The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet
Entered CNET Catalog: 01/13/2007
SKU: 758478011003
Manufacturer: Nokia Corp.
Manufacturer description
Nokia N800 is designed to stay online so you can enjoy the benefits of the Internet, whether you're at home or on the go. Browse your favorite sites. Stay in touch with the people you love with Internet calling. Chat with your friends. Check your email. Relax with your favorite songs and videos.Product summary
The good: The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet has integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for accessing the Web on the go and comes with an outstanding browser. It also features a built-in Webcam, a sleeker design, a gorgeous screen, and improved performance. Other goodies include VoIP support, instant messaging, an RSS news reader, a media player, and dual expansion slots.
The bad: Unfortunately, the video playback on the N800 was subpar, and there is no PC synchronization. The N800 also relies solely on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for connectivity.
The bottom line: Though it won't appeal to the masses quite yet, the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a nice, portable device for on-the-go Web browsing, and it has some worthy upgrades.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 01/19/2007
Nokia N800 Internet Tablet
Editor's note: Ratings have been adjusted with respect to newer devices that have entered the market.
We received a fair amount of criticism when we gave the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet a mediocre 4.9 rating, as a lot of you found it to be a very useful and solid device. Perhaps we missed something or perhaps it was because we reviewed one of the early units sans software upgrade, but we just weren't that impressed. However, as Nokia unveiled its next-generation model, the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, at the Consumer Electronics Show 2007, we were pretty excited about what we saw and were ready to give it another try. We're glad we did. With the understanding that it's not meant to be a replacement for your PDA, smart phone, or laptop, the N800 is perfect for on-the-go Web browsing with its travel-friendly design and its excellent browser. It's perfect for reading the latest news at the local coffee shop, without having to fire up the ol' laptop or struggling with a cell phone's poky browser. The N800 also features some nice upgrades, including a sleeker design than its predecessor, a built-in Webcam, and improved performance. Will it appeal to a mass audience? Probably not. We think it's still a bit too geeky and relies on the presumption that you have Wi-Fi access. However, for gadget hounds and techies, the N800 is a fun and useful device for those who want to stay connected. The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is available now, for around $399.
A slimmed-down design
The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet underwent a nice little makeover, lightening up its once all-black casing with a sleek silver face and shaving off a bit of thickness and weight (2.9x5.7x0.5 inches; 7.2 ounces). The device is slim enough to easily slip into your bag, but it's probably too big to comfortably fit it into a pants pocket. Holding it in your hand, you might notice it's a little top heavy for reasons we'll explain a bit later, but it has a solid construction. Also, if you get tired of holding it, Nokia has built in a convenient kickstand so you can prop it up on your desk. It's located on the bottom of the device, and all you have to do is pull it out toward the back.
On front of the Nokia N800, there is a gorgeous, wide-screen, 65,000-color display. It has a 800x480 resolution that produces vibrant colors and sharp text and images; it's also a touch screen so you can input information with your fingertips or the included stylus. We noticed it had a tendency to hold smudges, but it was readable in sunlight. And although Nokia got rid of the hard cover case found on the Nokia 770, the company does include a soft protective case to save the N800's screen from scratches. The home screen itself can be a bit confusing for first-time users of its various subsections and icons that aren't clearly identified. We recommend you give the user's guide a quick read before using the device. Once you get the lay of the land, you can edit the layout of the home screen to create a scheme that works best for you, and the background image and theme can be changed.
If you want to forgo the touch screen navigation, you can defer to the Nokia N800's tactile controls. To the left of the screen, there is a four-way directional keypad with a center OK button, an Escape key, a Menu button, and a Swap key that lets you switch between different applications. The last three controls are hard to press: They're slippery, clumped close together, and set flush with the device's surface, so it takes a conscious effort to hit the right key. Also cramped are the keys on top, which include the buttons to zoom in and out, switch to full-screen mode, and power on and off. They're not only close to each other, they're tiny, so take care when pressing them.
On the left spine is one of the coolest features of the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet: a built-in Webcam for video calls. Just press in the circular section found in the upper edge (thus, the heavier feel up top) and the Webcam will pop out. You can also rotate it 180 degrees to capture different views. The right side holds the stylus, the power connector, and a 3.5mm stereo audio-out jack that accepts standard stereo headphones.
