PHONES N CELLPHONES

Review by N. Singleton:

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Design & Hardware

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[CONSTRUCTION]: The surface of the N900 is a smooth black matte finish. The build material is aluminum, steel and rubber/plastic. The N900 easily fits in a pocket, being smaller than the N810 but noticeably thicker than most phones. The four front components are the status light, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and VGA camera. There is a consumer infrared port (universal remote), wrist strap option, stylus and kickstand. The removable back contains the main camera, SIM, battery and microSDHC slot. Removal requires some strength but it's reassuring knowing it won't fall off.

[KEYBOARD]: The keyboard is side-sliding with a smooth, springless mechanism providing a solid feel. The keyboard is three-row, localized and backlit with rubberized key surfaces. The keys are more difficult to use than devices with rounded keys but are still easier than virtual keyboards. While reaching speeds of 35-40 WPM is realistic, extended use is rather tiring. It is possible connect a USB or Bluetooth keyboard, gamepad, mouse and even a Wii Remote.

[TV-OUT]: There is 480i resolution TV-out which uses an included 3.5mm jack with 4 rings. These are ground, audio left and right, and composite video. Useful for watching movies, playing games or doing work that requires a big screen.

[SCREEN]: The 16 million color, 800x480 pixel display is incredible. It is pressure-sensitive, 15:9 aspect and transflective, making the screen easier to see in direct light. It uses a surprisingly responsive resistive touch screen allowing use with gloves, fingernails or a stylus. The ambient light sensor adjusts the brightness automatically. Lack of multi-touch means cumbersome "swirling" gestures in some software but is generally not a huge issue.

[CAMERAS]: The main camera is a 5MP Carl Zeiss, the same as the Nokia N97. It comes with a sliding shutter to protect the recessed lens. There is also a front-facing 640x480 webcam. The camera interface is the same as the S60. The image quality is sharp, skin tones are vivid and there is very little, if any, chromatic aberration at the edges. The camera uses the accelerometer when photographing so the photo viewer can show the picture "up" however the N900 is held. Take a portrait picture and view it landscape and it'll be small. Turn the device and it'll fill the screen. There are the following modes: Automatic, Macro, Portrait, Landscape, Action, and Auto video. The camera can take 848×480 resolution video at 25 fps. The video quality is crisp, recording at an impressive 3000 kb/s but the framerate usually drops to 20fps and the audio has a noticeable metallic tone. The camera also works with Adobe Flash.

[CPU]: The CPU is an ARM-based TI OMAP 3430 600MHz clocked at 500MHz but can be overclocked. Some users of the Maemo forums have managed to push it up to 1.2GHz. This allows improved performance with high resolution media, gaming/emulators and web browsing among many others. Overclocking requires downloading a modified kernel with the desired speed. They are generally made available in 50Mhz steps such as 800MHz and 850MHz. Then simply run fiasco-image-update on the download. While overclocking would normally reduce battery life, most kernels also provide underclocks for idle which allows the N900 to use significantly less power when not in use, the net result often being EXTENDED battery life. According to Nokia, overclocking does void the warranty. Since the N900 does not have any active cooling the heat created by overclocking could significantly shorten the N900's life if pushed too much. N900 units are unique, each will overclock differently. So far though the series does seem to overclock extremely well.

[BATTERY]: The battery is a 1320mAh Nokia BL-5J, 22% smaller than the BP-4L. A full battery with unoptimized settings allows about 5-9 hours of continuous talk time, 5 hours of music or a few hours of 3G. 3G/3.5G drains the battery faster than Wi-Fi. Lowering brightness, removing desktop widgets and disabling GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G easily triples battery life. Charging is through microUSB which takes about 4-5 hours for an empty battery. An issue with the USB port breaking off has been acknowledged by Nokia as a design oversight, they advise care should be taken while plugging/unplugging devices to mitigate this problem. The "complete cycle" method some people use is for calibrating multicell laptop batteries, but the N900 only has a single cell battery so it's pointless and marginally harmful to do complete discharge cycles as there's nothing to calibrate.

[INTERNAL MEMORY]: The N900 has two memory chips. The first is a 32GB eMMC: 768MB of 'virtual memory' (swap), 2GB for settings and software (ext3 /home), the last ~26GB (MyDocs) is for your files only (software not allowed). The second chip is 256MB of NAND memory (RAM) used for bootloader, kernel and rootfs, twice that of the N810. Optionally, several gigabytes are used for the localized offline Ovi Maps, useful in areas without data coverage.

[EXPANDABLE MEMORY]: The N900 has a hot-swappable microSDHC slot under the rear panel. It supports microSDHC cards up to 32GB of any class. The included cable can connect the N900 to a computer for easy transfer of files by allowing the N900 to act as a hard drive, though only "MyDocs" is accessible.

[GPS & MAPS]: The GPS is a real GPS and has the addition of assisted GPS. The cold fix time with data is about 10-40 seconds with accuracy as good as the Nokia N97. Pre-loaded Ovi Maps are available so a data connection is not required. GPS usually works fine offline, if slow, but due to a bug can fail as the map engine may ask for a connection even when the maptiles are loaded. Ovi Maps uses the GPS to show local weather information. Navigation and mapping with Ovi Maps is free but there is no turn-by-turn voice navigation. The low 1.0 version is due to it being the first Maemo release of Ovi maps explaining the lack of features it has compared to the 3.0 version available on Symbian. Some omissions being the inability to save routes, and inability to look up a contact's address.

[FM TRANSMITTER]: The integrated FM transmitter puts audio from the device into radio frequency so you can tune a radio to that frequency and play N900 media wirelessly. It works as advertised but must be very close to the receiving radio.

[RADIOS]: The signal strength of the N900's 3G radio is weak. It is possible to turn off the cellular radio without disabling Wi-Fi/Bluetooth by going into offline mode and then manually enabling either. The N900 can use another phone as a 3G modem over Bluetooth but setup is complicated. Bluetooth DUN and PAN modes are supported via community software. Advanced WLAN security, like different kinds of EAP (EAP-PEAP, EAP-MSCHAPv2, etc.), different ciphers (RSA, 3DES, SHA, etc.) and "authority certificates" (algorithms like X.509, SHA1RSA) are all supported. With Bluetooth DUN, tethering is supported.

[AUDIO]: The built-in stereo speakers are loud but lacking in bass. They make an acceptable portable radio. Bluetooth headphones work great. The audio quality of the 3.5mm jack is loud and slightly more "forward" sounding than the more "laid back" or "polite" sound of other smartphones but without the response peaks, valleys or ripples that so often mar the critical 1,000 Hz. region. Audio sounds more "present" than with similar devices. The included earphones have a somewhat dirty signal. Higher frequencies hiss, losing details and the brightness and dynamic volume are shallow, lacking weight and depth. The earphone wires feel like they will become loose over time.

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Application Software

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[SCREEN ORIENTATION]: Most software and the main N900 interface only work in landscape mode. The only time it can be switched to portrait mode is when making or receive a phone call. Rotating the phone into portrait mode opens the keypad automatically after a delay. Portrait mode for the browser is unofficially available by pressing Ctrl-Shift-O. Third party software orientation is at the discretion of the software developer.

[WEB BROWSER]: The overall web experience is amazing, perhaps the best available in a device this size. The web browser is MicroB and supports full Adobe Flash, video and applets providing a very fast, full web experience. Tapping zooms and centers where tapped. Making a circular motion zooms gradually. Moving a finger off the left of the screen produces a mouse arrow for websites requiring this operation. The Flash version is 9.4. 10.1 is confirmed for Q2 2010. Many Flash games play fine but the keyboard can be iffy. Unfortunately some Flash applets still run after closing the browser and drain the battery. The simplest fix is to reboot. MicroB is based on Firefox which uses Gecko, Webkit browsers are also freely available.

[COPY AND PASTE]: Copy and pasting text is allowed in all menus and textboxes.

[SOCIAL NETWORKING]: The N900 comes with utilities for using Twitter and Facebook. Social presence is a global service, once connected, the contact list is updated realtime, there's no need to launch 'Contacts'. IM support for MSN, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, IRC and more is also available through Pidgin. Video calls can be made over IP using Google Talk. Email supports Mail for Exchange (including 2003) and IMAP/POP3. Nokia/Ovi Messaging provides PUSH email for up to 10 simultaneous accounts, including webmail and keeps the accounts separate. Skype calls can be made using 3G.

[PRODUCTIVITY]: Included is Documents To Go, a suite of apps for opening MS Office documents. There's a free version that only opens Office files and a pay version for creating and editing Office files. Full versions of AbiWord and OpenOffice are freely available as well.

[MEDIA PLAYER]: The media player works but can be picky. Included are some 720p trailers showing the N900's speed and amazing screen. Codec support is unclear and experimenting with "mostly supported" media can be a stuttering mess. The media player is okay for music but could use some polishing, the lack of an equalizer was a surprising omission for example. There are also free, community media players like VLC available.

[PHONE]: As a phone the N900 has some significant shortcomings. By default there are only two modifiable profiles, however new profiles may be created with a free tool called Tweakr. The rotational start of the phone interface takes several moments. There's no way to filter or organize the call log and call duration is not recorded. There's no speed dial functionality and it's not possible to send an SMS or access device settings from the phone screen. The poor proximity sensor opens random screens while in your pocket and there's no per-contact ringtone support. On the positive side, the call quality and signal strength are excellent. MMS is not officially supported but community software fMMS allows its functionality.

