Nokia Unveils Its First Linux Phone N900

Nokia unveiled N900, its first smart phone running on Linux software, aiming at improving its offering at the top end of the market.

The Nokia N900 runs on the Linux-based Maeme 5 software, featuring true multitasking with applications as well as Web browsing with Adobe Flash support.

Nokia’s workhorse Symbian operating system controls half of the smartphone market volume — more than its rivals Apple, Research in Motion and Google put together. Nokia said Linux would work well in parallel with Symbian in its high-end product range.

“As Nokia announces the software platform that will drive its future services aspirations it created a dedicated solutions unit — the challenge will be to ensure that all these elements work in harmony in the face of fierce competition from Apple and Google,” said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.

The new N900 model, with cellular connection, touch screen and slide-out keyboard, will retail for around $712, excluding subsidies and taxes.

Nokia also unveiled a new Solutions business unit, which aims to better tie together its phone operations and new mobile Internet services offering.

Technical details of N900:

Display:
3.5 inch touch-sensitive widescreen display
800 × 480 pixel resolution

Web browsing:
Maemo browser powered by Mozilla technology
Adobe Flash™ 9.4 support
Full screen browsing

Camera:
5 megapixel camera (2584 × 1938 pixels)
Image formats: JPEG
CMOS sensor, Carl Zeiss optics, Tessar lens
3 × digital zoom
Autofocus with assist light and two-stage capture key
Dual LED flash
Full-screen viewfinder
Photo editor on device
TV out (PAL/NTSC) with Nokia Video Connectivity Cable (CA-75U, included in box) or WLAN/UPnP
Landscape (horizontal) orientation
Capture modes: Automatic, portrait, video, macro, landscape, action

Video:
Wide aspect ratio 16:9 (WVGA)
Video recording file format: .mp4; codec: MPEG-4
Video recording at up to 848 × 480 pixels (WVGA) and up to 25fps
Video playback file formats: .mp4, .avi, .wmv, .3gp; codecs: H.264, MPEG-4, Xvid, WMV, H.263

Music and audio playback:
Maemo media player
Music playback file formats: .wav, .mp3, .AAC, .eAAC, .wma, .m4a
Built-in FM transmitter
Ring tones: .wav, .mp3, .AAC, .eAAC, .wma, .m4a
FR, EFR, WCDMA, and GSM AMR
Digital stereo microphone
DLNA