The Nokia N800 has two expansion slots: one on the bottom of the unit beneath the fold-out stand and one behind the battery cover. We were ecstatic with the dual slots and the fact that they can accept cards up to 2GB, but the locations of both are slightly inconvenient in that you have to move parts to access them. What's worse is that there is no spring mechanism to eject the card on the bottom of the device, so you better have some nails, otherwise your SD card might be in there for a long time.
Nokia packages the N800 Internet Tablet with the aforementioned soft case, a USB cable, a travel charger, a wired stereo headset, a 128MB Mini SD card with extender, and reference material.
Feature-packed and fancy-free
The allure of the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, of course, is the on-the-go Web access. True, you can do this with a smart phone, a PDA, or a laptop; however, we found the benefits of the N800 are its superior Web browser, speed, and portability. We'll go into these points more later on, but first, some technical logistics. To connect to the Internet you have two choices. You can use the device's integrated Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) to hop onto an access point, or you can pair the N800 with your Bluetooth-enabled phone and use your cellular network. We were able to do both without problems: Our review unit easily found our test access point, and we were also able to pair it with the Nokia N80ie using T-Mobile service.
The Nokia N800 employs the Opera 8 Web browser and supports plug-ins, JavaScript, and Flash 7, so right out of the box it lets you watch videos from such sites as YouTube and Google Video (see Performance for more). The browser itself is outstanding, as it keeps Web pages true to form while optimizing it for the device. You can zoom in or out on pages, and add and manage bookmarks. There's an RSS feed reader onboard that can pull the latest headlines from various news sources at user-defined intervals. As with the 770, adding new feeds is a bit tedious because you have to manually enter or copy and paste your desired URLs into the field. Still, the Web experience on the N800 is a great improvement over the likes of PDAs and smart phones.
To stay connected in other ways, the Nokia N800 has an e-mail client that supports POP3 and IMAP4 accounts. During initial setup, a wizard walks you through the steps for accessing your account. There are also advanced settings so that the device automatically retrieves your messages on a regular basis, plays a sound when new messages arrive, removes messages older than a specified number of days, and so on. For faster communication, the N800 does support instant messaging and comes with Google Talk and Jabber preloaded on the device. At this point, you might be wondering how you input text. Well, there's an onscreen keyboard that you can either peck away at with the stylus, or you can switch to the full-screen keyboard to stretch out your fingers. Alternatively, there's a handwriting recognition mode that lets you write text in a designated area. However, like most handwriting recognition technology, this is a bit awkward and requires a slight learning curve. If you're writing long e-mails, we think your best bet is to invest a Bluetooth accessory keyboard, such as the Think Outside Stowaway Universal Bluetooth keyboard.
Make no mistake, the Nokia N800 is not a cell phone but you can make phone calls using Voice over IP. Again, Google Talk and Jabber are onboard to handle those needs, but Nokia also announced at CES 2007 that it is working with Skype to develop a new mobile Skype experience just for the N800. In addition to all that, the company is beta testing an application called Nokia Internet Call Invitation that allows you to invite contacts to VoIP and video calls via e-mail and IM. Nokia gave, well, we should say they tried to give us a working demo of the feature at CES but never got it to work right, so looks like they have a few bugs to work out.
One of our gripes about the Nokia 770 was the lack of PC synchronization and PIM tools, and it seems this trend mostly continues with the N800. Though it's not meant to be a PDA or smart phone, this additional functionality would have been nice. That said, the beauty of the Nokia N800's open source platform is that it allows developers to create various software programs for the device. A visit to Maemo.org reveals a diverse catalog of downloadable applications, including PIM tools. We're also happy that Nokia added a contacts manager to the device itself. There's room in each entry for multiple phone numbers, e-mail and Web addresses, and a Jabber ID, and you can categorize them by group. Other utilities include a calculator, a clock, and a note and sketch pad. There is a PDF reader but no viewer for Office documents.