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Operating System

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[INTERFACE]: The OS interface is polished and fluid. You can sweep 360 degrees through four desktops filled with your choice of widgets, shortcuts and wallpaper, easily zooming in and out of open applications. The interface is usually quick and responsive but can stutter. When a dialog opens, the application behind it blurs like frosted glass. All context menus are pop-ups dismissed by pressing outside the menu.

[MULTITASKING]: Multitasking is phenomenal. You can run every application with no sign of slowing. Taskswitching is thumbnailed showing what each program is. The active program's window shrinks so all open programs are visible at once. Then any window may be closed using the X in the corner in any order.

[TECHNICAL]: The default N900 OS is Maemo 5. Maemo was started in 2005 by Nokia being based on Debian. Future Maemo releases will be merged with Intel's Moblin OS creating MeeGo. Nokia has stated they are committed to supporting the N900 with MeeGo. Maemo supports over-the-air updates and all software is available freely through user defined software repositories. Apt-get also works great. With Maemo there is no app approval process. The platform is open and free, promoting a strong Maemo community and developer network. The current amount of Maemo software is quite limited compared to other platforms, but growing, especially due to the Ovi store offering commercial software. Maemo 5 has some backwards compatibility with Maemo 4.1 software, but it is fairly limited.

[ALTERNATIVES]: The N900 does not require signed kernels which means alternative systems may be installed like Mer, Nitdroid and Debian. Images may be booted on a card or flash memory, like multi-booting on a desktop.

[SHELL]: Out of box there is a true linux shell with root access. You can install sshfs and mount shares from a server or even insert a kernel module. Characters missing from the keyboard are accessed with Fn+Ctrl. BusyBox with nano and vi are bundled by default.

[DEVELOPMENT]: Maemo offers a POSIX environment allowing use as a UNIX system with native software. Useful for *NIX developers since it opens a lot of possibilities. There are a number of different languages available, and more to come. GUI development is done using standard Linux toolkits GTK and Qt. Python is also available. The N900's implementation of Python is not dumbed down, GUIs can be created with popular toolkits like PyGTK and PyQt. Important since there are many developers that already know how to write N900 applications, even if they don't realize it yet.

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Drawbacks & Issues

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No official MMS support. Doesn't work on AT&T's 3G network. No magnetometer (digital compass). No 802.11n. No handwriting recognition. No USB-OTG. No voice dialing. No global kinetic scrolling. Lack of multi-touch. Lack of portrait mode software. Scrolling can be jerky. Kickstand is wobbly with only one position. Mail for Exchange doesn't support Google's Active Sync. Lack of software, especially commercial due to the new OS. Various minor GUI issues that need refining. Various other issues not directly related to the device like spotty Ovi/Nokia support, Nokia launch issues and quality control issues.

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Conclusion

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People are saying the N900 is not a Nokia Internet Tablet anymore and it's just a smartphone but when you use it, you really feel like you're using a device that is more than a smartphone. If you understand the limitations, as mentioned above, can deal with the growing pains as software matures, and value the advantages the N900 offers, you'll be really happy with the N900.

Review by TrekGeek:

I received my n900 just a few days ago from Nokia USA. For the purposes of this review, I will compare it to my previous phone, the HTC G1. My opinions are solely based on the user experiences in the past days with the n900, and since I've never owned an iphone, I will not compare it to such.

Physical layout:

*The N900 is a pretty beefy phone, and rightfully so. While having some heft to it, the n900 is solid and well-built. The black metal rim is a nice touch without being too gaudy. The slide is not spring-assisted but gives a nice click upon opening and closing. I have not noticed any creaks or wobbles from the screen. Few have complained about the back being hard to open. Although true, I rather have that with the peace of mind that the battery won't pop out if I dropped it (God forbid)! the n900 is of comparable size to the G1, albeit being slightly thicker, and not a problem for me.

*I don't really understand all the fuss about resistive and capacitive screens. The n900's screen is gorgeous and is incredibly brilliant. There is a little 'give' to the screen, but I've yet to have problems with it. The screen is quite responsive and supports kinetic scrolling. I did have some difficulty clicking on small links in the browser, but that's because your index finger isn't exactly the most accurate pointing device. This was easily solved by zooming in (more on that later).

*The keyboard is pretty good. It is a different experience coming from the G1 (as you have to type with the 'chin' in the way on your right hand) so naturally, it felt better. The keys have a grippy rubberized texture feel to them, and although the buttons are smooshed next to each other, (like a real keyboard) they have good response. I do miss the 5-row keyboard on the G1, and I don't understand why the n900's screen doesn't open up a bit more. For those with large hands, it might be a little uncomfortable. However, one plus for the n900 is that my thumbs don't have to travel as far to type.

*I love that the placement of the speakers are on the sides of the phone, as opposed to the back on the G1. I do a lot of talking on speakerphone, and so I'm not forced to flip it upside down during a call. Sound quality is good and the speakers are decent.

Maemo 5/ Software

*This is the ultimate customization OS. When they meant open source, they really meant it. The 4 desktops make things a lot easier to navigate. For example, one page is devoted to my common phone contacts, another utility apps, the third has bookmarks to frequent sites (the homepages of those links are previewed on the desktop, fyi), and so forth.

*The way Maemo multitasks is ingenious. The "overview" page where you see all your actively running programs makes navigating between windows and programs very easy and efficient. One thing to note is that you have the ability to close out any of those windows upon your choosing, as opposed to the G1 where the 6 app limit neither allowed to you open more nor shut them down, making it very sluggish, especially during critical times (ie texting someone directions while running gps).

*SMS (called conversations in Maemo) is pretty similar to the G1, but has one added step - conversations either in text or IM by the same person are displayed in the same window. The ability to have the other person's contact image in the text box (that is if you set one up for that person) is a nice touch. I personally don't care about MMS, so no gripes there.

*The email client is pretty decent, I set up my gmail account with a few simple steps, but it isn't nearly as accessible as the gmail app on the G1. For example, I haven't found a way to delete an incoming email when it first comes in. I have to leave the letter, go into the inbox, back into the email, then delete it.

*Browsing experience is comparable to the pc, and is nothing short of awesome. Full flash means I can access full youtube pages, and among others. I think the "swirling zoom" gesture is pretty neat, and helps me to click on the smaller links. I figured out that using your index to swirl zoom produces the best results. Alternatively, you can double click the screen or use the volume rocker. Going to previous pages not only allows you to go to the last page, but scroll through the entire history of that window. Neat.

*Applications-wise, there are not many out there, but I'm certain many will be out soon. You can also access the Maemo repositories for more (google it) but be careful as many of them are still in development and are potentially dangerous to your phone. Noteworthy apps include Hermes (connects your social sites, like facebook to your contacts so you get contact phones, birthdates, etc) and Qik (live streaming recording).

Hardware:

*Fast, fast, fast. Need I say more?

*No hang ups yet, since I can close apps at my own will.

*The camera is good, that is for a 5mp phone camera. It will never compare to a dedicated camera, but is more than effective for quick shots to upload on facebook.

*The FM transmitter is a great add-on. Now I can share songs without having to look for an aux cable.

*Battery life seems to last a little over a day with some text and internet. Wifi is on all the time when I'm at home. My G1 would be down to around 70% by noon.

Of course, no phone/mobile device is perfect. Here are some things that came to my attention:

*The volume rocker is on the right side (in portrait), meaning it is nearly impossible to use as a zoom when the screen is up. Same goes for the lock switch, which is on the bottom (in landscape). Would have been much better on the sides, as it would be easier to lock after a phone call, for example.

*Copy and paste is kinda sporadic. While you can copy all you want on webpages, I couldn't copy a phone number from one contact to another in the phonebook.

*The stand is nice, but it swings out way too deep and feels a bit too weak. I'm afraid I'll break it someday.

*Little portrait support as of now, but I think it'll be fixed soon.

So there you have it. My impressions of the n900. There is still a lot of exploration to be done, but I can honestly say this is the best phone/mobile device I've ever owned. In spite of a few shortcomings, its an amazing piece of technology. A lot of things I didn't mention probably will be fixed within a firmware or two so that isn't a problem. I hope this helps anyone who is on a fence on buying one, good luck!

Review by WILSON:

though i am sure there are a multitude of bluetooth available this is the one i bought..my first one....and i love it...of course i have never been with another device yet..but works great..fits easily...SOUNDS GREAT stays charged a long time..so if you are thinking about this one JUMP ON IT !!

Review by Ramkumar Balaraman:

Having lost/ smashed several expensive bluetooth headsets, I decided to go cheap. There wasn't anything cheaper on Amazon at the time of my buying, and I love Nokias, though I've only use their phones.

Pros:

1. Very small and light

2. Other person has no trouble hearing me

3. Feels well built, as are most things Nokia makes; won't break easily

4. Ear hook, though removable (to switch from right-ear to left-ear mode and vice versa), is very tough plastic

5. Just a tiny blue understated light at the base of the headset

6. Battery lasts a long time, another characteristic of Nokias

7. Same power adapter as all recent nokia phones. That alone makes it worth the price for me since I have several nokias.

