How does Nokia’s N900 cellphone compare with the iPhone 4?
Apple phone (artwork by azrainman - CC-BY)
Apple’s iPhone 4 and Nokia’s N900 are both advanced mobile phones with web browsers and music players, yet they are very different products. Apple’s iPhone offers a streamlined but controlled user experience, while Nokia’s N900 is unconstrained and powerful but perhaps somewhat uneven and unrefined.
For many purchasers their preference will depend on the included software, but that’s a highly subjective decision. Here we list the hardware specifications, which are more amenable to side-by-side comparison.
Notice that the 3G radio frequencies differ. In the United States, the N900 works best on T-Mobile. For AT&T the iPhone is the better choice. In most countries, both phones are available unlocked and without carrier branding on the hardware.
Specifications
| N900 | iPhone 4 |
|
| Size | 110.9 x 59.8 x 18 to 19.55 mm slider | 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm slate |
| Weight | 181 grams | 137 grams |
| Volume | 113 cubic cm | 62 cubic cm (approx) |
| Keyboard | On-screen plus slide-out | On-screen |
| RAM | 256MB | 512MB |
| Storage | 32 GB | 16GB or 32GB |
| Memory card | MicroSD/SDHC to 32GB | No |
| GSM/EDGE | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz | 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz |
| 3G/HSPA | 900, 1700, 2100 MHz | 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz |
| WiFi | 802.11b/g 2.4 GHz | 802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz |
| Bluetooth | 2.1 + EDR | 2.1 + EDR |
| Bluetooth profiles | A2DP, AVRCP, FTP, HFP, HSP, OPP | ? |
| Location | Assisted GPS | Assisted GPS |
| Digital compass | No | Yes |
| Battery | Removable 1320 mAh | Fixed |
| Charging | Micro-USB to USB | Proprietary to USB |
| Needs computer | No | Yes, Mac or Windows |
| Computer interface | USB Mass Storage or Nokia PC Suite | iTunes |
| Display | 3.5 inch diagonal | 3.5 inch diagonal |
| Touch screen | Single-touch resistive | Multi-touch capacitive |
| Resolution | 800 x 480 pixels | 960 x 640 pixels “retina display“ |
| Pixels per inch | 267 | 326 |
| VGA interface | No | 1024 x 768 pixels |
| Video interface | Composite AV | Component or composite AV |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | No | Yes |
| Proximity sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Ambient light sensor | Yes | Yes |
| Speakers | Stereo | Mono |
| Headphones | 3.5mm | 3.5mm |
| Microphones | One | Two (noise cancelling) |
| Color | Black | White or black |
| Camera | 5 Megapixels | 5 Megapixels |
| Video recording | 848 x 480 pixels 25 fps MPEG-4 | 720p 30 fps |
| Camera flash | Dual LED | LED |
| Front-facing camera | 640 x 480 pixels | 640 x 480 pixels, 30 fps |
| Browser | MicroB (Mozilla-based) | Safari (Webkit-based) |
| Graphics formats | BMP, EXIF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WBMP, WMF | JPG, TIFF, GIF |
| Document formats | Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF | Word, Excel, Powerpoint, PDF, Keynote, Numbers, Pages, RTF |
| Adobe Flash | 9.4 | No |
| Java | No | No |
| App stores | Ovi, Maemo | iTunes |
| Audio playback | AAC, M4A, MP3, WAV, WMA | AAC, MP3, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV |
| DRM | No | iTunes, Audible |
| Video playback | 3GPP/H.263, ASF, AVI, FLV, H.264/AVC, MPEG-4, WMV, XVID | H.264, MPEG-4, M-JPEG/AVI |
| Device root | Supported | Unsupported |
| SIM card | Full size | Micro |
| FM radio | Transmitter and receiver | No |
| Infra-red | Transmitter | No |
| Kickstand | Yes | No |
| Operating system | Maemo 5 Linux | iOS 4 |
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n900_ the computer fone which needs bit of brains by users to be applied and refined by dem but once done its the best evr fone made mayb for life.n900 has capabilities and possibilities.nokia married maemo gave birth 2 n900 and left it orphaned.and trust me theres no kid better den this orphaned kid.
iphone_for people blinded by “APP” yes i hate that word.its a toy for kids so go on and buy it but iphone is no advancement in tech accept hardware..its app based world.fones hav lost deir way..
my final word_iphone is a toy n900 is real tech in ur pocket provided u mst knw hw 2 customize n use it.i m no nokia fanboy