The N800's media player is basic but functional. It supports a number of music and video formats, including AAC, MP3, WAV, AMR, RealAudio, AVI, 3GP, MPEG-4, and others. Unfortunately, there is still no love for WMV or WMA files, which is completely disappointing and may be a turn off for some. On the upside, transferring media to the device is a snap as it's a simple matter of drag and drop. You can also import playlists or create them on the fly, and there's a shuffle function. If you're looking for some fresh tunes, check out the Internet radio. Finally, the Nokia N800 comes with an image viewer and four preloaded games (Chess, Blocks, Mahjong, and Marbles), and you can always download more. All in all, there's 128MB of RAM and 256MB flash memory, boosted by the dual expansion slots, so you can have a vast library of multimedia goodness.
Browse away
Thankfully, the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a much better performer than its predecessor, the Nokia 770. Though there was a slight delay when launching the media player, the N800 had snappy performance. We had no problems opening up PDF files or images. As we noted earlier, the Web browsing experience was superior. Not only was there minimal scrolling when viewing entire Web pages, but they also loaded quickly.
Unfortunately, we weren't so keen on the multimedia performance. Music playback through the unit's speakers left much to be desired. Despite adequate volume, tracks sounded tinny and lacked bass, but sound quality was much improved when we plugged in a pair of Shure E3c headphones. Video playback on the N800 bordered on awful. We tried to watch some clips on YouTube, but the picture was jerky and never synchronized with the audio. We also transferred clips from our personal library, which performed better but still, the video was pixilated.
The Nokia N800 is rated for three hours of continuous Web browsing and up to 10 days of standby time. We found these numbers to be generally true, as we squeaked out about four hours of continuous use on a single charge.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40out of 40 user reviews
I still use this everyday!
Pros: Functionality, Functionality, Functionality! I have an iPod Touch and love it but I still sometimes prefer my N800 for just a few things it does quite well.
Cons: I wish the battery life was better. I have a few batteries and rotate them in use but I still only get about a days worth use out of them.
out of 40 user reviews
Its very good
Pros: * Easy to use
* Lots of open source applications available for download
* Works great with Skype and Pidgin
* Can connect to any operating system
* Amazing battery life (8-10 hours continuous usage)
* Great multimedia support
Cons: * Slow when online
* Poor list of locations outside of Europe (had to program my location and timezone in)
* No hard reset available (had to take out the battery to hard reset)
* Some apps don't work properly
* No IP support
out of 40 user reviews
great product
Pros: its color and silver pouch.
Cons: Awesome nothing to be dislike
out of 40 user reviews
Just Brlilliant!
Pros: Great screen, OS2008 is a wonder (why oh why haven't they made a phone with this OS yet???), great connectivity. Open source means free software, and there's a lot of it. Great MultiMedia & Internet device.
Cons: A scroll wheel would be nice, charging through USB would be great. No EQ on the headphones.
The first thing any owner should do, is upgrade to OS2008.
The new OS for the N800 provides automatic upgrading, not only for the OS itself, but for any installed application (and there are tons and tons of them).
Browser wise, there is a choise between Mozilla, Opera, Origyn (a Safari based browser), and more to come. So far I have had no problems with any web page - except one that featured qucktime streaming. Scrolling is possible either by the side bar that works with the stylus, or simply by dragging the page with your finger, a fast and very easy way. The volume buttons function as zoom in/out when browsing, making sure that everything is visible. Of course, a full email client is installed - and did I mention: Skype is preinstalled!
WiFi pairing is almost fully automatic and very fast. It also reads my SE C905 phone as an HSDPA modem and as a GPS device via bluetooth, providing me with presice info about my current location(weather, news and stuiff), without me having to set or adjust anything.
The Screen is Huge and brilliant. Touch response is very good. The device is smart enough to know if you're using a stylus (so the "tiny" keyboard appears), or if you tap it with your fingers (so a big and very usefull touch keyboard appears).
The speakers are very good for the size - better than any smartphone. The headset jack that accepts nokia headsets, is compatible with standard headphones so you can use the kind you like - although it doesn't sound as great as other dedicated multimedia devices. The lack of EQ is mainly to blame. The FM tuner is good and fast, although you need to install an applet for it to work, as it is not functional "out of the box".
I use mine mostly for browsing and watching movies when on the bus or train. For this use, I believe there is nothing that can do the same job as good as the N800. I have a LOT of devices (4 PCs, 1 laptop, 1 macbook, 1 eeePC, 1 HTC Diamond, 1 ipod classic, etc) that are decent, but not nearly as good as the N800. As I am a local manager in a mobile provider, I have access to many more "Smartphones" than any average user has, but none of them is smart enough to even compare to the N800.
