Nokia's N900 Mobile Computer

With less than one week before the start of this years Nokia World in Stuttgart, Germany, Nokia has officially announced its new Maemo-based next generation Internet Tablet. The N900 isn't Nokia's first Internet Tablet (770, N800, N810), but it is the companies first that also includes a GSM and 3G/UMTS modem, making it a fully fledged smartphone. Previous models could only connect to the Internet via the built-in Wi-Fi connection or via a Bluetooth link to another mobile phone.

The N900 "mobile computer" will feature version 5 of the Linux-based Maemo operating system, codenamed Fremantle. Its dimensions are similar to that of Nokia's Symbian based N97 mobile phone and it will include an ARM Cortex-A8 processor running at 600 MHz, up to 1GB of application memory (256 MB RAM, 768 MB virtual memory) and 3D graphics accelerator with OpenGL ES 2.0 support.

As with Nokia's previous internet tablets, the N900 will include 802.11 B /G Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, but will also pack 32 GB of built-in storage, with an option to add a Micro SDHC card up to 16 GB in size for a total of 48 GB. Other notable features include a 5 megapixel camera, a 3.5" 800 x 480 touch screen and integrated GPS navigation. Unlike Apple's iPhone OS, the N900 supports Adobe Flash in its Mozilla-based Maemo web browser.

The Nokia N900 will reportedly go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2009 in select markets for around €500. More details about the new smartphone can be found on the N900 web page and a short video is also available from NokiaConversations on YouTube.