Nokia N800 Portable Internet Tablet

I'd love to give the n800 5 stars but I can't because you just plain have to fart around too much getting it to do what you want. If you buy it for it's intended purpose (web tablet) it's excellent and definitely worth 5 stars. But why buy a device like this just to surf the web when it's so expandable? If surfing the web and playing music is what you're after then by an ipod touch as it's a much more polished device.

If you add some software you can do much more. My favorites are Maemopad+, Canola (with youtube plugin!), GPE office suit and Erminig to sync to google calender, FBreader to read ebooks, Gourmet Recipe Manager, Maemo audo recorder, Streamtuner (for internet radio stations), FM radio (take that Apple), Skype, Maemo Mapper, Pidgin (IM client that does AIM, MSN, Yahoo, google etc..), Wizard mounter (gives me access to remote network shares) and gpodder (RSS news feed reader.

Yes you have to actually install most of this and no it's never going to be as smooth and polished as an Apple device but still can you do all of this with an itouch? No.

What I'd like to see is Nokia add all of this functionality and make it all work together seamlessly. Dare I say as good as Apple?

Overall I find my n800 indispensable in daily life as it handles all my PDA stuff, Media player and internet tasks. If it were all integrated I'd give it 5 stars and recommend it to everyone.

Oh, as soon as you get it upgrade to the 2008 firmware and get some flash memory. I have 32 GB in mine because my intended purpose was to replace my ipod video. Now I'd never be able to go back to watching videos on a 2.5 inch screen.

received the little thing, the setup was easy, got hooked up to my 6263 and access 3G in 10 minutes
the reason why I get this pda because I need a functional realplayer
but I am surprised how work well on the web browser, it can display desktop style html with flash! (and regular youtube too), but flash adversely slown down the operation (it looks almost crash when loading speedtest.net)
the streaming player is decent, supports streaming realaudio, mp3, and aac (OS2008 also supports 3gp and mobile youtube)
OS2007 browser is based on Opera Mobile 8.5, which also supports WAP and XHTML, OS2008, however, is based on Firefox, which DOES NOT support WAP and XHTML
browser loads rather fast on wifi and 3G, but I want to keep WAP support because html loading is painfully slow on EDGE
it has basic PIM function, but it won't sync with Outlook, email sucks, it merge several mailboxes into a single Inbox, which is hard to manage incoming mail
audio player is fine, but be aware if you want ogg vorbis support, the ogg component doesn't work and don't install it, it supports SD-HC but I found it can't write on 16GB card, while read from the card is fine, lack of bt a2dp is another minus, though OS2008 supports HSP/HFP
it does not have any document or spreadsheet editor as it's internet-oriented device
the screen is HUGE WVGA screen (800x480), that it looks pretty good on fonts, even better than HP211, but it's pretty difficult to read outdoors
the control buttons are pretty simple, a d-pad, back/stop, menu, +/-, full screen, power buttons
later version of OS2007 and OS2008 have different touch keyboard, which can use numeric easily, but the keys gets smaller, the touch screen is pretty sensitive, even you worry to break the screen
this unit is kinda power hungry, with 1500mA/h battery (same as E61), I can play streaming audio continously for 4 hours through bt, compared with HP211, which can go 7 hours; wifi kills battery, I only get 2 hours of streaming over wifi
plus:
2 standard SD card slots, supports SD-HC
WVGA screen
desktop style browser
easy to operate
supports streaming real, mp3, aac+ (and 3gp with OS2008)
minus:
no bt a2dp (both OS2007 and OS2008)
lack of WAP/XHTML support (OS2008)
kinda bulky (maybe a tradeoff of WVGA)
very bad cam (alot of noise even under bright enviornment)
email management is lacking
conclusion: if you want it to have internet-based application (mostly html and streaming) and IM, this machine is pretty promising, however, don't expect it can do anything else
side note: this machine is based on Maemo Linux, which is Debian like

The Nokia N800 is a life-changing device. It is probably the best electronic item I ever purchased. It cannot be compared to the iPhone or iTouch, because it is so much more: a laptop, an ideal portable stereo system with very good speakers, an ebook reader and a multimedia device for movies, all in one little gadget. It provides so many ways to listen to music (e.g. Rhapsody, internet radio, more than 5 MP3 applications) that it makes you wonder why would anyone one care for iPods and iPhones, which are full of unnecessary limitations, especially for music lovers who enjoy variety. In addition, for Linux users - like me - the Nokia completely replaces a bulky laptop when pairing it with an external bluetooth keyboard. On most of my trips I am now carrying my Nokia instead of my laptop, because I can do there all the little tasks just as well, like email, document writing, call my family with WiFi phone applications like Skype, listen to music, read ebooks, online shopping, etc. For only $220 it is the best mini laptop and multimedia device on the market.

I'm very pleased with my N800. I wanted a small device to surf the web and this certainly delievers. Certian things run slow and can get annoying, but overall a solid product for the price.

This little wonder tablet just really works well for its intended purpose which is providing you the best ultra portable mobile browsing experience available.

It runs the wonderful new OS2008 and there are 185+ free applications you can easily load at maemo.org for the N800. The Skype client works great and I received a coupon in my box for 3 months of free calling in the USA and Canada to any phone. The free Vegalume Last.fm client works really nice. Sound through the included stereo speakers is crisp and clear. It is not room filling, but is very adequate on a desk or bedside. I use mine on my desk at work and also on the night stand before going to sleep. You can also use the nice included headphones or hook it up to your amplified speakers with a stereo cable. The N800 is worth its price alone for the ability to stream audio content so easily in any location.

The built-in stereo FM radio tuner works very well and it can download all the station presets for your area from the Web. You can listen to your local stations anywhere you go. No WiFi needed for this feature.

You can add gobs of extra memory to this unit as it has 2 standard SD memory card slots. I put 2 8GB cards in mine and wow do I have the room to store stuff.

The screen is gorgeous and bright and photos look great.

The Web browsing experience is wonderful and puts my iphone browser to shame. It is truly the best browsing experience you will get on any small device.

So what are you waiting for ? If you want a very high quality tablet in both hardware and software you need the N800.