Overall, the biggest question that I have is "why on earth haven't they made a phone like this?" If the next gen N800/N810 has an HSDPA phone module built-in, my prediction is that it would kill all other smart phones at once - and rightfully so.
It has the power of a real computer, the communication skills of the best smartphones and the functionality both computers and smartphones can only dream about. Also, the device is FAST! It reacts so fast you might think there's something more than just a 400 MHz CPU powering the device. While my Widows Mobile GPS device uses the same CPU, it doesn't come close to the N800's speed.
The only thing I can compare it to is HPs touchsmart computer, but you can't have one of these in your pocket.
Great gear.
out of 40 user reviews
very nice device if you intend to buy it as...
Pros: see below:
Cons: see below:
PROS: pretty much everything: dual connectivity options, dual SD card slots (I am a big fan of SD cards-everything I own, phone, GPS, camera, etc. has one), nice widescreen, superb web browser (probably the biggest thing) with youtube/flash support, media player with fm AND internet radio, and scalable Linux OS...all at a great price
CONS: power issues (main thing that keeps this device from getting a 10):
battery life is okay, but not stellar for pda-like use;
possible charging problem- could be due to the battery or the charger (not a major issue for me since I use it at home/school and not everywhere I go like I would use a pda); however if this problem persists I might get a new charger or battery (who knows, maybe the battery is just dying- been using it for 10 months)
although it won't probably replace your pda or smartphone, this device gives you excellent web browsing and internet capabilities that you won't find in any windows mobile or palm device
out of 40 user reviews
Best email/web device available!
Pros: Great screen, great software, great connectivity! Runs flash!
Cons: No hardware keyboard, OS2008Diablo update not up to spec. Flash still slow.
But I took the plunge. And I have to admit, I'm not at all sorry! It's a great little tablet for email and lighter web cruising.
You got internet radio, web chat (with video!), email, a decent webrowser and a full fledged media player at the tips of your fingers!
Battery life cannot be beat, I recommend it to everyone I know.
The N800 and N810 are both roughly the same device, minus the hardware keyboard. And I like the idea that the N800's camera can rotate!
out of 40 user reviews
amazing web browsing capabilities good for webers on the go
Pros: good at web browsing good video and music playing very free nokia lets u do wat ever you want and keeps ur warenty
Cons: if u dont have wifi its worth nothing
out of 40 user reviews
Awesome for the price
Pros: great email, media player , games and notes and browsing
Cons: browsing text small for older folks (40 and up)
out of 40 user reviews
Excellent Product!
Pros: You will not regret buying this item!
Cons: None so far!!!
out of 40 user reviews
Quite dissaponted
Pros: Worked pretty good when it worked
Cons: The device only worked for a few hours
Fairly intuitive to use, a lot of fun to use. Pretty much did everything claimed. When the battery ran down it would not take a charge. I figured possibly a bad charger.Tried another,nothing.Sent back to Nokia for repair. Came back a week later. Went to turn it on. Totally dead!Back to Nokia. We will see what happens.
I have looked on the web and this seems to be a VERY common problem with this device.
out of 40 user reviews
Out of the box fun!
Pros: So easy to use
Cons: Programs can be tricky to install
out of 40 user reviews
Great Device
Pros: easy to use, great applications to use, able to download japanese and chinese text fonts, skype works great, able to download os2008
Cons: freezes seldomly, slow when useing myspace and facebook,
out of 40 user reviews
Best Linux device.
Pros: battery life, screen, VoIP, USB Host, stand, camera
Cons: location of USB plug
First - the design: a bit too large to fit inside a pocket, yet the screen and stereo speakers compensate this. Buttons are very well placed for a great ease of use. only negative aspect - the USB connector is behind the stand. This is only a problem if used with a usbB to female adapter - granting the device a full USB2.0 compatibility.
The camera might be of low resolution, yet if you need to take a quick snapshot, it works flawlessly. also good for video chat. Dual memory slots are also a plus - just as the feature to boot the OS from one of them!
