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Nokia N810 – What’s it for?

Nokia Europe - Nokia N810 - ProductsI’ve been playing with an N810 for a week or so and I’m confused… I’d been itching to get one of Nokia’s internet tablets for a while – it’s flexibility and hackability appealed – especially when the N800 price dropped after the N810 launch, but now I have one to try I’m a bit confused what it’s for…

Out of the box it does web and e-mail via WiFi or bluetooth to a mobile phone (no phone bits in it you see), but when I’m in WiFi range I’m typically at a laptop and when I’m not one of my mobiles can generally offer access to that information more quickly. The larger screen is nice, but I’m not sure I’d want to carry another device just for that – especially when the iPhone’s browser does a better job in a smaller space.

So apart from the hacking side of things I’m at a loss… surely that market isn’t large enough to sustain a whole range of devices?

Do you have one? What did you buy it for? What do you use it for?

11 COMMENTS

  1. I've got an N770 and an N800.

    After some initial geekery (Skype works well, as does the streaming radio player), I now don't know what for either.

    The eeePC wipes the floor with it. Maybe between micro PC's and the iPhone, it's a dead duck segment?

    /m

  2. Get an iGo stoway bluetooth keyboard and it's a laptop replacement. Particularly good for conferences. Install joikuspot on your S60 wifi enabled device and you have a portable wifi router to connect to anywhere you are. There's an emulator for Palms Garnet OS, giving you access to a potential 3,500 odd extra applications. Use some media server software and stream last.fm, FM radio, whatever you'd like across your home or office network. Video streaming within Canola is good, especially for cartoons – family guy etc. It's a perfect in front of the telly device, giving you instant and access to rotten tomatoes or wikipedia. It also fits in your pocket. Skype, Gizmo Project give you great VOIP access. All in all the tablet N range after N770 fits my needs exactly, I dont really need a laptop now, and I Use it *all* the time.

  3. well I have a N800 and use it instead of a laptop really – rss,skype,email etc .Just dont want to have to carry a bag around with me.
    But I did get it before microlaptops etc – also it was only

  4. I can vouch for Alfie's iGo/N800-ness. Certainly impressed me at the Mobile Web 2.0 Summit.

    Also – there's a strong community out there for this device (And the N800).
    Ask around, there's a lot of things you can do with it.

    I've considered getting one a number of times…

  5. It is for lying on your back. I have the earlier 770. You got it, the screen is the killer app on this deevice. It has an 800 pixel screen giving you fully rendered websites unlike smartphones. It is silent and doesn't heat your thighs like a laptop. Essentially it is the perfect device for reading long stories on the web — at wi-fi speeds or Bluetoothed to your phone — on your back in bed or on the sofa — unlike a clamshell laptop where the keyboard gets in the way. I have used mine daily for a couple of years now.

  6. It is for lying on your back. I have the earlier 770. You got it, the screen is the killer app on this device. It has an 800 pixel screen giving you fully rendered websites unlike smartphones. It is silent and doesn’t heat your thighs like a laptop. Essentially it is the perfect device for reading long stories on the web — at wi-fi speeds or Bluetoothed to your phone — on your back in bed or on the sofa — unlike a clamshell laptop where the keyboard gets in the way. I have used mine daily for a couple of years now.

  7. Can't believe that I forgot to mention that it has also REPLACED BOOKS for me. I have about 5GB of books in HTML/PDF format, pretty much everything I've ever read and mostly any new books that come out. Because you can dim the screen its the perfect reading device for bed as you dont keep your partner up, and you find yourself reading a lot more because of it. My sister reads a lot of fanfic and in fact books on her PC, I can't do it; there's something *wrong* with reading on the PC – psychologically its “work” space, micro attention, Do Things device. The N800/810/770 even *feels* right because of it's size. If you're a big reader it's worth getting one of these *just* for that functionality, seriously.

  8. I also have a n770 and n800. I use them on the subway when I get no internet access to read books (fbreader), news, watch tv shows (mplayer), play music etc. Often I am standing up so a laptop would suck. 2 x 16 GB SD cards

    Mainly use is as a reader. Otherwise I use Blackberry or for a small laptop I use a used IBM Thinkpad X24 with an older version of ubuntu. It does play a role as a mid device that I can stick in my pocket and not worry too much about the battery.

  9. Reading/writing emails, web browsing, RSS streams, showing photos to friends, taking notes at meetings and press conferences, skype calls, listening to the radio… I do lots of things on my N800!

    It's small enough to fit in my (tiny!) handbag, it goes with me wherever I travel. A laptop requires its own bag, plus various accessories, this one just slips into a pocket or handbag. And it uses the same charger as my phone, so I save space in my luggage. On trips I use it to check photos I've taken, since the N800 has a screen which is far better and bigger than the one on my camera. Writing emails and notes is easier on the N800 than on my phone, thanks to the qwerty keyboard.

    To be fair, it's not as efficient as a laptop, but on the other hand it's only 100+ grams and I prefer to browse web pages on my N800 rather than on the tiny screen of my phone.

    The day I can buy a Sony Ericsson Xperia or a HTC Touch Pro I might not need my N800 anymore. But until that, I'll stick to my beloved N800!

  10. Reading/writing emails, web browsing, RSS streams, showing photos to friends, taking notes at meetings and press conferences, skype calls, listening to the radio… I do lots of things on my N800!

    It's small enough to fit in my (tiny!) handbag, it goes with me wherever I travel. A laptop requires its own bag, plus various accessories, this one just slips into a pocket or handbag. And it uses the same charger as my phone, so I save space in my luggage. On trips I use it to check photos I've taken, since the N800 has a screen which is far better and bigger than the one on my camera. Writing emails and notes is easier on the N800 than on my phone, thanks to the qwerty keyboard.

    To be fair, it's not as efficient as a laptop, but on the other hand it's only 100+ grams and I prefer to browse web pages on my N800 rather than on the tiny screen of my phone.

    The day I can buy a Sony Ericsson Xperia or a HTC Touch Pro I might not need my N800 anymore. But until that, I'll stick to my beloved N800!

  11. Reading/writing emails, web browsing, RSS streams, showing photos to friends, taking notes at meetings and press conferences, skype calls, listening to the radio… I do lots of things on my N800!

    It's small enough to fit in my (tiny!) handbag, it goes with me wherever I travel. A laptop requires its own bag, plus various accessories, this one just slips into a pocket or handbag. And it uses the same charger as my phone, so I save space in my luggage. On trips I use it to check photos I've taken, since the N800 has a screen which is far better and bigger than the one on my camera. Writing emails and notes is easier on the N800 than on my phone, thanks to the qwerty keyboard.

    To be fair, it's not as efficient as a laptop, but on the other hand it's only 100+ grams and I prefer to browse web pages on my N800 rather than on the tiny screen of my phone.

    The day I can buy a Sony Ericsson Xperia or a HTC Touch Pro I might not need my N800 anymore. But until that, I'll stick to my beloved N800!

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