Cons:

1. Slight crackling when I put my phone in my jeans pocket, or have it more than 5-6 feet away. Very clear if the phone is in my shirt pocket, or on my table within 5 ft, but that's about as good as a wired headset. I was very surprised by this, since my phone is a Nokia Xpressmusic 5800 and I thought the two would get along really well

2. Ear bud coated with very hard rubber; not the most gentle on your ear canal

3. Single large ear bud; size cannot be adjusted

4. No volume adjustment on the headset; you need to adjust volume directly on the phone. Headset only has a single multifunction button (I had guessed there'd be at least 2 looking at images)

Summary: More convenient than a wired headset, but with about the same range. Can't complain for the price.

Review by C. Shah:

I received this product from amazon.com and the title said "Nokia BH-216 Bluetooth Headset with Display (Gray)", but when I received the product, there was NO DISPLAY on the headset.

I am not sure if Amazon sent me the wrong piece or if this is an error in the description, I tried looking around for the model images and didnt find any with display. I will upload the pic of the one i received.

Other than that, the headset itself is good, it fits snugly, the call quality is good, the controls are easy to operate, and overall a sleek looking piece. It also comes with 3 different size ear plugs to suit the best for you. Since display was not the reason i bought this, i think i am gonna keep it and since it was FAR, i have nothing to complain

Review by Modern Blue Argonaut:

I've bought at least a dozen bluetooth headsets over the past few years. Without a doubt, this one has the best fit I've ever experienced. The soft silicone piece fits snugly in my ear without causing any pain, which is great because I have super sensitive ears. The simple but effective ear loop can easily be removed and swapped around to make it a left or right ear piece. It can also be adjusted up or down depending upon the size of your ear. Unlike so many bluetooth headsets that have a fixed length ear loop and are therefore too large for my ear, this one was a perfect match.

The headsets feels very cheaply made, thus a deduction of one star. The call answer and end button just doesn't work as smoothly as I'd like. This bluetooth headset is extremely small and lightweight, but I found the call quality to be as good as the Motorola headsets, but not as good as the Plantronics. For casual users or users on a budget, this is a great choice.

One last comment, I have no idea why the description says display. It doesn't have a display, none of my bluetooth headsets have a display, and I wasn't expecting a display. However, I can understand the confusion if you bought this and can't find the display.

Review by J. Sims:

I've been keeping my eyes out for high-quality A2DP headsets that would allow me to cut the cord to my iPhone and provide high-quality audio. It's a tough find; few of the good noise-reduction sets support Bluetooth, and few of the Bluetooth sets provide high-quality sound. After some research, I decided this was the best on the market (in fall of 2009).

Pros: Comfortable, great noise reduction (wonderful on an airplane), excellent sound over A2DP bluetooth, iPhone 3GS range is impressive - over 30 feet with no sputtering, kit includes all kinds of wired connections if you choose to not use Bluetooth, nice leather case.

Cons: Bluetooth call quality might be better. Some said I sounded like I was in a tunnel. Expensive.

Overall: Not perfect, but the best the market has to offer if you want high-quality, bluetooth audio with noise reduction.

Review by Gadget Girl:

I bought these to finally cut the wires! I use them primarily with my Mac Air and my iPhone. The music is deep, rich, wonderful. The noise cancelling can rival my previous headphones (Bose Q3 which I dumped because the wire broke and I had to buy another for !).

Anyway, the drawbacks are that the phones are not completely functional with the iPhone. Forward and Backward buttons are useless. You do go right back to music when a call is finished and that is impressive. Less impressive is the round of touching needed to reconnect each time you start a new listening session. This is minor though, compared to the sheer joy of the sound quality, freedom from wires and ability to block out the world!

I deem them as completely worth it!!

I'm sure others will find the price a bit high, but I got what I wanted out of these phones. I'd like complete functionality with the iphone, but meh.

Review by Mahlers2nd:

I feel like the quest for a decent pair of bluetooth stereo headsets is about like the search for the Holy Grail. Most of them don't sound very good or talk quality is terrible or the battery doesn't last or they are very uncomfortable.

I'm happy to say that these were definitely worth the money and a big step up from anything else I have used.

Comfort -- I was concerned about the "secureness" of the fit and the comfort since I had tried a couple of the "back of the neck" styles before and they really didn't work for my head. These are a smidge too big but overall, they are very usable while I'm driving etc. You would not want to work out wearing these, though -- they would bounce right off and if they did stay on, the sweat would probably destroy them.

Incoming Sound quality -- Very good. I'm using this with a Nokia N96 and they get LOUD if you aren't careful. If you are on a call, the extra volume really comes in handy if you are in the car with wind and road noise.

Outgoing sound quality -- I'm taking this on "heresay" since I have not actually listened to anyone talk through these BUT the calls I've made -- no one has complained about the way I sound. When I have used a BT headset in the past, I would often get complaints that there is an echo or I sound like I'm in a wind tunnel. Today I used these on a conference call for work and nobody new (and they are a pretty vocal bunch if there is any extraneous noise -- they'll tell you to mute yourself!)

Battery life -- About average. You'll probably need to charge them every night but they should get you through the day.

Ease of use button control placement: The great thing about these headphones is that the buttons are big. Once you have the lay out memorized, it is hard to make a mistake. Of course, you can also use the controls on the phone if that is handy but you don't have to have the phone in hand to adjust.

Construction: Very solid construction -- some might find them a bit too heavy. However, the documentation is very specific on a list of no-nos for what not to do with these headphones (mostly having to do with protecting them from extreme weather elements or extreme movement). They do provide a nice little draw string bag to store them in which is a nice touch. I probably wouldn't throw them in your backpack to be crushed by a bunch of text books. However, I don't think you are going to have to baby them too much, either.

Overall, these are the best bluetooth headphones I've tried and I've tried them all!

FYI -- by comparison, I did NOT like the following headseats:

Motorola MOTOROKR S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones [Motorola Retail Packaging]

Samsung Bluetooth Stereo Headset SBH170

[NCJAR]

Review by A. Dixon:

The nokia BH-503 is my first bluetooth stereo headset. honestly, i have nothing much to compare it to so - this is purely about my experience so far.

i have had this headset for 3 days now. my findings are thus:

pros:

the sound quality of this device is SUPERB. i honestly cannot complain. the bass is rich, the mid and upper ranges are great. i tested it at first with songs i know certain details wouldnt be noticeable if the speakers arent good and well, i cannot complain. the speakers are excellent.

pairing with the phone is easy, very easy. i have the Nokia E71 and its a great compliment to the phone.

battery life... well, i am yet to finish them. i use them alot and .. since the first day i charged it, i only had to charge it on the 3rd day simply because i didnt want it to die on me. i cannot really tell if the battery is low.

quality.

The feel of its is weighty. its not weak, but you can feel it and tell that its not gonna endure bad usage too well, but its not gonna be easy to destroy either.

Buttons.

well, they do take some getting used to but... once you have memorized the locations... easy as cheese.

Calls.

i am very pleased with the initiative to include the calling feature on this phone. i hear every caller CLEARLY and they hear me fine.

Loudness.

the headphones have their own built in volume level. so, even when i put the phone of half... when i turn the volume up on the headset, it doesnt affect the phone's volume. sweet. careful though, this thing gets VERY LOUD.

Cons:

yes, there are cons.

i have small ears. this headset begins to hurt after a while (after say... hour and a half of having it on continuously). resting it on my ear begins to be a prob cause its not really too light after that hour passed. sometimes i wear it and forget its there... but, other times, it makes itself known by hurting behind the ear.

so far i notice that the headset cannot be extended, meaning, if your have a large head... and really fat neck.. i doubt this is gonna work for you. if you want to rest this head phone around your neck, that might be a prob too, as i said.. the heaphones dont extend.

another con is that i cannot tell (by looking) if the battery is low, meaning there is no meter that shows your battery life. for now, i have to remember how long i have been using it and.. well.. when i turn it on and i see the green light, i figure all is well. as i said above, so far i cannot drain it in one day (meaning a day on the road, at work) it lasts RIGHT through the day. thats a good thing though.

calls.

when i get a text message and or a call, the music fades (thats good) but, after the call ends, i notice that the headset "forgets" my original volume and gets LOUDER than originally set it. by now, i have come to expect it so i have to turn the volume down. still not sure what causes that yet and funny thing is, it doesnt happen all the time. there is a beep of some sort after the interruption by the incoming call or text sound and then... it doest that weird thing.

anyhoo. side from those. i feel good about this device and would recommend it highly.

Review by C. Kasper:

This headset is:

Small

Light

Easy to wear

Easy to pair up

Quick to charge

True to its range

Clear if not slightly hollow sounding on other end

This headset is not:

Feature rich - two buttons and a single light with 3 colors for status

Easy to break - it has some plastic, but case is aluminum and feels solid

Easy to wear for extended periods - but I have sensitive ears

I like this headest for its simplicity and style. It is not thick like other headsets and doesn't require an ear clip if it fits in your ear canal ok. It does include two extra covers to help fit your ear. If you still require security, an ear clip can be added via a loop wire and plastic adapter but it is not a very stylish addition.

It only takes 1 hour to charge using either a desktop brick, ala iPod, or a simple plug adapter. It recharges from the front in what I can only imagine is a combination speaker and charger recepticle (3-prong). When you turn it on, the LED shows a green light showing power. It quickly changes to a fast blue flashing light showing that it is ready to pair. Once paired, it will flash blue once every 10 seconds or so. When you want to turn it off, simply press the universal button on the side and hold for 4 seconds. A red light shows that it is turning off. There is a button on the side for volume (rocker style but molded as a single button).