After a software upgrade, the processor speed increases from 330 to 400mhz, making it faster than before. Although very few software if available from the manufacturer- Nokia, a great amount of software is written by users or simply ported from Debian OS, compensating everything. MP3 playback lasts over 10 hours; video playback (with great resolution and size) - over 4 hours. The Operating System is mostly open-source (except the Kernel), making personal software development very easy, given programming knowledge. Supports C, C++, C#, python, ruby...
A large internet community that is always there for help of to show new software is also a great plus.
As to a normal end-user, this device might not seem so appealing due to a great difference from Windows Mobile devices, although after some time and experience with Linux, most will find the N800 superior due to a larger user accessibility.
out of 40 user reviews
Found a Low Price and lots of apps for it!
Pros: good price ($199.99 at Dell), good screen, nice camera, bluetooth, fairly good sound, nice media player, and two expansion ports for sd cards
Cons: no gps like the newer n810
out of 40 user reviews
completly useless
Pros: FM radio is nice idea but my MP3 player has a better FM tuner
Cons: Doesn't power through USB port, camera is useless, have to use the stylus to pan around, 4 way switch is useless, buttons on the top are annoyingly misplaced,
The device doesn't power from the USB port ! This should be show stopper for handheld devices because now you got another proprietary power supply adapter to deal with. Not mention carry it around with the device.
There is no thumb wheel or track ball to pan/scroll around and you are stuck with the stylus. The 4 way switch on the left side is useless. It is meant to jump to hyperlinks in the webpages - which is rather pointless when you have to use the stylus in you other hand to pan/scroll through the Screen anyways.
The browser doesn't properly display web contents from more usefull sites like Myspace, local.live.com, flightview, facebook etc. I could even use my banks website to do online banking. Can't use pandora.com to listen to music. Wikipedea for instance works fine if you don't mind lots of text content being displayed on a small stylus only scrollable and panable screen. (Here is a hint for the engineers at Nokia - Using the styles gets in the way of viewing the screen - so minimize its use on small screen devices - LEARN FROM BLACKBERRY)
Camera is only supported in Jabber or Google Talk. Skype application doesn't support the camera.
The stylus based touch screen keyboard is ridiculous for text based chats.
The FM Tuner is a nice idea but the headset that comes with this device is not compatible with anyhting else.
The provided case is a cheap looking fabric cover that doesnt even have a flap to prevent the device from slipping out and bursting the screen. (At this point it probably would be doing me a favor)
The three buttons on the top to resize the screen are placed so close to gather that it is a pain to use.
Very disappointed with this product. I think Nokia should've/could've done better by incorporating simple things like the device being USB powered, trackball/thumb wheel for scrolling and paning, Better positioning on the zoom control buttons on the top and if you're gonna be cheap with the case so be it but put a Velcro flap to secure the device in the case at least!
I'll be staying away from Nokia products for a while.
out of 40 user reviews
High Expectations Exceeded
Pros: Light, bluetooth, open source programs, cheap
Cons: Video sometimes need conversion
Nokia has recently upgraded the operating system OS2008 and made the N800 run at a faster clock speed (400 MHz). So it not only looks better, it is also more likely that applications such as video playback will run smoothly. Sometimes video require conversion, but this is not a rule. For example, I had to convert Superbad before watching it, but Simpsons the movie ran without conversion.
It is interesting that Nokia's tablet ranks among the three best selling electronic devices on Amazon.com this Holiday considering that CNET thinks it is too difficult.
Although I am incredibly happy with my N800, the Nokia N810 ($419 on buy.com) might be slightly better. The problem is that the N810 costs twice as much the N800 ($200). Hence, when the price comes down for the N810 it will probably be a better choice. Note, however, that there are some features in the N800 that are missing in the N810.
Anyone buying the N800 should probably consider buying extra memory and and a bluetooth keyboard. The on-screen keyboard works fine, but it becomes tedious to use if you need to write longer texts. These factors might be thought of as cons, but since they so easily can be overcome, I hesitate to call them problems.
out of 40 user reviews
A Great way to surf the net on the go!
Pros: good battery life..nice crisp display...fast surfing.
Cons: video is lacking...kinda slow.
out of 40 user reviews
Portable, functional and wonderful
Pros: Portability, cost, WiFi, Bluetooth, dual card slots, and the RSS reader.
