My buddy Chris has put together a great review of PrBoom on the Nokia N900. He set up the N900 using the TV-out port and walks you through all the menu options and gameplay features of this first person shooter. Of course, this review was done before the game was available to download so to get this on your device now you don’t need to go through the process he has mentioned, you can simply click on the download link on the right. Check out the gameplay demo after the break.

Source: NomadsNirvana

The status menu allows you fast access from almost everywhere. There come some applets right out of the box but there are a few 3rd party applets which are useful indeed. One of which is 3G/2G Mode Selection Applet that allows you to switch the three network modes (3G, 2G and Dual) from the status menu. Using this applet you can easily save the precious baterylife of the N900. 3G/2G Mode Selection Applet is available in the application manager.

The Nokia N900 has today received a major firmware update 2.2009.51-1 (PR1.1) fixing many issues and bringing new features to the device. The firmware released earlier this week was PR1.0.1 and was intended not only to allow access to the Ovi Store, but also prepare the Application Manager for FOTA (Firmware-Over-The-Air). You can also download the update using NSU (Nokia Software Updater) but make sure you back up your content before updating. Read the full changelog after the break.

New features

• Hutchison SIM cards are supported.
• MS Exchange 2003 support.

Maemo Update

• Bootloader (Nolo) can be updated over Maemo Update.
• Cellular software can be updated over Maemo Update.
• Icon cache removed to allow more memory space for Maemo Update.
• Application Manager: Available space check moved to apt-worker for more accurate results.

Reliability

• Improvements in SGX performance and reliability.

Use-time and power consumption

• API for status area applets to detect if they are invisible/absent.
• Fixes to Pulseaudio timer increasing power saving when starting/closing apps.
• Browser: Removed unnecessary serial logging.
• Reduction of wake-ups in Desktop, Connectivity, Conversations, RSS Feed Reader,
• Backup handles correctly directories containing pairs of symlinks.
• Less CPU load caused during video recording.
• Support disabling Virtual Keyboard in input field.
• Performance improvements in Browser.
• Lock: “swipe to unlock” will not stay on.
• CPU idle latencies and thresholds updated.
• Fixing eMMC data lines while sleeping.
• CellMO power consumption reduced.

Usability

• Volume button operation in call flipped based on audio routing (no more on screen orientation).
• Browser: Downloading & rendering of page content runs promptly.
• Helping to avoid capacity limits of rootfs when installing apps (make Docpurge aware of /opt).
• Stability and usability fixes to the Profiles applet. Selection, usage and restoring of ringtones.
• Fast call from home shortcuts.
• Fast SMS rejection of incoming call.
• Avoid false alarms in pocket.
• Silence ringing by flipping face down.
• Fix to Camera photo orientation problem: correct orientation is now written to EXIF.

Performance

• X: performance of GLES apps improved.
• Lower RAM consumption while capturing video.
• Phone-UI & Msg-UI always ready to appear.
• Application Manager UI speed improvements.
• Email faster with large mailboxes.
• Large file copy (SD->MMC) doesn’t degrade system performance.

OVI Maps

• Route calculation and search performance improved.

Connectivity

• BT Secure Simple Pairing fixed for Windows Vista.
• BT transfer progress indicated.
• Improving WLAN connection stability.
• Improved WLAN negotiation when going out of reach of access point.

Phonecalls

• Add voicemail shortcut support.
• Showing call forwarding correctly when busy forwarding is not set.
• Call log improved.

Audio & Video

• Audio volume control works with +/- keys in full-screen playback of flash.
• Handling corrupted ring tone files better.
• HW volume keys always have same orientation.
• Media Player UI now provides feedback when tapping control buttons in video playback.
• MIC input not clipped when loud voice in VoIP call.
• Pulseaudio: Ringtone is heard from the loudspeaker if BT connected.
• Ringtone played both to headset (BT or wired) and to internal HF speakers.
• AV sync fix for recorded videos.

Camera

• ISO EXIF value for images saved when automatic sensitivity in use.
• Vignetting test of 2nd camera fixed, VGA sensor stability.

Battery and Charging

• Improved charging in case of low charging power (PC USB charging).

USB

• Fixing the USB detection and card mounting issue related to quickly attaching/detaching the cable.
• Able to format corrupted eMMC properly.
• Hang fixed in case of WLAN disconnection while copying files.

Synchronization

• Activesync supports now MS Exchange 2003.
• Activesync – fixes the forwarding of attachments showing incorrect sizes (Exchange server 2003).
• Content copier of PC Suite enabled. Whole content backup (including Notes) can now be restored from PCSuite.

3rd party applications

• Policy-settings: Fixes rotation transition in for 3rd party applications.
• Policy-settings: By default, 3rd party apps should have the same limits as our applications.