The clarity is nice on the speaker end. People I talk to say that I'm clear but sometimes sound slightly hollow or echoey. I tested the range from my phone out to 28ft clearly. Could still talk past that but you can tell the signal is breaking up.

As far as comfort, this may be a personal area. After 1 1/2 hours of talking on it, I just had to remove it. My ear felt very irritated, much like wearing in-ear headphones for too long. Some of this was the back part of the headset (the black part) that touches my ear slightly as I wear it. I have never had it fall out by itself and I do not use the ear clip. I also do not need to turn it all the way up to hear the other party clearly, which is nice.

I am an iPhone 3G user and I recommend this headset for people who want a simple, light, clear headset. I have yet to test windage and background noise at this time. My biggest complaint is that the headsets ringtone is the Nokia sound only.

Review by Yejun Yang:

Fitting: It's a very light and slim, and most weight is distributed on top half the headset. So it can fit very securely in my ear without using the earhook. The earhook is made of aluminum as well, so it is ridged and thin. And it goes very well with my glasses. I prefer not using the hook.

Functions: Simple design, no extra function. Only dial last number works. It has no disconnecting function and does not support multi connect, so you have to disconnect it manually from your phone in order to connect to 2nd device. Powering on and off are very quick. Charging is quick. Very stable bluetooth connection with both my phone and computer.

Audio: Adequate audio quality. You'd probably not to use it in a noise enviroment. Voice is clean and neutral, but you can hear noise very clearly as well.

Other thought: USB charging cable is sold separately. No clip.

Review by Janet Chan:

This BLUETOOTH headset for .99 after mail-in rebate. It is 2" long 3/4" wide and 1/3" thick. Its is very comfortable on my ear. Clear sound. I use it without the hook thingy and it stays sturdy.Get it!!

Review by Philip:

Bought this for my wife, she needed one that doesn't go over the ear because she wears glasses. I also think the white looks better especially on a female. She loves it. It is a great deal with the rebate.

Review by VisualSmith:

It works but the audio is very low quality. The mic pics up every sound around you and you can't get more than a foot away from your phone before the reception gets bad.

Review by E. Tran:

My boyfriend got this for me one day for two reasons: 1. I lost my Samsung WEP 410 at work 2. he was sick of me ignoring his calls when Im driving and 3. it was as goldbox special for something like [...] he wanted to temporarily replace my headset until I decide to get a better one. It was just awful! My ear hurts within 5 minutes of wearing the thing. Both the inside of my ear and the top of my ear where the loop goes (I hate loops, hence I've only used WEP 200 and WEP 410!) The sound quality is also not very good. Everyone had hard time understanding what I was saying. I used it for one week. Now it's just collecting dust. It's not worth returning because I don't have time to stnd inline at the postoffice and pay shipping to get 17 dollars back. Complete waste!

Review by J. Sims:

I've been keeping my eyes out for high-quality A2DP headsets that would allow me to cut the cord to my iPhone and provide high-quality audio. It's a tough find; few of the good noise-reduction sets support Bluetooth, and few of the Bluetooth sets provide high-quality sound. After some research, I decided this was the best on the market (in fall of 2009).

Pros: Comfortable, great noise reduction (wonderful on an airplane), excellent sound over A2DP bluetooth, iPhone 3GS range is impressive - over 30 feet with no sputtering, kit includes all kinds of wired connections if you choose to not use Bluetooth, nice leather case.

Cons: Bluetooth call quality might be better. Some said I sounded like I was in a tunnel. Expensive.

Overall: Not perfect, but the best the market has to offer if you want high-quality, bluetooth audio with noise reduction.

Review by Gadget Girl:

I bought these to finally cut the wires! I use them primarily with my Mac Air and my iPhone. The music is deep, rich, wonderful. The noise cancelling can rival my previous headphones (Bose Q3 which I dumped because the wire broke and I had to buy another for !).

Anyway, the drawbacks are that the phones are not completely functional with the iPhone. Forward and Backward buttons are useless. You do go right back to music when a call is finished and that is impressive. Less impressive is the round of touching needed to reconnect each time you start a new listening session. This is minor though, compared to the sheer joy of the sound quality, freedom from wires and ability to block out the world!

I deem them as completely worth it!!

I'm sure others will find the price a bit high, but I got what I wanted out of these phones. I'd like complete functionality with the iphone, but meh.

Review by Mahlers2nd:

I feel like the quest for a decent pair of bluetooth stereo headsets is about like the search for the Holy Grail. Most of them don't sound very good or talk quality is terrible or the battery doesn't last or they are very uncomfortable.

I'm happy to say that these were definitely worth the money and a big step up from anything else I have used.

Comfort -- I was concerned about the "secureness" of the fit and the comfort since I had tried a couple of the "back of the neck" styles before and they really didn't work for my head. These are a smidge too big but overall, they are very usable while I'm driving etc. You would not want to work out wearing these, though -- they would bounce right off and if they did stay on, the sweat would probably destroy them.

Incoming Sound quality -- Very good. I'm using this with a Nokia N96 and they get LOUD if you aren't careful. If you are on a call, the extra volume really comes in handy if you are in the car with wind and road noise.

Outgoing sound quality -- I'm taking this on "heresay" since I have not actually listened to anyone talk through these BUT the calls I've made -- no one has complained about the way I sound. When I have used a BT headset in the past, I would often get complaints that there is an echo or I sound like I'm in a wind tunnel. Today I used these on a conference call for work and nobody new (and they are a pretty vocal bunch if there is any extraneous noise -- they'll tell you to mute yourself!)

Battery life -- About average. You'll probably need to charge them every night but they should get you through the day.

Ease of use button control placement: The great thing about these headphones is that the buttons are big. Once you have the lay out memorized, it is hard to make a mistake. Of course, you can also use the controls on the phone if that is handy but you don't have to have the phone in hand to adjust.

Construction: Very solid construction -- some might find them a bit too heavy. However, the documentation is very specific on a list of no-nos for what not to do with these headphones (mostly having to do with protecting them from extreme weather elements or extreme movement). They do provide a nice little draw string bag to store them in which is a nice touch. I probably wouldn't throw them in your backpack to be crushed by a bunch of text books. However, I don't think you are going to have to baby them too much, either.

Overall, these are the best bluetooth headphones I've tried and I've tried them all!

FYI -- by comparison, I did NOT like the following headseats:

Motorola MOTOROKR S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones [Motorola Retail Packaging]

Samsung Bluetooth Stereo Headset SBH170

[NCJAR]

Review by A. Dixon:

The nokia BH-503 is my first bluetooth stereo headset. honestly, i have nothing much to compare it to so - this is purely about my experience so far.

i have had this headset for 3 days now. my findings are thus:

pros:

the sound quality of this device is SUPERB. i honestly cannot complain. the bass is rich, the mid and upper ranges are great. i tested it at first with songs i know certain details wouldnt be noticeable if the speakers arent good and well, i cannot complain. the speakers are excellent.

pairing with the phone is easy, very easy. i have the Nokia E71 and its a great compliment to the phone.

battery life... well, i am yet to finish them. i use them alot and .. since the first day i charged it, i only had to charge it on the 3rd day simply because i didnt want it to die on me. i cannot really tell if the battery is low.

quality.

The feel of its is weighty. its not weak, but you can feel it and tell that its not gonna endure bad usage too well, but its not gonna be easy to destroy either.

Buttons.

well, they do take some getting used to but... once you have memorized the locations... easy as cheese.

Calls.

i am very pleased with the initiative to include the calling feature on this phone. i hear every caller CLEARLY and they hear me fine.

Loudness.

the headphones have their own built in volume level. so, even when i put the phone of half... when i turn the volume up on the headset, it doesnt affect the phone's volume. sweet. careful though, this thing gets VERY LOUD.

Cons:

yes, there are cons.

i have small ears. this headset begins to hurt after a while (after say... hour and a half of having it on continuously). resting it on my ear begins to be a prob cause its not really too light after that hour passed. sometimes i wear it and forget its there... but, other times, it makes itself known by hurting behind the ear.

so far i notice that the headset cannot be extended, meaning, if your have a large head... and really fat neck.. i doubt this is gonna work for you. if you want to rest this head phone around your neck, that might be a prob too, as i said.. the heaphones dont extend.

another con is that i cannot tell (by looking) if the battery is low, meaning there is no meter that shows your battery life. for now, i have to remember how long i have been using it and.. well.. when i turn it on and i see the green light, i figure all is well. as i said above, so far i cannot drain it in one day (meaning a day on the road, at work) it lasts RIGHT through the day. thats a good thing though.

calls.

when i get a text message and or a call, the music fades (thats good) but, after the call ends, i notice that the headset "forgets" my original volume and gets LOUDER than originally set it. by now, i have come to expect it so i have to turn the volume down. still not sure what causes that yet and funny thing is, it doesnt happen all the time. there is a beep of some sort after the interruption by the incoming call or text sound and then... it doest that weird thing.

anyhoo. side from those. i feel good about this device and would recommend it highly.

Review by matt.mingkee:

I purchased it about 3 weeks ago, simply like this client.

It works pretty well with TP2, music playback is smooth, no drop-off within effective range; voice calls is very good too, the microphone is very good and clear, and rather sensitive that you don't need to put close.

It has very good music quality, and rather loud with Sennheiser PXC150, not all audio player can drive this headphones, but this one can, and I just turn up a bit and get the maximum volume. It can connect to last host by pressing play button without to mess with host, and it can play up to 7 hours as claimed.

