Two OMAP 3430 Phones: Nokia N900 and Motorola Droid
by Brian Klug on June 10, 2010 9:29 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- N900
- Maemo
- Motorola Droid
- Droid
- MeeGo
- Android
- Mobile
Messaging and Skype
Messaging on the N900 is done in a very WebOS fashion - IMs and SMS alike are managed by the OS and aggregated into a central application called "conversations". I signed in with Google Talk and Skype, and the integration is seamless. But what's most impressive is how Skype and Google Talk handle calling. Maemo considers Google Talk and Skype VOIP and IM enabled accounts, and after they're added, you can make and receive calls over Skype, and do the same with Google Talk. Although we tested with PR 1.1, PR 1.2 further builds on this by enabling video calling for Skype (between PC and other skype video clients), and Google Talk (with the PC web client, or any other XMPP Jingle video client, including the N900, N810, and N800). There's also support for SIP video calls.
But the best part is that VOIP calls are treated just like a normal call. In fact, for a while, I was completely confused by Skype because I expected it to live by itself somewhere - similar to how it works on other platforms. But that's not how it works at all - enter your account details, set your availability status, and you're ready to call and be called over Skype. In Europe, where international calling can be expensive and sometimes confusing, this is a huge feature.
Though video calling on Android through Qik, and FaceTime on iPhone 4 has been received to much fanfare, Maemo has quietly had video call support since launch. With PR 1.1, video calling was admittedly a bit of a challenge - requiring calls to be made from the PC client of Google Talk to the N900, with the PC initiating the voice call. Or requiring Fring for Skype video calls to work (which I could never get working, sadly), but PR 1.2 now makes this a core part of the operating system in a way that really does work.
Phone Dialer
The dialer is virtually the only application that's portrait and landscape on the N900. It's admittedly very barebones. Launching it, you're first presented with a list of recently made and received calls, a shortcut to the contacts application, or the dial pad. The dial pad unfortunately doesn't have any smart dialing functions like HTC usually includes, it's just a plain ol' keypad - you can however just start typing a contact's name and see their contact card.
There's turning control for the N900 which launches the phone application whenever it's turned vertical - I never tried this - or you can force the phone to always be landscape/portrait from a setting.
Fortunately, there's landscape and portrait of both, and they do what they're supposed to do. In the call-in-progress screen, there's the usual options for mute, speaker, dial pad, and end. When you're in a skype call, there's a skype logo in the top left of the user's avatar.
When the call is over cellular, there's a picture of a phone - self explanatory. Otherwise the call screen is virtually identical for the entire gamut of call types - VOIP over 3G/2.5G or WiFi, and normal 2G/3G calling. The integration is truly flawless - there's no excuse that other platforms haven't fully integrated VoIP like this. On the other hand, carriers would throw a fit and likely never subsidize, carry, or support the phone (which might explain the N900's lack of adoption in the US), but we can dream, can't we?
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
68 Comments
View All Comments
DaveGirard - Saturday, June 12, 2010 - link
sweet Jesus, that Nokia phone is huge. Does it double as an ice cream sandwich cover?metafor - Sunday, June 13, 2010 - link
Cortex is the CPU designed by ARM. This is available as a hard-macro (layout already done) or soft-macro (just the functional RTL). Some companies license this in either version. For those who license the soft-version, such as TI, nVidia and Broadcom, they can do a customized place-and-route along with clock-tree optimizations and voltage partitioning to try to make the design run faster.However, the micro-architecture is the same.
A few companies have ARM architectural licenses (Apple, Qualcomm, Marvell) and instead of licensing the Cortex line of processors, they design their own. The micro-architecture is developed independent of what ARM did in their Cortex series albeit there will often be similarities.
Scorpion inside Snapdragon was developed in the course of years and while it has many similarities to the A8 from a power-point standpoint, the micro-architecture underneath was designed from the ground up. Everything from the branch predictors, the cache controller, exception handling, execution units and most notably, a partially OoOE scheduler and retirement buffer.
There's also the 128-bit, fully pipelined, partially OoOE SIMD/FP unit.
medi01 - Sunday, June 13, 2010 - link
Well, I find it very strange, that "incidentally" iPhone is never shown in bad light. Could you please update your side to side comparison?Impulses - Wednesday, June 16, 2010 - link
Personally I think there's better things for you guys to do or test with your time... Who cares if a phone's screen colors are more or less accurate, as long as they aren't outright flawed or ugly to look at it shouldn't be a big deal, not like anyone's gonna be doing any pro content editing work on their phones! (I don't even own an AMOLED screen so I'm not particularly biased one way or the other, I own an EVO atm)mojtabaalemi - Saturday, June 19, 2010 - link
I hate the design of nokia mobile phones . in my idea an iphone is far far better !paihuaizhe - Sunday, June 20, 2010 - link
(nike-alliance).(com)=>is a leading worldwide wholesaler company (or u can sayorganization)
arnavvdesai - Saturday, June 26, 2010 - link
I was just wondering if the author had installed AdBlock+ and then run the browser speed numbers or without it being on. If it was not installed which is what I am guessing from the photos, did you notice an improvement in the render times when it was installed. I actually bought the phone recently after seeing it on sale for 380$ and wanted to know the details. Also, I have heard that the current build of the OS allows potrait mode even for the browser(although it has to be activate through some setting) and not just the phone.drwiremore - Sunday, July 4, 2010 - link
Amanda, delighted to have found you. Given the issues in the title, affecting 20~50% of MOTO Droid users, was surprised to see no mention of it. The MOTO boards are alive with disdain and some feel an in you face attitude by Motorola Droid 2 and X announcements. Would you do an iPhone like analysis of voice, antenna and signal issues across Verizons Droids: HTC incredible and MOTO Droid. Your scientific analysis would be welcomed.