N900 Videos

This is a refreshingly different “first impressions” video from MobileDeveloperTV. It’s not some rehearsed fourth take of a fake “unboxing”, but appears to be the genuine first switching on of the device, together with candid comments on what’s happening.

The device is pre-production, a loaner sent to bloggers. You can read all the text on the covering letter from Nokia. It surprised me that a pre-release device would come without at least a pre-release version of the manual, especially since an online version has been floating around on the web for a while.

The first thing to do is to open up the back and put in the battery and SIM card. The reviewer is surprisingly rough with this £450 phone, but then if you’re getting a loaner device you maybe don’t feel the need to be so careful.

The reviewer has a lot of trouble finding out how to switch the device on. Eventually he finds the power button and switches it on, but his USIM from operator “3″ is rejected, so he tries again with a Vodafone SIM card.

We hear the familiar Nokia startup sound and see the creepy “beckoning hands” startup clip, then the initial settings dialog is displayed. Setting the time brings up a sexy analog clock with hands that you can move by finger. It looks great, but is a bit awkward, taking a couple of tries and still being out by one minute.

The date is set by an attractive kinetic rolling interface. On saving the settings he is taken to the initial desktop. There’s an inviting “Get started” button. Pressing on it appears to do nothing, then he tries to move to an different desktop, and the device appears to lock up. But it’s really just loading the startup video.

The video plays some soothing music and shows the main interface elements: the multiple desktops, the application menu button, the web browser, the multitasking dashboard, the contacts screen, the notification area and the menu bar.

More on-device tutorials are available if necessary, but the reviewer is keen to get cracking. Time has run out for YouTube’s 10-minute video length however, so it will have to wait for Part 2.

A worthwhile video, and one from which Nokia’s usability engineers could glean a few tips.