The build feels OK, the clip is made by plastic and it's not movable, and is likely to break, it can hold well on fleece or jacket, but it's loose on shirt pocket.

If you want to have a good bluetooth stereo client, this is one for you.

Review by Jared Bennett:

this item is the best bluetooth item i have bought. it is much better than any of the sonys i tried. the sound volume will go as loud as you want it. i use these alot while mowing the lawn. with the sony i could barely hear the music. however these are plenty loud. big difference. the battery life it good. i have only had them 2 weeks, but i will keep you posted.

Review by V. Hokia:

I purchased this item two years ago. Save your money and skip it. It is garbage. It kept disconnecting every two minutes, and I had to reset everything to reconnect. I thought I had a faulty unit and got it replaced, same result. STAY AWAY.

Review by Jen J:

I bought this to stream music from my iPhone (now that it is a2dp enabled) and it does not work for this purpose. It may work for phone calls, as another reviewer stated, but if you are trying to use it for music from your iPhone (on OS 3.0) don't waste your time and money.

The receiver paired with the iPhone initally - and VERY poor audio quality was heard. Eventually, the pairing was cut off and all that was heard was loud static. tried it with a couple different stereos and also streaming from my computer with the same result.

This may work for some people - but if you have an iPhone and want to listen to music, stay away. I got it for less than on ebay - but that's wasted!

Review by C. Painter:

Just received these today and I must say that initial impressions are very good. Sound quality is quite good (MUCH better than my cheap wired Nokia earbuds)and they were found by and connected to my phone with no problem.

They are also much louder than the earbuds which is great as the volume level from the phone alone is lacking.

I will need to listen to them a bit more but so far they seem good.

I only have one thing I am quite ticked about and that is the fact that the AMAZON description does (and HAS for some time now) indicates that these come with the AD-47W adapter. BUYER BEWARE-------they DO NOT!!

ANTonline only offered to refund my money, which I think is pretty lousy.

Review by Daniel Ramos:

Pros: These headphones sound GREAT with a decent range of audio and it uses the same style of mini-Nokia power adapter that most of my other Nokia products use (such as the Nokia N800 for which I had purchased this to use). Except for the silicone-plastic notch that fits over your ear, which can be uncomfortable after some period of time, it's otherwise pretty comfortable and the microphone picks up sound surprisingly well.

Cons: But, and this is a VERY BIG BUT, I should have done more research on these headphones before I purchased them. There are reports on forums that I'm not the only one that experienced easy breakage with them within the first two weeks of owning them and Nokia provided poor support when I called them.. telling me that I could get a deal on the original price.. which ended up being MUCH more than I'd paid for them, even after that discount and they otherwise told me that I could, effectively, take a gamble and send them to Nokia and if they deem it to be a manufacturing problem (which it's more of a design flaw), they would consider replacing it. I'm not very satisfied with either the design nor the customer support.

To explain the flaw: They fold for convenient storage and to sit them well on a desk during charging but at the thinnest point between the handband and where you apply pressure on the phones to open them, the plastic easily crumbles apart. The plastic appears to be thin and somewhat flexible but just brittle enough to crack apart and dangle the phones by the cord off the band.

Summary: If it wasn't for this particularly fatal flaw, I would otherwise have probably rated them a 4 out of 5 in every regard except perhaps long-wear comfort where it might warrant a 3 out of 5. If you DO purchase these, I would recommend against folding them up or at least being delicate with them.

Review by Yuval Brisker:

It's amazing that this stylish, light and powerful wireless accessory has not found more enthusiastic owners and users yet. I have gone thru Bluetooth headsets like candy (Jabra, Motorola, Plantronics...etc) and until I had the pleasure of being introduced to this fantastic and powerful gadget, had basically given up on finding something that REALLY worked.

But now, not only has Nokia come up with the most superior sound quality both input and output, but they have also done this in very small form factor and with an elegant and hip 'jewel' like twist that will be envied by all others. I HIGHLY recommend this easy to use, comfortable and accessible headset for all those warriors who need something that works and is beautiful too.

Review by Superjoe:

I won this headset in a raffle, it is my first Bluetooth headset, and I have a Treo 650.

My experience:

1) Everyone that sees it in my ear says or thinks: "Why do you have a USB drive in your ear?" ...just doesn't look right.

2) If my phone is not close (3 feet), it gets static. (my phone can talk bluetooth to my laptop from about 15-20 feet away ...so my phone is probably not the issue)

3) People tell me that they can't hear me well when I use it, perhaps because they hear all the background noise.

I'm about to purchase a different Bluetooth headset ..wouldn't recommend this one.

Review by Susan Hargrove:

The cover fits my Nokia Mural 6750 like a glove. Shipping was fast. Would do business with this company again.

Review by L. Cheatham:

I was happy with my purchase, it was all I figured it would be, loved the price. Wasn't crazy about the black protective case faceplate, it's pretty cheap looking.

Review by Anastasia Sarai:

This headset works pretty well. I can hear and they can hear me, so that's all that matters. It stays on my ear pretty well, all the times it's fallen out it's because I was being clumsy...plus this was a pretty cheap buy, so it was a win win thing.

Review by Josh Klieger:

This headset was purchased for use on a Nokia 6030 phone, and it works relatively well. I have no major issues with it. It is a little flimsy in its physical construction, but that is to be expected given the very reasonable price.

Review by chris:

this cell clip is very nice and secured very well. and the magnet is strong enough to keep the case closed. i highly recomend this item 100%

Review by Hank:

I'll try to keep it short. I'll give the phone 5 stars without hesitiation. Others have provided very good (or bad reviews) of this phone, and mostly they are right-on. The key about this phone is you need to know why you want this phone, and how this phone suit your needs. Do not have an unreasonable expectation. The strength of this phone is its cost vs. feature proposition. In my opinion, there's simply not a phone out there that provides such a rich feature set while costs < 0.

If you want to buy an iphone (and pay ~00 total - 0 for the phone + 0 for 2-year data plan @ /month), don't buy this phone. Buy the iphone instead. This phone is not an iphone, not an iphone killer, and not an iphone replacement.

If you want to buy a Garmin GPS, don't buy this phone. Buy a Garmin GPS instead. This is not a GPS replacement.

If you want to buy a good quality digital camera, don't buy this phone. Buy a Canon or Nikon. This is not a digital camera replacement.

If you want to buy a FM radio, don't buy this phone. But who needs a FM radio anyways.

If you want to buy a music player, actually this phone's music feature is really nice.

With the above being said, buy this phone if you want an excellent phone AND want to do all of the above without carry all of the above gadgets at the same time. In particular you want:

- a phone that is unlocked, quad-band (international use), no contract, no data-plan, no GPS navigation plan and costs ~0

- a phone that has strong signal, excellent call quality, and long battery life

- a phone that can play music/video/games, browse the internet, check email, take pictures/videos, provide GPS turn-by-turn drive and walk navigation (North America only) and maps service (global map is free download), provide VOIP video calls (using the 2nd camera in the front) over WIFI (fring and nimbuzz apps are free download) EVEN WITHOUT a sim card (excellent for travel)

Some tips while using this phone:

- the touch screen is a resisitive touch screen (unlike iphone's capacitive touch screen). Do not use your "finger tip" to control the touch screen. Use your "finger nail" or the included stylus instead. Personally I like "finger nail" much better. Once you get used to this, everything is a breeze. If your "finger nail" is as sharp (or unsharp) as the included stylus, it will not scratch the screen.

- the user interface takes a while to get used to. The iphone user inteface is more superb (and it's not even close, so I'll give credit where credit is due.) However, the Nokia 5800 features are excellent and there are plenty of supported (and unofficially supported) apps to download. No need to download itunes. No need to wait for Apple certified apps. Basically, you can download whatever you want and do whatever you want with this phone (e.g. use it as a USB storage device), and that's why it's not an iphone.

- speaking of iphone interface - there's a PAID (for money) app out there that you can buy and install iphone-like user interface onto your Nokia 5800. Get that app if you really need the iphone user interface. Just google "Nokia 5800 myphone app" and you will find the link and reviews.

- use the GPS without data plan (and do not get charged for data usage) by going to

settings -> phone -> app. settings -> positioning -> positioning methods and check only "Internal GPS".

The GPS without data plan may take up 5 mins (or more) to acquire a lock. The GPS signal is weaker than a dedicated GPS unit, and the voice navigation does not speak street names. That's why it's not a GPS replacement, but a GPS capable phone that you can use while a dedicated GPS unit is not available.

- browse the internet and check email using WIFI. Make sure you don't get charged for extra data usage by going to

settings -> connectivity -> destinations -> Internet (or MMS or WAP) -> "Your service provider" and make sure "use access point" is set to "after confirmation".

It's annoying that you will keep getting asked if you allow internet connection, but you'll get the peace of mind that you'll never accidentally connect to the cellular data network.

- visit Chinese (Traditional or Simplified) / Japanese / Korean websites by downloading "Opera Mobile with Asian Language Support" (not the regular Opera Mobile, not Opera Mini). Just google it and you will find the link.

- take pictures / videos while outdoor and with good lighting. Poor picture / videos quality is expected for any camera phone when taking them indoor with poor lighting. The phone flash does not help. That's why it's not a digital camera replacement, but a phone with camera that can use during social outings (e.g. Facebook Mobile upload).