Cons: The multimedia quality is not the best and there is no calendar.
The N800 is perfect for on the go web browsing and saves me so much time as I no longer have to unplug the six cables connected to my laptop if I am going to need access the internet when I am away from home, outside with the dog, in the kitchen and needing a recipe, or just to lazy to roll out of bed and walk six feet to my desk.
The N800 seems a little smaller to me than in Bonnie Cha's review but she is a lady and I do have large hands. The device is slim enough to slip into your back pocket if you had to but I would not risk it; it's a perfect fit for a small bag or a jacket/coat pocket.
The N800 found my wireless network and the media on my network in no time at all in addition to several others within range of my home. While running errands the N800 was equally as fast when it came to finding wireless networks; even while driving (I was not at the wheel). The Bluetooth worked flawlessly when transferring files from my laptop and phone.
The dual card slots was a great idea as the N800 has limited memory. You can even use the internal card(under the batter cover) as addition virtual memory. If you update to the most recent firmware, you can use SDHC cards and expand your total memory up to 16GB using two 8GB cards.
The RSS reader is wonderful and works really well. I am really fond of this function as the information that I want online is fed to the device at specified intervals.
The only issues that I have are the quality of the multimedia playback and the lack of an installed calendar. Video played on the N800 is a bit jerky but by no means as unbearable as some reviews lead me to believe and there are several open source programs which will allow you to improve the quality of and convert video for the N800. The speakers are not the best but then again not as bad I some reviews would have you believe; the sound improves greatly with a a decent pair of ear buds or PC speakers. There is also no calendar installed but then again the N800 was never billed as a PDA. You can find PIM tools that can be easily installed on the N800.
Overall, I love the N800 and I hate that I waited so long to get it. The screen is gorgeous, the device is a head turner, the are plenty of free applications on maemo.org, the battery life is really good, Nokia seems to have plans to continue supporting the device for some time as the OS will be upgradeable with the release of the N810, the bundles applications all work without issue, and the device is so easy to use even if you know nothing about Linux which I do not.
out of 40 user reviews
My enemy at work
Pros: compact and easy to use
Cons: not much for what i use it for
out of 40 user reviews
Excellent and usefull device
Pros: New OS, Excellent WiFi, memory can be expanded up to 16GB, Skype, Flash 9, FM, Excellent screen, free applications
Cons: Need PC to download OS upgrades (Mac OS won't work)
out of 40 user reviews
I am impressed.
Pros: Outstanding graphics and sound.
Cons: A little pricey.
out of 40 user reviews
The Diamond in the Rough
Pros: Good Wifi, bright screen, free linux apps, A2DP BT support with tweaking, SKYPE, IM, Great reader (much better than Sony), now 8GB SD Expansion
Cons: No PC sync with Outlook, Opera web browser not great, some linux apps need more development (e.g. Kagu), camera looks grainy, not a traditional phone
But apart from browsing, the app that seals the deal for many, is SKYPE, which means free calls to other SKYPE users and very low cost calls to land and mobile lines. I must say, this is really really really cool! I've called my wife with this thing and it works like a charm.
Recently, I've also gotten my A2DP Bluetooth headset (Sony DS-790) to work. Now I can use this like a music player.
The thing I don't like about this machine is that it doesn't sync with my computer, like calendar dates and contacts. But who knows, with open source, perhaps someone with a flare for writing cool apps will develop something. And most likely, it'll be free as well. For the time being, there's many web based calendars.
Also, I do want to mention that the camera is not that great. Don't have too high expectations for that. I find that the colors are a bit washed and grainy, but for quick video conference, it's okay.
All in all, this is a rough diamond that can be cut by it's owner to display its beauty. I'm very happy with this purchase. I hear that the HTC Advantage is a better experience and machine overall, but the N800 only costs $400. The Advantage costs over $1000. The Advantage is bulky and doesn't fit in your pocket well. This thing has the length of a Sony PSP, but much thinner. It's still very pocketable. I suppose if you want the best, you can get an OQO Model 2, but that's over $2000. And it's not as pocketable as this gem.
