Pocketables

N900 drops in price yet again, thanks to $50 rebate from Nokia

Many of our regular readers may have noticed my continual posts regarding the long-awaited Nokia N900, and they may have come to the conclusion that I seem to be an N900 fan. Well, I'm here to say "guilty as charged." I've been eagerly awaiting the availability of the newest Maemo device for years now, ever since my N800 started showing its age.

I haven't preordered mine yet and after seeing this latest price drop thanks to a $50 rebate from Nokia, I'm glad I waited. Now through Amazon, the price of the N900 has dropped to a lowest-ever $509.99 after applying said rebate, which is also valid when the purchase is made through other retailers.

Hopefully there is an N900 with my name on it somewhere out there, on its voyage from wherever that has seemed to take forever, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that it gets to Amazon soon so I can click that "add to cart" button.

[Nokia N900 @ Amazon]

Nokia N900 is finally shipping after long delay

Mark it down, Maemo fans: November 10th, 2009. The day that we finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel and start to envision our very own Nokia N900 in our hands very soon, thanks to Nokia officially announcing the shipping of their long-awaited smartphone. It seems that we have been writing about this device forever, and while we have been waiting, the iPhone and Android juggernauts just keep gaining steam.

Of course, there are about 300 lucky users out there who have been running early-release versions of the hardware in order to help Nokia iron out the last few kinks in the all-new Maemo 5 software, but now it is finally time for the rest of us.

Myself, I have been eagerly anticipating the N900 since it was first announced, paying little attention to the fact that it will operate only on the T-Mobile 3G band here in the US, even though I currently use AT&T. No matter, the device is unlocked and will work fine without 3G for me, since this will be the replacement for my beloved Nokia N800 and Nokia N810WE internet tablets that have served me well over the last few years.

Who is with me on the N900 and will be buying one as soon as possible? Or have the announcements of the HTC HD2 and Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 caused some hesitation on your part?

[Nokia Press Release]

SmartDevices SmartQ V7 launched in China

If you've been waiting for SmartDevices to release the SmartQ V7, then you'll be happy to hear that it is now available in China for 1500 yuan (~$220). Though cosmetically identical to the SmartQ 7, the V7 is actually the big brother of the SmartQ V5 and classified as an HD MID. The tablet is capable of playing back full HD 1080p video and outputting the signal to a TV/monitor via an HDMI or analogue composite connection. Like the V5, the SmartQ V7 can also run Ubuntu, Windows CE, and Android with all three operating systems pre-installed from the factory.

Other features include a 7-inch WVGA touchscreen, 600MHz ARM11 CPU, WiFi (802.11 b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR connectivity, 4500mAH li-polymer battery, 256MB RAM, 2GB of inbuilt storage, and a microSD slot supporting up to 32GB. The HD MID can also receive the PPS Network TV-on-demand service, streaming a large variety of news, movies, sports, and other television programs for users to enjoy.

The choice of operating systems and HD video playback/output capabilities of the SmartQ V7 makes it a very versatile internet tablet and PMP. There currently is no news on availability outside of China, although there appears to be a few units available on eBay for inflated prices of over $400. Any takers?

Nokia N920 possibly already in the works

UPDATE: The image is a fake.

Even though Nokia is still making us hang on the edge of our seats as we wait for them to release the long-awaited N900 running Maemo 5, it seems they are already hard at work on the next N-series family member and OS. Thanks to one of our tipsters, we are able to see an image of a purported early prototype that still appears to be running Diablo, with Maemo 6 a strong possibility to be the OS of choice sometime next year.

While it has been known for quite some time that the Internet Tablet line would have perhaps more than one form factor, now we at least have a little more info and a picture of a new, larger design and the future of Maemo.

Sharp NetWalker caught running Windows 95

While the rest of us are content with using Ubuntu on our Sharp NetWalker PC-Z1 MIDs, Pocketables reader Gary wanted to see how well Windows 95 could run on the ARM Cortex A8-powered device.

His interests in such shenanigans started way back when he got DOS running on an iPAQ Pocket PC and have recently been fueled by waiting for the arrival of his Pandora handheld, which some would like to see running QEMU or Wine to emulate Windows on its ARM architecture. Rather than sit around and wait for the Pandora to start shipping, Gary fired up bochs (an x86 PC emulator) on his NetWalker and got Windows 95 up and running in no time.

Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android pulled by Amazon for problems?