Calendar

• Public API for color picker. Home widget is now translucent.
• Set/get alarms API.
• Syncing of task alarms supported.

Image Viewer

• Thumbnailing faster.

Application Manager

• Rename Maemo Extras to maemo.org and enable by default.
• Grid view applied for the categories in download view. Added API for filtering packages.

Development Platform

• SDK content and tools updated.
• SDK GUI installer updated.
• New sharing-dialog-dev package added to enable Bluetooth and email sending.
• New wappushd-dev package documenting MMS interfaces available.

Upstream Security Issues

• Fix for CVE-2009-2417 in curl.

Community reports fixed

Reports in http://bugs.maemo.org that have been fixed for PR1.1:

Browser

• “”About Flash Player”” contextual menu item treated as unrequested pop-up
• Focus not set to location bar after Ctrl-L shortcut is used
• Spacebar scrolls more than 1 page
• microb doesn’t trigger onchange
• Page is not rerendered when JavaScript actions increase page length
• Complete Browsing History on the N900 sometimes displays “”None””
• The menu item “”copy”” in the browser menu does not work
• OK button remains disabled in dialog for Integer settings in about:config
• Browser window checkerboards and repaints when navigated to from multi-task view
• Sometimes the browser window goes black for over a second after clicking the fullscreen/restore button

Calendar

• Start and end times are changing when daylight saving time ends (begins)
• Incorrect entries in the Birthday Smart Calendar
• Changing to next week is very slow
• Smart birthday-widget doesn’t show up any birthdays or shows one on random

Chat & Call & SMS

• Phone app crashed as call ending
• Dialer does not accept SS (3GPP TS 22.030) dial strings
• Unclear how to open a contact (sender/receiver) of a conversation
• High latency between UI and SIP events being sent
• clicking on notification window fails for 2 or more messages when in Dashboard
• Skype does not allow entering DTMF tones
• skype: Call does not support DTMF tones
• Can’t send sms/chat to known contact from the Call list
• libnice violates Debian packaging policy for description of package “”libnice0″”
• Volume buttons should be swapped when using the phone in portrait mode.
• Call Log only displays contact name that called, not phone number
• Show wrong Contact for a SMS after a couple of days
• scrollbar instead of kinetic scrolling
• Chat window for jabber / xmpp is not always updated with new incoming messages

Connectivity

• Bluetooth DBUS UI dialogs – wrong args in the example code
• Button style in Bluetooth file receive applet is wrong
• Inconsistent keyboard behaviour when configuring a static ip address
• Drops WLAN connection to Linksys WRT610N after 10-15 minutes
• after failed pairing to bluetooth car kit bluetooth can’t be turned on
• Wrong settings for Orange (France) gprs
• udhcpc overriding default routes

Contacts

• address book cannot import vcards from benq/siemens phones properly
• Contacts re-appear in list after disableing and re-enableing accounts
• No hint that it is impossible to paste an strings containing non-numeric characters into a phone number field
• Skype Support>Report problem leads to an error page

Core

• N900 sometimes ignores USB data cable

Desktop platform

• Publish sources of alarm framework
• Failed to build libosso-2.19 from Fremantle repo (ggc 4.3.2)
• wdgt_va_full_12h_time, wdgt_va_12h_hours should be replaced by wdgt_va_full_12h_time_am/wdgt_va_full_12h_time_pm and wdgt_va_12h_hours_am/wdgt_va_12h_hours_pm
• Easy to enter ~ ^ ‘ ` “” symbols with 3rd row of special character view
• “”More…”” applications launcher does’t allow scrolling
• Can’t easily align desktop widgets (snap to position) on home screens
• Allow keyboard input to jump to an entry in a list (“”type ahead””)
• No rubber-banding effect in the Main “”More…”” menu (task launcher)
• WiFi password shows up in auto-completion
• When applying a different theme, not all colors change in application manager
• libsdl: Task switcher area can be a dead area
• FN-lock and Ctrl+Backspace breaks input for used application
• Application Manager moves to background after start when quickly clicking
• Typing in newly opened window brings up contact search
• Race condition with hardware shift key
• Home view blurs on triple-tapping the launcher grid icon
• Hanging application menu requires system reboot
• Rotation in 42-11 is not as smooth as in 41-10 for some third party apps
• “”More…”” view is not sorted at all
• Add a (short shown) scroll bar in the status area window to indicate that there are more elements inside as actually shown
• Updating software removes desktop shortcuts

Desktop Widgets

• AP News Widget causes Excessive CPU wakeups
• Contact widgets move to active desktop after merge
• Media Player widget suddenly starts music after Phone call ends