Some nice to have (but not required) for this phone:

- get a data-plan if your service provider has a cheap alternative compared to the standard smartphone data-plan. Being able to browse the internet and check email anywhere without WIFI is very convenient. Plus, the GPS / maps include additional features like traffic, weather, additional point-of-interests update that require a data-plan. More plus, with data-plan, you can turn on A-GPS (assisted GPS), which allows the GPS to acquire a lock in less than 30 seconds and to maintain a much stronger GPS signal throughout.

And most of all enjoy your phone while you are sitting somewhere nice, like a coffee shop. People, do everyone a favor - DO NOT USE YOUR PHONE (TALK OR TEXT) while driving.

Hope my review helps.

Review by V. Phan:

I've been using this phone for four days and those four days have been very blissful for me.

I came from a Samsung Star touch screen phone and this Nokia 5800 Nav. edition blew it away. The Samsung star was good but it lacks wifi and GPS.

With this phone you can pretty much do anything on the go. Wifi internet? let's go. Youtube viewing? No problem. Got lost while driving/walking? It will be your savior.

PROS:

Battery life is decent if you do heavy websurfing and GPS navigating.

Battery life is super if you don't do the above too much.

Build quality is good: it has a silver metal lining around the phone and it is pretty heavy compared to my Samsung Star.

Free lifetime GPS: You get free map updates forever.

Integrated GPS, not A(Assisted)-GPS like the original 5800 xpressMusic.

I have a Garmin 255w GPS and the GPS on this phone almost keeps up with it in accuracy. The voice on this GPS sounds more human than the robotic voice on my Garmin. Hey, this is a phone, don't get your GPS expectation up too high.

Quad band unlocked: take the phone anywhere, put in any simcard and you're good to go. Yes I am talking about AT&T and T-mobile, too.

Simcard and microSD card slots are on the side of the phone - unlike many other phones where you have to open the battery to put them in(though you have to open the battery to get the simcard out).

Phone has two cameras: The main one in the back and a self portrait camera in the front for all you narcissists. =)

Comes with a lot of accessories and cables.(Car mount for Navigation is very durable)

The stylus comes in handy for handwriting on the phone.

Speaker is typical for a Nokia: good. Music plays loud and clear, even got some bass.

Charging time is quick for a high capacity battery.

Good screen resolution (I think iPhone is lower at 480x320)

Convenient phone lock/unlock button on the side for your thumb

Radio

CONS:

The Main camera picture quality is average and doesn't look like it is 3.2MP

Doesn't come with a screen protector (I had to buy one)

Dialer keypad doesn't have letters when you dial numbers. Might be a problem if you want to dial in a number disguised in letters. Hopefully they will fix this.

GPS on this phone takes a minute or two to lock in signal. Sometimes a few minutes if you're not in an opened place.

Why can't I think of anything else?

SYMBIAN OS VERSION 5:

This is my first time using this OS and it has been good to me.

Everything is very responsive and installing apps is a breeze.

You can open a free OVI store account on your phone to download free apps, games and other stuff.

If you want to use an all in one instant messenger to compliment your WiFi, I suggest downloading an app called Nimbuzz in the Ovi store and ditch the default IM app on your phone.

Surfing the web is decent, but the screen may be a bit small for prolonged surfing.

OVI store has lots of free apps(some you have to pay)

Youtube videos play well, but don't expect to watch them in HD like you would on your PC.

[...]

All in all, this phone is worth every penny and if you wanna be different and not have an iPhone, this is the one to get.

UPDATE: This phone version has the updated firmware of V30 with increased CPU power. (Open your dialer and Press in *#0000# to see your firmware version)

UPDATE #2: I have been playing around more with the GPS and came to a conclusion that the text to speech on this phone gives me more instructions than my Garmin 255w. Though it doesn't speak street names(just "turn right" "turn left", "stay right" "stay left"...etc), it gives more instructions than the Garmin. For example, when I enter a freeway, it tells me to follow the freeway, and when I go over the speed limit, it tells me to watch my speed.

Review by G. Wu:

OK..to start, I gotta say that the FREE shipping from Amazon SUCKS. So, if you want good shipping, dont use the FREE shipping that Amazon offers. Why? Tracking is horrible, tracking history is completely inaccurate.

(I used the nokia N82 before)

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BUY THE CELLPHONE, READ THIS REVIEW. I THINK IT WILL HELP A LOT. IT IS LONG, I KNOW.

Moving on, the cellphone is good for the price. Come on, where will you get a 300$ cellphone that has all the functions that this one has? It is insane: 3.2 camera, touchscreen, more customizable than iphone, external memory, etc etc.

Regarding the touchscreen...I think it is personal taste.. I never used the iphone, and I think that this touchscreen it is VERY responsive. AFTER buying this phone and getting used to it, I used a friend's Itouch and I gotta say that my nokia 5800 is the winner. But as I said, it is personal taste. Still, it is a very responsible touchscreen (no matter you say that it is a resistive touchscreen)..like, you got no excuse..it is responsive, and it is responsive. PERIOD.

Good things about it:

-Starting to have more apps...you just gotta know where to find, for FREE.

-MACRO of the camera is awesome.

-I got the GPS with turn by turn voice direction (trial), and it is a dream. I wont know when they take away my trial...however, with voice direction, this thing it is a real GPS.

-The media button is pretty useful.

-It is legit that it unlocks when you take it close to your face when you are talking.

-Speakers are also awesome. Super loud. Sound quality when you plug in earpieces are also really nice.

-I love the cable to plug it in to the tv. I convert videos, put it on my cellphone and lay on my bed, plug the cellphone into the tv and voila. It is REALLY nice.

-About apps. Right now I have 42 but I only use maybe 8 of them lol.

-The screen it is mega-clear. It is one of the best screens ive seen.

The "so-so" of this phone:

-Build quality. It is pretty well built, however the screen it is TOO plasticky. When I put it under the sun, the reflection shows a big difference in the surface, I mean..it is not completely flat. Using the reflection of light you will realize it is not completely flat. In other words, the screen presents big flex (like in laptops, for instance). However, the rest of the cellphone is well built. If you take out the screen part of the cellphone, it is a pretty solid cellphone.

-The camera. I dont know. Sometime it takes great pictures, sometimes it stinks. When there is too much suns, it doesnt work well. When there isnt light, it also sucks. It has to have the right amount of light.

-For some people it may be ok, but this is a freaken fingerprint magnet. only the back cover it is mate. The rest of the cellphone devours fingerprint as a dinasour.

-Battery life it is not the best, but not the worst.

The bad:

-The interface it is not the friendliest. It could be better. I hope that with the update, it will be user friendlier.

-The screen. As I said, it is too flexible. It kills me to see differences with the reflection of the light (you know what im saying if you have the cellphone). It makes me hella nervous.

-Sometimes the phone in landscape mode, when you want to scroll down or up for example in some setting, it is freaking hard. I always keep tapping the wrong thing. in vertical mode this doesnt happen, because the scroll bar it is sticked to the right of the screen, so you dont have margin of error. however, in landscape mode the scroll bar is in the middle of the screen, so it gets tricky.

-Honestly, the phone it isnt the best looking phone in the market. It is just a chunk of plastic. (This is for people that care about appearances. I personally dont care, but im trying to be objective)

Ok, I think this is pretty much it. If you read this, you may decide whether to buy ir or not. I think it is a pretty good phone for the price. If you are RICH and money it is not your main problem, I would say go buy yourself a N97. Oppositely, I would say definitely go for this cellphone; I like it pretty much. You wont regret it (however, remember all the things I wrote in this review). If you are ok with the cons of this cellphone, you wont regret. And in my opinion, the Pro's overcome the Con's so... I dont know, it is your call!

I hope this helped.

Review by Aussie:

I had owned various phones in the past and Nokia is the best on any comparison, for the Features available on this phone, had Apple had all these features it will cost 10 times more, most people don't even know it has extra camera on the front for video Calls along with the 3.2 MP on the back, Video is far better and there were no sluggish performance as far as I had used for more than a month, unlike iPhone this phone can run multiple applications at same time which is like multitasking in PC, so I can play music and browse websites at same time and switch to GPS , attend a call and type an SMS.. And it goes on...all at same time, iPhone cannot do more than one at a time, we get millions of free software, games, themes etc., unlike Apple App store, no need to pay more and more. Best feature, no MP3 conversion required, if you have lot of MP3 files on hard disk just drag and drop in few seconds, we can play, phone comes with 8GB of SD Card, can upgrade to 16 GB, that's more than enough, I had used the N95 earlier which costs double this price, this is not a NSeries phone from nokia, but it had all the features + touch screen of N series phone at half the price.

If you like Garmin for GPS, Garmin GPS software available for this phone and installing that will make it the best GPS (it comes with Nokia's map software too) and no data plan or internet required for GPS as maps are copied to memory. It comes with lot of add on and Its not too big like iPhone and not too small, exactly made for using with single hand and I had replaced the blackberry phone used for Office with this and configured my Office outlook exchange server along with Gmail, hotmail and yahoo, how cool is that.

It handles website just as a PC and there is no difference with any websites, I can login to bank accounts and do anything like PC, it has stereo speakers but the Nokia Headsets are far Superior in sound quality and build and it comes with built in Mic and buttons for music track change so we can play music and attend calls without touching phone.

