The End of the N900 in the USA

It's been awhile since I blogged about my N900 (even with Nokia kicking FOSS out it is still a solid handset). I like the Maemo operating system, the fact that it is a real Linux based operating system on my handset (not some Java based OS) is the reason I ponied up the 500$ about a year ago for the device. I live in the United States, which means that T-Mobile is the only mobile carrier that provides anything faster than 2g speeds on the N900.

Well that is the case for now anyways.

In case you have been living with your head under a technological rock AT&T is planning on buying T-Mobile. Should the fates allow this to happen (here is to hoping antitrust acts prevent it from happening) AT&T as announced they are planning on taking down T-Mobile's 3g/4g/HSPA+/WhateverYouCall it network due to "upkeep" costs. Never mind the fact that T-Mobile's network blows LTE out of the water - the fact that this network will be going offline means the N900's mobiles speeds will be rendered relatively useless in the Unite States (AT&T's network only gets about 15kb/sec with the N900's radio). Not to mention even if the N900 did get decent speeds on AT&T's network their mobile internet plans are horridly restricted (and priced even worse)!

Now not just the N900 will loose its mobile internet snappyness if this merger happens - all TMO handsets will. AT&T's solution? Get everyone phone upgrades (They factored this cost into their merger). Its a shame that this leaves all of us that purchased our handsets outright (such as the N900) out in the cold, reminds me of the many reasons I left AT&T some time ago. Honestly though, even if they where going to offer everyone a free handset - nothing on the market currently can really measure up to what Maemo does. I had been hoping to get a few good years out of my N900 as it does everything I could ask from a handset and I just recently purchased a second N900 for my girlfriend to use, guess I should have waited on that decision.

If the merger does go through the best I can hope for is a decent handset from the Samsung Linux Platform some time in the next year to replace Nokia before my mobile internet drys up. Anyone else hoping this merger falls through?

~Jeff Hoogland