Nokia has delayed the planned launch of the N900 smartphone – the first on its new Linux-based Maemo 5 platform – saying it needs to respond to feedback from developers.
In a blog post, Nokia head of Maemo marketing Peter Schneider said the company now plans to begin shipping the N900 in November – just in time for Christmas sales. The handset had been due to ship this month.
The high-end device is seen as critical for Nokia’s efforts to match Apple’s iPhone and the coming flood of Android-based phones at the top end of the market. Symbolically it marks an important step away from the Symbian OS that Nokia has nurtured for the past decade.
“We are working closely with open source developers and for example, at the Maemo Summit in October, we loaned 300 pre-production units to get more feedback from the community,” Schneider said.
A Nokia spokesperson said the handset hardware had been finalized, but the software was being fine-tuned based on this feedback, FierceWireless said.
The N900 smartphone will have W-CDMA and HSPA connectivity and a WVGA touchscreen display and slide-out keyboard. The device is powered by an ARM processor.
It will come pre-loaded with a Mozilla-based web browser, and be one of the first phones to take advantage of Adobe's debut full-featured version of Flash for smartphones.
In Europe, the handset is expected to retail for around €500 ($750).