The N800 is not meant to replace your traditional phone or laptop computer. But if all you want to do is quickly check the Internet for something and you don't want to go through the hassle of booting up your computer or check your e-mail over coffee break, this device is IT! It's a pleasant ride without going bankrupt! Everybody has different needs and it can't do everything for everyone. But for me, it's the perfect device for me! Oh, by the way, it's not a phone even though it's made by Nokia(in case you still missed out on that).
out of 40 user reviews
Great Improvement over the 770
Pros: Well built, excellent screen, fast and stable
Cons: Buttons on top are very small and packed
out of 40 user reviews
A great progression of improvements from the 770
Pros: Faster performance than it's predecessor, Skype support, webcam/camera support
Cons: Some flash sites like slacker.com still don't work well or at all, no support for connecting to remove drives wirelessly
I was hoping to be able to use sites like pandora.com or slacker.com with this device but those types of sites still don't run on Nokia's internet tablet. With that aside, it's a great device to have for being connected without the bulk of a laptop.
out of 40 user reviews
A really amazing device
Pros: Canola, Skype, Games, Media, Touchscreen, Beautifull design, Long baterry, really easy to use, open source,
Cons: The internet browser is not fast, low resolution camera
The screen is really nice and is not really Strong it always looks clean and you wont see it dirty its really resistant
out of 40 user reviews
Definetly the best gadget ive evr owned
Pros: great internet connection and good for ppl who just want to stay up to date while on the road
Cons: Videos dont work as well as i expected
out of 40 user reviews
Much more usable than I thought it would be
Pros: Great display, Open source Linux OS, Cool features and options
Cons: Rather weak standard battery, Video playback is sluggish
out of 40 user reviews
Good browsing on the go
Pros: Good browser, streams music
Cons: The browser is Opera, so it lacks Firefox's and IE's addons.
out of 40 user reviews
very utilitarian for staying in touch on the road
Pros: Light, compact, relatively easy to use
Cons: You'll need a 3 G phone as backup to WiFi
out of 40 user reviews
Great stream machine
Pros: Quick easy set up of internet radio, UPnP, Rhapsody
Cons: Media player GUI is clunky, some internet connection problems
What I got: all of that.
How long it took to get it all working: 2 minutes. The media player found my UpNp server all on its own.
I am having trouble with network dropouts on one of my Wifi networks. It's an old inexpensive router that might be choking on the streams.
My Rhapsody login stopped working on the N800 after 2 weeks. It works fine on my PC. I emailed Rhapsody who said it was a Nokia problem. I called Nokia who said it was a Rhapsody problem, that their authentication server probably hadn't been updated. I emailed Rhapsody and said Nokia said it was a Rhapsody problem, They said it was a Nokia problem and stop emailing about it.
out of 40 user reviews
This thing rocks!
Pros: It's very much like a UMPC but for much less and actually runs smoother, faster. Plus, every program out of 100's that you can download for it are 100% free except Navicore's GPS program.
Cons: The OS has gone through 3 revisions since its release making Flash movie watching much better but not perfect.... yet. I sometimes wish the 320MHz processor was double but, I guess its a good balance
out of 40 user reviews
Handy device for portable internet access
Pros: Fast and Clear
Cons: sensitive touch screen
This device surfs pretty fast considering it's size. I am very happy with my new toy.
out of 40 user reviews
The coolest gadget I have ever owned
Pros: The N800 is fast, reliable, sleek, has a beautiful screen, and keeps me online anytime I need it.
Cons: Pricey, doesn't support all media extentions (that I know of), no built in calendar
out of 40 user reviews
Improved since early reviews
Pros: Small, pretty, easy connection to Wi-Fi
Cons: No easy .doc file editing, no text to speech or speech to text
There was a wonderful Xircom computer, the Rexx 6000, available back before 2000, that actually fit in your wallet with your credit cards (and I actually carried it there). This is the closest in modern technology to approach the Rexx 6000 standard. I'm happy. The camera is nifty but seems more or less worthless to me; maybe a better one will become available as a replacement.
New applications are beginning to become available literally every day, because this is a Linux-based computer. Today, for example, a workable version of Xchat was posted. The trouble with Linux, as usual is compatibility -- Audible books can't be played on this device (unless you use Orb or something similar to stream it from a Windows computer), and Napster doesn't work. I like Linux, so I am prepared to pay the price, but I would really like speech-to-text like Dragon NaturallySpeaking on a device like this; then I could talk instead of writing. Speaking of writing, the handwriting recognition eventually starts working; in the meantime you can use the tiny touchscreen keyboard and it works fairly quickly considering.
