10 things to know about Nokia's N900

6. High resolution screen

The touchscreen type might be older, but the screen itself is pretty much cutting edge. Nokia has placed a WVGA screen on the N900 (800x480 pixels crammed into a 3.5-inch display) to make everything seem pin sharp.

Combined with some decent grunt from the processor, the new screen type means video, and importantly for Nokia, web pages will display quickly and in high resolution, giving you a similar experience to that seen on the PC.

Nokia n900 video

And with 32GB of storage on board, video is clearly going to be an important part of the new N900, so Nokia is making sure you can watch it in the best way possible.

7. First for Firefox

Perhaps one of the most exciting parts of the announcement for the technology industry is the fact the N900 will be among the first with Firefox Mobile, the potted-down version of the popular desktop web browser.

The browser included within the N900 is actually built on Firefox founder Mozilla's technology, but Firefox Mobile will offer all the treats of the larger browser on a mobile phone.

Firefox mobile

This means tabbed browsing, intuitive web search with the Awesome Bar, and even synchronised bookmarks across your desktop and mobile experience.

Given the N900 is based on the ability to multi-task easily, this is a very important element for the new device.

8. Tagging photos

Some people are more aware of 'tagging' than others, but the N900 lets you tag photos for easier retrieval and uploading.

We're not talking a Facebook-style list of everyone that's in the photo (although you can do that). Instead, you could tag a gig you went to under the band's name, the location or the people you were with.

The next time you go out with the said group or see the band, the tagged photos can be retrieved under that heading, giving a new way to follow your 'photo journey'. And it will be even better when using them online, as you can collaboratively tag the photos to enable a shared experience too.

9. Cheaper than expected

One of the surprising things is how much the N900 costs. Admittedly, it's not loose change cheap, as it costs £500 in the UK.

But given that's the same price the N97 debuted for a few months back, it's not a bad effort at all from Nokia.

And if you're after the N900 for even cheaper, you can get it in Europe for €500 (£445) or head to the US and pick it up for $649 (around £390 over here).

It's not nice to see such disparity across regions, but it will once again help the popularity of the device.

10. One for the artists

Finally, Nokia is keen to see the N900 extending beyond the traditional realms of a mobile phone by trying to extol its virtues to other groups, such as visual artists.

The recent installation at the London OneDotZero event showed that the new device can control and shape messages on the wall, and the new PUSH N900 competition encourages the public to think of ways the N900 could control things in a new way.

Nokia n900 installation

So if you think the mobile should be able to control the TV, and Nokia deems it a good idea, then it will help fund that and develop a device too.

It might not sound like much, but if a device is picked up by a wider community than tech-heads (as is the case with the iPhone) then creative bods will help broaden its appeal even further, resulting in a richer experience for owner of the N900.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.