Now this is definitely interesting, especially considering that the new device has only been out for a few days, but it seems that Amazon has stopped taking orders for the 160GB hard drive-based version of the Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android due to the item being "under review." Now granted, they do say that it could be a problem on their end with the description or the way it's shipped, but when you read that "customers have told us there may be something wrong with our inventory of the item," that can't possibly bode well for Archos as they look to transition into their new OS and products.

The slimmer 32GB flash-based version is still available for ordering and the 500GB model continues to be up for pre-ordering, so let's hope that any issues that may exist can be fixed right away for the sake of current owners or those who were contemplating a purchase. The reviews from new owners do appear to be mixed from what I have briefly read around the net, so hopefully it is just a matter of Archos pushing out a timely firmware update.

Do you have one of the new models and if so, are you having any issues other than something a firmware update could fix? Maybe this will all be sorted out quickly, but please chime in with your comments and let us know what's going on.

Archos 5 Internet Tablet with Android now available from Amazon

While the last few days have been filled with the latest news on Windows Mobile 6.5 and some of the hot smartphone hardware on the way soon, it would be easy to find an excuse for almost missing this one. It seems that Archos has finally released their newest-generation PMP into the world, with the Android-based Archos 5 Internet Tablet now available for immediate delivery from Amazon here in the U.S. and direct from other retailers around the world.

Initially, only the 160GB ($389.99) and the 32GB ($369.99) models are available for purchase, with the 500GB ($499.99) model still in pre-order status and coming soon. The other previously-announced capacities will apparently come at a later date, but to be honest, I'm not sure if the smaller flash-based models are even necessary in this day of growing media libraries.

Some users over at ArchosFans have already taken delivery of their new devices, and from what I can tell in brief reading, the experiences are mixed at best. Hopefully the Android platform will take the Archos 5 from just a PMP into a full-fledged MID, because it definitely has the specs to pull it off, and the size seems to be what many people are looking for.

New video of Nokia N900 browser

At the expense of appearing to be a total Nokia N900 fanboy, which I readily admit to, here is yet another post to hold us over until the release of Nokia's latest flagship device. Leading up to the Maemo Summit this weekend, the folks over at Nokia Conversations have posted a new video of the Maemo browser being put through its paces. The YouTube video, which is just under six minutes long and can be found past the break, shows off the browser in real-life use and yet again proves that the N900 is going to be a force in the smartphone market.

First impressions of the Sharp NetWalker PC-Z1

Now that a few days have passed since I unboxed the Sharp NetWalker PC-Z1, it's time to share my first impressions and some other thoughts I've jotted down while using the clamshell Ubuntu MID. If you're on the fence about whether the 800MHz Cortex A8-based unit is worth its sub-$600 asking price, read on for some details that could push you in either direction.

Interesting tidbits for Nokia N900 fans

While the Nokia N900 is possibly only a few short weeks away from release, those of us who are eagerly awaiting its arrival now have some newly-posted thorough previews and pictures to hold us over. Even though Amazon's pre-order link was apparently gone for a few days and replaced with an email notification page, I'm still hopeful that Nokia will come through on their original mid-October promised delivery.

Thanks to Eldar over at mobile-review.com, we now have screenshots of just about every conceivable feature in Maemo 5, and while a picture is supposed to say a thousand words, he really has gone into great detail regarding the software that's powering the new smartphone. Some of the screens may look slightly familiar to those of us with the older-generation Internet Tablets like the N8XX-series, but this is definitely not a rehash of Diablo. It looks like there have been significant upgrades to the desktop customization options and the task manager, not to mention the completely revamped media player. Oh, and I almost forgot about the phone, which will give T-Mobile users here in the U.S. some 3G goodness and cause some jealous glances from AT&T users.

Picking up where Eldar left off, Michal at My-Symbian.com has a complete rundown of not only Maemo 5, but the N900 as well. There are some great size comparison shots of the N900 with other popular Nokia devices, similar to what we are used to seeing here at Pocketables. Also, the camera is tested and delivers some beautiful sample videos and snapshots, which should not surprise anyone who has used a Nokia phone equipped with a 5MP camera. Of note is the excellent readability of the screen, even in sunlight. One possible shortcoming might be the 256MB that is available for third-party app installation, though as Michal points out, this is merely a prototype unit and the firmware is sure to change on shipping units.

Seeing these details and pictures of the N900 is making it look like a perfect combination of three of my favorite devices that I own: the Nokia N95-4, the iPhone 3GS, and the N8XX. Maybe now I won't need three pockets.