Development Platform

• Link to C code not working (not a link in fact) on Fremantle camera api dev page
• Package downloads should be retried when the http connection time-outs
• Link for osso_wlan documentation broken
• Video indexing failed in SDK (Tracker issue?)
• xkbdata: Inconsistency between installed packages in SDK and FW
• example source code not available in “Writing a new maemo application”
• e2fsprogs derivative packages not available?
• HildonTouchSelector example has wrong parameters in callback function
• URL for sharing plugin template missing

Email

• Does not always mark e-mails as read (dovecot/cyrus/google IMAP server)
• Modest reports email username / password incorrect when it is correct
• Performance is unusable on IMAP accounts with a large number of messages in one or more folders (e.g. INBOX)
• When an IMAP account is selected, only refresh that account’s folders
• Locales not working correctly
• Deleting email should be more evident…
• Fix modest compilation warning
• Remove HildonDialog deprecated symbol
• Import conic support only if It’s available
• Remove Hildon 0.x conditional code
• Remove Hildon 1.x conditional code in Hildon2 version of modest
• Modest doesn’t take care of preferences for automatic update
• New email notification leads to blank email instead of email itself
• Double-tapping “”Inbox”” sometimes opens ‘empty’ Inbox
• nokia messaging doesn’t synchronize selected imap folders
• Long delays when opening emails – viewer window shows “”Updating””

Images and Camera

• When ISO sensitivity is set to automatic, ISO EXIF value in resulting image is 0
• Vertical photos from other devices should fill more space when shown in portrait.
• User-facing camera produces a left side dark vertical band
• Audio does not sync with video (and is ultimately unsyncable)
• Improve zooming

Location

• Bluetooth GPS reconnect dialog refuses to go away after clicking “”No””

Map

• USA localization displays distance in kilometers
• Can’t delete route waypoints in Map application
• Route Settings screen is not finger friendly

Media player

• Information on artist / track not updated in media player with internet radio
• Plays next radio station when current station cuts out / has playback issues
• flashing pixels around the lock button if media player is playing a video.
• Media player track search only matches the beginning of title/artist
• Viewing songs by “”Artists”” automatically scrolls to the end of the list

Multimedia

• N900 needs to be rebooted if media player fails to play video (h264dec)
• Volume in media player jumps when receiving emails, IM´s or sms´s
• Can’t change FM TX radio station name
• Xvid encoded videos unwatchable

Settings and Maintenance

• Streamlining user access to the Extras repository
• Should remember position in packages list after installing package
• Other Category appears twice
• Installing many packages at a time via App Manager exhausts rootfs space
• Artifacts (visual noise) when tapping screen in Screen Calibration
• docpurge is not aware of /opt
• Inconsistent layout on similar Sharing/VOIP applets
• Background image settings not restored

Sharing

• Evernote uses to much space in root partition, should use /opt

Statusbar Widgets

• Volume slider doesn’t notice when you plug in headphones
• Currently active connection should be first in Connections list

Synchronization

• First Synchronization between N900 and Exchange 2003 Server always fails
• MfE spams screen with error messages when it cannot connect to the server
• MfE wont keep Exchange account updated
• Changing password on Exchange 2007 makes MfE go crazy
• Company Directory not present
• MfE is missing some CA cert symlinks on some devices (NuevaSync)
• Initial sync fails with exchange 2007

System Analysis

• getbootstate bricks the device after 17 reboots if there are no normal boots in between them

System software

• Shaking device switches between landscape and portrait modes
• Charger not recognized when plugged in when in Touch & Key lock
• Low power/battery beep does not sound if you’re on a call
• Pin / lock code entry dialog reveals digits on backspace
• Alarm clock does not wake me up when battery has died.

Telephony

• 3 Mobile SIM card rejected
• Call forwarding settings not being saved
• No pause before sending DTMF tones

Translations

• Change ‘TV uit’ (TV out) to ‘TV-uitgang’
• “Ładowanie” used without distinction between “”charging”” and “”loading””
• addr_va_lastname has a comma that it shouldn’t have
• IP address field in WiFi advanced settings partially hidden (“”Recuperar automáticamente dirección IP”” string too long)
• Some sentences in the User Guide don’t make sense
• Wrong profile names in the User Guide
• Delete dialog text missing a space
• Polish string too long in UPnP browsing menu bar
• Wrong PO Box translation for CZ language

Utilities

• Re-enable reset and/or reset-and-clear in osso-xterm
• “”Already at minimum / maximum font size.”” not translated
• File manager fails to show folder sizes beyond 999,9 MB
• Clock alarm status icon is sometimes shown as dash (-)”

[Via]

After the recent update, it is now officially possible to access the mobile version of the Ovi Store using your Nokia N900 web browser. Visit store.ovi.mobi and you will be given access to a new apps, games, themes, wallpapers, ringtones and more, that was not previously available via the Application Manager. So head over and load up your hadsets, and let us know if you find any gems.

Via