Nokia unwraps its own touchscreen tablet: meet the N900

[LeetPirate]

Nokia unwraps its own touchscreen tablet: meet the N900.

Original Article. (Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:31AM EDT)

With all the hoopla surrounding Apple's much-rumored "iTablet," it's easy to forget that Nokia's been in the tablet game for years now—and today we have a new Nokia-built tablet to ooh and ahh over.Set for release this October in "selected markets" (no specific word about the U.S. yet), the touchscreen N900 is a follow-up to 2007's N800, a Linux-based "Internet Tablet" that my fellow blogger Chris Null called an "iPhone without the phone."

Well, guess what: This time around, the N900 adds 3G telephony (read: a phone), complete with tri-band 3G UMTS/HSPA (compatible with T-Mobile's U.S. 3G network) and quad-band GSM for world calling. Indeed, Nokia is de-emphasizing the "Internet Tablet" aspect of its updated handset, positioning the N900 more in the smartphone realm (albeit a hefty, 6.4-ounce smartphone).

The N900 also marks Nokia's first device with its new, Linux-powered Maemo 5 OS, which (with a little help from the ARM Cortex-A8 processor, a gig of RAM, and OpenGL-ES 2.0-powered graphics) should deliver "computer-grade performance" and "PC-like multitasking," according to Nokia, not to mention a Mozilla-based browser with full Flash support for online videos. Nice.

Beneath the N900's 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreen is a full, slide-out QWERTY keypad, along with a 5-megapixel camera and dual-LED flash in back.

Also on board: GPS, 32GB of storage (upgradable to 48GB with a microSD memory card), Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a 3.5mm A/V jack with video-out capabilities.

And believe it or not, the N900 might turn out to be something that many feature-packed Nokia smartphones are not: affordable (well, relative to the $750 N95). Nokia says the new smartphone/tablet will sell for 500 euros abroad, which should mean a $500 price tag in the States. There's also a decent chance that a U.S. carrier might pick up the N900, which could mean a sizable subsidy for those willing to sign a two-year contract.

So, how will the N900 stack up to the mythical "iTablet"? Well, if (as rumored) the Mac tablet has a display in the 10-inch range, the 3.5-inch N900 might end up being quite a different—namely smaller—animal, although at $500 the N90 would be considerably cheaper than the iTablet's rumored $800-ish price tag.

What do you think: Any takers out there for the Linux-powered, Flash-supporting N900, assuming it arrives Stateside for $500, or less on a carrier?