm variant will have another name

That is very interesting.

They have to do something to prevent confusion between Android devices on GSM or CDMA systems. Most people don't know the difference but if the phone has a different name then there is no confusion.

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	gnuite	2009-10-20 , 02:49
	Posts: 1,245 \| Thanked: 421 times \| Joined on Dec 2005	#115

Originally Posted by rm42

I am sorry my comment sounded condescending to you. I was being dead serious. Maybe I misunderstood what you meant. It is just that to me, the greatest feature of the N900 is the development freedom that it offers.

Speaking as a geek, and as someone that has spent a lot of time developing on Maemo platforms, I don't think many of your points stand as advantages over Android.

Originally Posted by rm42

It has revived in me the desire to do desktop (as opposed to web) development. And I know that I will be joined by dozens of computer geeks in creating code for this device.

The Android has already done this. Heck, even the uber-closed iPhone has done this. Mobile computing is coming back in full-force, regardless of the platform that you target.

Originally Posted by rm42

I am also very interested in being able to view and edit my word processor documents and my spreadsheets anywhere and at any time.

Maemo has the edge here, but QuickOffice on Android can view MS office documents, and I have no doubt that editing will come eventually, although I have to question to efficiency of document editing on a mobile device.

Originally Posted by rm42

I want access to sqlite to make some small database applications to organize some info that I want to have with me at all times.

Android has built-in sqlite libraries.

Originally Posted by rm42

As long as they don't allow me to create a quick Phython app while I am on the subway, or allow my fellow geeks to do as they please with the OS and create and distribute whatever app they want, I am just plain not interested.

Android Scripting Environment gives you Python, and the Android Market is just about as open as Maemo's repositories, and a bit simpler to use from an end-user standpoint.

Don't get me wrong - Maemo is a very flexible operating system, and the N900 should prove to be a powerful piece of hardware. But Android is just as flexible, just as powerful, and (more importantly) just as open.

We really shouldn't be arguing about whether Maemo or Android is better. They're both good for developers, and they're both good for users. It's closed systems like the iPhone that we have to worry about, and as long as Maemo and Android exist to counter-balance them, I will always cheer for both.

Down with closed application frameworks!

Last edited by gnuite; 2009-10-20 at 02:51. Reason: Added context to the beginning of the post.

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	GeneralAntilles	2009-10-20 , 03:24
	Posts: 5,478 \| Thanked: 5,222 times \| Joined on Jan 2006 @ St. Petersburg, FL	#116

Originally Posted by gnuite

We really shouldn't be arguing about whether Maemo or Android is better. They're both good for developers, and they're both good for users. It's closed systems like the iPhone that we have to worry about, and as long as Maemo and Android exist to counter-balance them, I will always cheer for both.

I disagree. Android doesn't ship X and it doesn't ship standard Linux toolkits. It locks you into using Google frameworks which locks you into Android's platform. Google doesn't have anything approaching an open governance while Nokia has become more open with every release.

Maemo and Android don't compare in openness where it really matters. Android is a long-term dead-end as far as a unified mobile Linux platform and in the short term it's just sucking up valuable developers. Maemo, on the other hand, might have a chance with Mer.

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Last edited by GeneralAntilles; 2009-10-20 at 03:36.

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	rm42	2009-10-20 , 03:30
	Posts: 963 \| Thanked: 626 times \| Joined on Sep 2009 @ Connecticut, USA	#117

Very nice to see that Android has scripting support. Thanks for sharing that. Sorry about the misinformation. I'll be quiet now.

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	MountainX	2009-10-20 , 04:11
	Posts: 415 \| Thanked: 193 times \| Joined on Jun 2009 @ A place with no mountains	#118

Originally Posted by Rushmore

That being said, why doen't the N900 have a four row KB? Seems like plenty of slider space for more KB..

Because the input consists of a combination of the touch screen and the keyboard. By keeping the keyboard compact, it is easier to move your finger to the touch screen and back.

A larger keyboard would mean moving your fingers a greater distance to interact with the N900. A compact keyboard allows full input in a way Nokia felt would be ideal. They were not viewing the keyboard in isolation. Rather they were thinking about the entire input experience.

I got that from one of the videos... can't remember which one.

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RTbar	2009-10-20 , 04:27
Posts: 51 \| Thanked: 11 times \| Joined on Dec 2007	#119

Originally Posted by MountainX

Because the input consists of a combination of the touch screen and the keyboard. By keeping the keyboard compact, it is easier to move your finger to the touch screen and back.

A larger keyboard would mean moving your fingers a greater distance to interact with the N900. A compact keyboard allows full input in a way Nokia felt would be ideal. They were not viewing the keyboard in isolation. Rather they were thinking about the entire input experience.

I got that from one of the videos... can't remember which one.

and I can see why they did it, I have a touch pro 2 to play with, and while the keyboard is great, it is difficult to go from writing to link clicking because of the size of the 5 rows.