People say that you can get something similar with a cell phone -- perhaps so, but a cell phone costs a monthly fee. This costs about $400 and then all you need to do is be in range of a usable WiFi hotspot. This also has phone capabilities (Skype is said to be coming, and Google and Jabber are already there) but I haven't succeeded in getting them to work yet.
And a recent discovery: it also comes with an FM radio!
out of 40 user reviews
Awesome and Open
Pros: It's open sourced so applications are free. Constantly improving with software developement. Meets Basic computer internet needs.
Cons: No Still Image capture yet from webcam. Calendar Application not included, but can be installed.
A Few Things I don't Like:
I didn't like how by default there wasn't a calendar application installed. I know this is a internet tablet and not necessarily a PDA device, but the application exists and has been ported already. Why not include it. Also as of right now there's no easy way to capture still images from the WebCam. Also playing youtube is dog slow. However, there are work arounds by using orb2. Also it's rumored that they are working on internet video play back to be smoother.
Some of What I do Like:
I Like how it's based on Linux and Gnome but doesn't feel like Linux. It feels like a Internet tablet. It's funny how "techs" review it and mention nothing about it being Linux, Why? Because you can't really tell. Now I like Linux don't get me wrong but at times Linux can get confusing to a non-tech person, that's where Nokia has excelled Linux in this instance. I also like the resolution of 800x480. You can place your web pages in full screen mode and see the whole page. If the text is to small for you there's an option to zoom in. By accident I dropped mine on the concrete the 3rd day I had it and I picked it back up and all was well. It's light but seems durable. It's also kinda cool that it fits in cases made for the Nintendo DS and the PSP. The N800 isn't really meant to be a PDA and can't sync, but there's application's available to use it as a PDA and with it's two SD slots you can easily transfer files to and from your computer. This device is still a mystery. There's a USB-to-Go chip on it's main board that hasn't been utilized in any way yet along with a FM Radio that Nokia just released a application for. I comes with great innovations like the option to be able to use one of your SD or MMC cards as extra system memory. If this is a route Nokia plans to go with there Mobile devices I can't wait to see what's next!
Sites Related:
http://maemo.org/
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/
out of 40 user reviews
Good for Internet not Multimedia
Pros: Great Wifi to Surf, Decent E-mail and Google Talk, Great Resolution, Removable Media, Linux Based
Cons: Lacks Power to Play Divx Properly, Doesn't Natively Support Divx
out of 40 user reviews
Quick summary: awesome device, steep price
Pros: This is a very portable, very capable tablet computer
Cons: The price seems steep because it is not discounted like a cell phone and it costs more than used laptops.
Nokia added pen support like palm, and I prefer that to their on-screen keyboard. The bluetooth keyboard support is cool.
All in all, this is preferable to the iPhone, it's just too bad it isn't catching on. This is the second PC that I really need: perfect for checking out sports scores, weather and blogging. I don't need PDA functions like a Palm, there are online services for that.
I'd say that these devices are TOO small, and that tablet PCs are just waaay too much. Since we have wifi access, why do we need hard drives and disc drives? Someday, someone will find the sweet spot between the two so I can ditch the magazines in my bathroom.
out of 40 user reviews
Beyond the iPhone?
Pros: Webcam, Open source, Voip/sip, widespread
Cons: Typical Internet tablet sluggishness; Does it beat the iPhone?
out of 40 user reviews
Perfect for me
Pros: Great screen, web browser and wifi range.
Cons: No accessories yet
theirs) The web browser is fast and the look
is just like my PC. The key board is easy to use, although I find the touch screen a little touchy. I like the fact that they ship the unit with 2 stylists. I do not need
all the functions of a pda. I purchased a Palm TX 6 months ago for its wifi and portability but the N800 is way way better.
out of 40 user reviews
a vast improvement over the 770
Pros: small, has a built in web cam, beautiful screen, bluetooth and wireless support, stand
Cons: doesn't have a hardware keyboard (just a touchscreen one like in the picture), not a very good wi-fi antenna, usb slave mode only