And FM is there to use while driving and at the Gym, Google has lot of software available for this phone like latitude, docs etc. If you want free chat software Fring (www.fring.com) is available for free, it connects yahoo, hotmail, AOL, Gtalk and Skype users all in one place and we can even make voice calls to online users. It has the great sync software that syncs all your photos, videos, contacts, notes etc between phone and PC using Bluetooth, just switch on the PC and it does the sync automatically. We can import and export all contacts from outlook, Lotus notes etc.

And there is software to use the screen as a touch screen mouse for the PC like a wireless Bluetooth mouse and that's free too.

For brand conscious users like me, I want to buy a phone from a telecom company like Nokia than a computer (apple) or TV (Samsung) company, who were just trying phones as one of their business.

iPhone doesn't have many of these features and only selling because of marketing, if nokia did their part, this should beat any phone for sure, I don't want to lock with AT&T for lifetime with iPhone and pay $ monthly and pay for any applications and did I say its unlocked? What else you can expect from a phone?

Review by alexanderaku:

I received my three pack from Accessory Export through Amazon within the week of the order (California to Alabama snail mail). The protectors are more or less no different from the extended life type that came with my AT&T Tilt some two years back (it lasted the two years but is softer and more flexible). One complaint, that takes a star away - the glue that holds the removable tab, for applying the screen protector, is a bear to get off once you have the protector in place. I had to carefully scrape that tab off with my thumbnail and it wasn't easy. I then had to use multiple tissue papers, lightly dampened with alcohol, to remove the residual glue. That took an inordinate amount of time. My Navigation Edition 5800 has a very sensitive touch screen, so this thicker protector made very little difference in the touch input. If it weren't for the glue holding that application tab, this would be a five star product for my Nokia 5800.

Review by William C:

the screen works well - but it's hard to put it on without bubble. If you never used this thing before, I think you probably will mess up the first one very easily, so the reason that you need a three pack - you can use the first one for practice. :}

To put it on without bubble, the key is to clean your phone carefully, no dust/lint, then follow the instructions, that's all.

Once it's on, it looks good and protects the screen well.

Review by N. Singleton:

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Design & Hardware

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[CONSTRUCTION]: The surface of the N900 is a smooth black matte finish. The build material is aluminum, steel and rubber/plastic. The N900 easily fits in a pocket, being smaller than the N810 but noticeably thicker than most phones. The four front components are the status light, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and VGA camera. There is a consumer infrared port (universal remote), wrist strap option, stylus and kickstand. The removable back contains the main camera, SIM, battery and microSDHC slot. Removal requires some strength but it's reassuring knowing it won't fall off.

[KEYBOARD]: The keyboard is side-sliding with a smooth, springless mechanism providing a solid feel. The keyboard is three-row, localized and backlit with rubberized key surfaces. The keys are more difficult to use than devices with rounded keys but are still easier than virtual keyboards. While reaching speeds of 35-40 WPM is realistic, extended use is rather tiring. It is possible connect a USB or Bluetooth keyboard, gamepad, mouse and even a Wii Remote.

[TV-OUT]: There is 480i resolution TV-out which uses an included 3.5mm jack with 4 rings. These are ground, audio left and right, and composite video. Useful for watching movies, playing games or doing work that requires a big screen.

[SCREEN]: The 16 million color, 800x480 pixel display is incredible. It is pressure-sensitive, 15:9 aspect and transflective, making the screen easier to see in direct light. It uses a surprisingly responsive resistive touch screen allowing use with gloves, fingernails or a stylus. The ambient light sensor adjusts the brightness automatically. Lack of multi-touch means cumbersome "swirling" gestures in some software but is generally not a huge issue.

[CAMERAS]: The main camera is a 5MP Carl Zeiss, the same as the Nokia N97. It comes with a sliding shutter to protect the recessed lens. There is also a front-facing 640x480 webcam. The camera interface is the same as the S60. The image quality is sharp, skin tones are vivid and there is very little, if any, chromatic aberration at the edges. The camera uses the accelerometer when photographing so the photo viewer can show the picture "up" however the N900 is held. Take a portrait picture and view it landscape and it'll be small. Turn the device and it'll fill the screen. There are the following modes: Automatic, Macro, Portrait, Landscape, Action, and Auto video. The camera can take 848×480 resolution video at 25 fps. The video quality is crisp, recording at an impressive 3000 kb/s but the framerate usually drops to 20fps and the audio has a noticeable metallic tone. The camera also works with Adobe Flash.

[BATTERY]: The battery is a 1320mAh Nokia BL-5J, 22% smaller than the BP-4L. A full battery with unoptimized settings allows about 5-9 hours of continuous talk time, 5 hours of music or a few hours of 3G. 3G/3.5G drains the battery faster than Wi-Fi. Lowering brightness, removing desktop widgets and disabling GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and 3G easily triples battery life. Charging is through microUSB which takes about 4-5 hours for an empty battery. An issue with the USB port breaking off has been acknowledged by Nokia as a design oversight, they advise care should be taken while plugging/unplugging devices to mitigate this problem. The "complete cycle" method some people use is for calibrating multicell laptop batteries, but the N900 only has a single cell battery so it's pointless and marginally harmful to do complete discharge cycles as there's nothing to calibrate.

[INTERNAL MEMORY]: The N900 has two memory chips. The first is a 32GB eMMC: 768MB of 'virtual memory' (swap), 2GB for settings and software (ext3 /home), the last ~26GB (MyDocs) is for your files only (software not allowed). The second chip is 256MB of NAND memory (RAM) used for bootloader, kernel and rootfs, twice that of the N810. Optionally, several gigabytes are used for the localized offline Ovi Maps, useful in areas without data coverage.

[EXPANDABLE MEMORY]: The N900 has a hot-swappable microSDHC slot under the rear panel. It supports microSDHC cards up to 32GB of any class. The included cable can connect the N900 to a computer for easy transfer of files by allowing the N900 to act as a hard drive, though only "MyDocs" is accessible.

[GPS & MAPS]: The GPS is a real GPS and has the addition of assisted GPS. The cold fix time with data is about 10-40 seconds with accuracy as good as the Nokia N97. Pre-loaded Ovi Maps are available so a data connection is not required. GPS usually works fine offline, if slow, but due to a bug can fail as the map engine may ask for a connection even when the maptiles are loaded. Ovi Maps uses the GPS to show local weather information. Navigation and mapping with Ovi Maps is free but there is no turn-by-turn voice navigation. The low 1.0 version is due to it being the first Maemo release of Ovi maps explaining the lack of features it has compared to the 3.0 version available on Symbian. Some omissions being the inability to save routes, and inability to look up a contact's address.

[FM TRANSMITTER]: The integrated FM transmitter puts audio from the device into radio frequency so you can tune a radio to that frequency and play N900 media wirelessly. It works as advertised but must be very close to the receiving radio.

[RADIOS]: The signal strength of the N900's 3G radio is weak. It is possible to turn off the cellular radio without disabling Wi-Fi/Bluetooth by going into offline mode and then manually enabling either. The N900 can use another phone as a 3G modem over Bluetooth but setup is complicated. Bluetooth DUN and PAN modes are supported via community software. Advanced WLAN security, like different kinds of EAP (EAP-PEAP, EAP-MSCHAPv2, etc.), different ciphers (RSA, 3DES, SHA, etc.) and "authority certificates" (algorithms like X.509, SHA1RSA) are all supported. With Bluetooth DUN, tethering is supported.

[AUDIO]: The built-in stereo speakers are loud but lacking in bass. They make an acceptable portable radio. Bluetooth headphones work great. The audio quality of the 3.5mm jack is loud and slightly more "forward" sounding than the more "laid back" or "polite" sound of other smartphones but without the response peaks, valleys or ripples that so often mar the critical 1,000 Hz. region. Audio sounds more "present" than with similar devices. The included earphones have a somewhat dirty signal. Higher frequencies hiss, losing details and the brightness and dynamic volume are shallow, lacking weight and depth. The earphone wires feel like they will become loose over time.

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Application Software

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[SCREEN ORIENTATION]: Most software and the main N900 interface only work in landscape mode. The only time it can be switched to portrait mode is when making or receive a phone call. Rotating the phone into portrait mode opens the keypad automatically after a delay. Portrait mode for the browser is unofficially available by pressing Ctrl-Shift-O. Third party software orientation is at the discretion of the software developer.

[WEB BROWSER]: The overall web experience is amazing, perhaps the best available in a device this size. The web browser is MicroB and supports full Adobe Flash, video and applets providing a very fast, full web experience. Tapping zooms and centers where tapped. Making a circular motion zooms gradually. Moving a finger off the left of the screen produces a mouse arrow for websites requiring this operation. The Flash version is 9.4. 10.1 is confirmed for Q1 2010. Many Flash games play fine but the keyboard can be iffy. Unfortunately some Flash applets still run after closing the browser and drain the battery. The simplest fix is to reboot. MicroB is based on Firefox which uses Gecko, Webkit browsers are also freely available.

[COPY AND PASTE]: Copy and pasting text is allowed in all menus and textboxes.

[SOCIAL NETWORKING]: The N900 comes with utilities for using Twitter and Facebook. Social presence is a global service, once connected, the contact list is updated realtime, there's no need to launch 'Contacts'. IM support for MSN, ICQ, AIM, Yahoo, IRC and more is also available through Pidgin. Video calls can be made over IP using Google Talk. Email supports Mail for Exchange (including 2003) and IMAP/POP3. Nokia/Ovi Messaging provides PUSH email for up to 10 simultaneous accounts, including webmail and keeps the accounts separate. Skype calls can be made using 3G.

[PRODUCTIVITY]: Included is Documents To Go, a suite of apps for opening MS Office documents. There's a free version that only opens Office files and a pay version for creating and editing Office files. Full versions of AbiWord and OpenOffice are freely available as well.

[MEDIA PLAYER]: The media player works but can be picky. Included are some 720p trailers showing the N900's speed and amazing screen. Codec support is unclear and experimenting with "mostly supported" media can be a stuttering mess. The media player is okay for music but could use some polishing, the lack of an equalizer was a surprising omission for example. There are also free, community media players like VLC available.

[PHONE]: As a phone the N900 has some significant shortcomings. By default there are only two modifiable profiles, however new profiles may be created with a free tool called Tweakr. The rotational start of the phone interface takes several moments. There's no way to filter or organize the call log and call duration is not recorded. There's no speed dial functionality and it's not possible to send an SMS or access device settings from the phone screen. The poor proximity sensor opens random screens while in your pocket and there's no per-contact ringtone support. On the positive side, the call quality and signal strength are excellent. MMS is not officially supported but community software fMMS allows its functionality.

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Operating System

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[INTERFACE]: The OS interface is polished and fluid. You can sweep 360 degrees through four desktops filled with your choice of widgets, shortcuts and wallpaper, easily zooming in and out of open applications. The interface is usually quick and responsive but can stutter. When a dialog opens, the application behind it blurs like frosted glass. All context menus are pop-ups dismissed by pressing outside the menu.

[MULTITASKING]: Multitasking is phenomenal. You can run every application with no sign of slowing. Taskswitching is thumbnailed showing what each program is. The active program's window shrinks so all open programs are visible at once. Then any window may be closed using the X in the corner in any order.

[TECHNICAL]: The default N900 OS is Maemo 5. Maemo was started in 2005 by Nokia being based on Debian. Future Maemo releases will be merged with Intel's Moblin OS creating MeeGo. It is unknown if MeeGo will support the N900. Maemo supports over-the-air updates and all software is available freely through user defined software repositories. Apt-get also works great. With Maemo there is no app approval process. The platform is open and free, promoting a strong Maemo community and developer network. The current amount of Maemo software is quite limited compared to other platforms, but growing, especially due to the Ovi store offering commercial software. Maemo 5 has some backwards compatibility with Maemo 4.1 software, but it is fairly limited.

[ALTERNATIVES]: There are alternative systems that may be installed like Mer, Nitdroid and Debian. Images may be booted on a card or flash memory, like multi-booting on a desktop.

[SHELL]: Out of box there is a true linux shell with root access. You can install sshfs and mount shares from a server or even insert a kernel module. Characters missing from the keyboard are accessed with Fn+Ctrl. BusyBox with nano and vi are bundled by default.

[DEVELOPMENT]: Maemo offers a POSIX environment allowing use as a UNIX system with native software. Useful for *NIX developers since it opens a lot of possibilities. There are a number of different languages available, and more to come. GUI development is done using standard Linux toolkits GTK and Qt. Python is also available. The N900's implementation of Python is not dumbed down, GUIs can be created with popular toolkits like PyGTK and PyQt. Important since there are many developers that already know how to write N900 applications, even if they don't realize it yet.

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Drawbacks & Issues

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No official MMS support. Doesn't work on AT&T's 3G network. No magnetometer (digital compass). No 802.11n. No handwriting recognition. No USB-OTG. No voice dialing. No global kinetic scrolling. Lack of multi-touch. Lack of portrait mode software. Scrolling can be jerky. Kickstand is wobbly with only one position. Mail for Exchange doesn't support Google's Active Sync. Lack of software, especially commercial due to the new OS. Various minor GUI issues that need refining. Various other issues not directly related to the device like spotty Ovi/Nokia support, Nokia launch issues and quality control issues.

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Conclusion

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People are saying the N900 is not a Nokia Internet Tablet anymore and it's just a smartphone but when you use it, you really feel like you're using a device that is more than a smartphone. As long as you understand the limitations, as mentioned above, can deal with the growing pains as software matures, and understand and value the advantages the N900 offers, you'll be really happy with the N900.

Review by TrekGeek:

I received my n900 just a few days ago from Nokia USA. For the purposes of this review, I will compare it to my previous phone, the HTC G1. My opinions are solely based on the user experiences in the past days with the n900, and since I've never owned an iphone, I will not compare it to such.

Physical layout:

*The N900 is a pretty beefy phone, and rightfully so. While having some heft to it, the n900 is solid and well-built. The black metal rim is a nice touch without being too gaudy. The slide is not spring-assisted but gives a nice click upon opening and closing. I have not noticed any creaks or wobbles from the screen. Few have complained about the back being hard to open. Although true, I rather have that with the peace of mind that the battery won't pop out if I dropped it (God forbid)! the n900 is of comparable size to the G1, albeit being slightly thicker, and not a problem for me.

*I don't really understand all the fuss about resistive and capacitive screens. The n900's screen is gorgeous and is incredibly brilliant. There is a little 'give' to the screen, but I've yet to have problems with it. The screen is quite responsive and supports kinetic scrolling. I did have some difficulty clicking on small links in the browser, but that's because your index finger isn't exactly the most accurate pointing device. This was easily solved by zooming in (more on that later).

*The keyboard is pretty good. It is a different experience coming from the G1 (as you have to type with the 'chin' in the way on your right hand) so naturally, it felt better. The keys have a grippy rubberized texture feel to them, and although the buttons are smooshed next to each other, (like a real keyboard) they have good response. I do miss the 5-row keyboard on the G1, and I don't understand why the n900's screen doesn't open up a bit more. For those with large hands, it might be a little uncomfortable. However, one plus for the n900 is that my thumbs don't have to travel as far to type.

*I love that the placement of the speakers are on the sides of the phone, as opposed to the back on the G1. I do a lot of talking on speakerphone, and so I'm not forced to flip it upside down during a call. Sound quality is good and the speakers are decent.

Maemo 5/ Software

*This is the ultimate customization OS. When they meant open source, they really meant it. The 4 desktops make things a lot easier to navigate. For example, one page is devoted to my common phone contacts, another utility apps, the third has bookmarks to frequent sites (the homepages of those links are previewed on the desktop, fyi), and so forth.

*The way Maemo multitasks is ingenious. The "overview" page where you see all your actively running programs makes navigating between windows and programs very easy and efficient. One thing to note is that you have the ability to close out any of those windows upon your choosing, as opposed to the G1 where the 6 app limit neither allowed to you open more nor shut them down, making it very sluggish, especially during critical times (ie texting someone directions while running gps).

*SMS (called conversations in Maemo) is pretty similar to the G1, but has one added step - conversations either in text or IM by the same person are displayed in the same window. The ability to have the other person's contact image in the text box (that is if you set one up for that person) is a nice touch. I personally don't care about MMS, so no gripes there.

*The email client is pretty decent, I set up my gmail account with a few simple steps, but it isn't nearly as accessible as the gmail app on the G1. For example, I haven't found a way to delete an incoming email when it first comes in. I have to leave the letter, go into the inbox, back into the email, then delete it.

*Browsing experience is comparable to the pc, and is nothing short of awesome. Full flash means I can access full youtube pages, and among others. I think the "swirling zoom" gesture is pretty neat, and helps me to click on the smaller links. I figured out that using your index to swirl zoom produces the best results. Alternatively, you can double click the screen or use the volume rocker. Going to previous pages not only allows you to go to the last page, but scroll through the entire history of that window. Neat.

*Applications-wise, there are not many out there, but I'm certain many will be out soon. You can also access the Maemo repositories for more (google it) but be careful as many of them are still in development and are potentially dangerous to your phone. Noteworthy apps include Hermes (connects your social sites, like facebook to your contacts so you get contact phones, birthdates, etc) and Qik (live streaming recording).

Hardware:

*Fast, fast, fast. Need I say more?

*No hang ups yet, since I can close apps at my own will.

*The camera is good, that is for a 5mp phone camera. It will never compare to a dedicated camera, but is more than effective for quick shots to upload on facebook.

*The FM transmitter is a great add-on. Now I can share songs without having to look for an aux cable.

*Battery life seems to last a little over a day with some text and internet. Wifi is on all the time when I'm at home. My G1 would be down to around 70% by noon.

Of course, no phone/mobile device is perfect. Here are some things that came to my attention:

*The volume rocker is on the right side (in portrait), meaning it is nearly impossible to use as a zoom when the screen is up. Same goes for the lock switch, which is on the bottom (in landscape). Would have been much better on the sides, as it would be easier to lock after a phone call, for example.

*Copy and paste is kinda sporadic. While you can copy all you want on webpages, I couldn't copy a phone number from one contact to another in the phonebook.

*The stand is nice, but it swings out way too deep and feels a bit too weak. I'm afraid I'll break it someday.

*Little portrait support as of now, but I think it'll be fixed soon.

So there you have it. My impressions of the n900. There is still a lot of exploration to be done, but I can honestly say this is the best phone/mobile device I've ever owned. In spite of a few shortcomings, its an amazing piece of technology. A lot of things I didn't mention probably will be fixed within a firmware or two so that isn't a problem. I hope this helps anyone who is on a fence on buying one, good luck!