Nokia N800 hands-on

We're sure you're bored to tears of this thing by now, what with all the spy shots, unboxing pics and specs we've been running by you. But if you have room in your heart for just a little bit more Nokia N800 love, we've spotted this thing live and in person at Digital Experience, and all the pics are after the break for your perusal. Or you could just head over to CompUSA, but it's your call.

We're not sure how Mr. SquarePants found his way onto the back of this thing, but he sure does seem to liven up the place.

[Manny @ Feb 28th 2008 9:45PM]

No the Verizon USB720 broadband modem will not work with the N800. It has a mini usb port which is only to synch with a PC. If it were a true USB they would have CD's and DVD's running from it. I have a Verizon USB broadband modem and bought the N800 because the gal at tech support said if it has a usb it will work on the N800. I have been given wrong info by At&t and Verizon so I have to be fair about it. Before I bought the N800 I called everyone and talked to them. The Data Media Net that At&t people said would work with N800 doesn't. Now that I have bought the tablet I have to upgrade to their Pda plus tethering plan which is $65.00 with a 5000MB cap. I pay less than that for the Unlimited Broadband USB modem. Then you have unlimited PDA plan for $35.00 but the tech said it won.t work with the N800 without tethering. Unless I can come up with a way to make this work I am taking the tablet back. To bad. It is a beautiful device. It can do GPS and there is a lot of Linux free software that runs on it. Beautiful music as well. I even like it without headphones. It is a small quiet sound but clear and pleasing.

I wrote to Nokia and they put the burden on your provider. Such a beautiful device and Nokia is putting the noose around the N800 and kicking the chair out. Without giving some kind of universal support they are making unhappy customers. Read the blogs on some of the other sites and you will see what I mean. Some people are having to put some coding and making some hacks to make the N800 do what we want it to do. I am not going to bother. I will just send it back and send the return receipt to Nokia. I asked for help and they did not give it to me.

I am reading all the posts I can find before I decide what to do. Someone may have an answer. One of these items will be going back.

[Amy @ Mar 19th 2008 6:57AM]

Hey there-

Background: I live 9 months out of the year in New York traveling
frequently in the metro area, and I spend about 3 months a year in
New Zealand. I do a lot of international calling. I am a heavy user
of Skype, email, messaging, Zoho (Cloud apps), Rhapsody, and would
love to have GPS bc I travel.

Can I use a triband bluetooth-enabled phone as modem for the N810?
What would you suggest? I dont need anything fancy phone-wise, as
long as it takes a SIM card so I can use the phone in both NY and NZ.

If I got an allyoucaneat mobile broadband EV-DO plan for example, can
I truly use Skype as a cell phone service replacement?

The EV-DO mobile broadband cards seem to all be USB. How can I
intergrate this with an internet tablet such as the N810?

I like to travel light and I'm trying to ditch my laptop and various
cell phone bills... trying to consolidate the bag containing all my
mobile devices (PDA, phone, laptop, MP3 player, 7 different chargers
and all the stupid cables for synching to my laptop)

Tech Religion: I am anti-iPhone and anti-Apple. I prefer open source
solutions to Microsoft.


Thanks!

Amy

P.S. Or should I just wait for Android and see what happens then?

[Marksib @ May 26th 2008 7:41PM]

Hey Amy, u can use your phone as long as is has bluetooth and can operate as a modem. Pair the two and your off..... The N800 works well with Skype on WiFi at least, havent tried others but the thing is so good at connecting to stuff i reckon you wont have trouble. Dont know what tech NZ carriers use for data? I'm a newby with linux but this little machine is a beauty. As long as you can make a connection it will perform as you would expect any computer would (not-with-standing a slight lack of horsepower). If you plan to use it for data (read VOIP &...) then best signup to a dataplan on your mobile...even the cheapest plan will cover casual talk, email and chat. But if you want to download a movie or two better you find an open WiFi hotspot and parkup for awhile!!!

[Jonathan Zencovich @ Jan 8th 2007 9:18AM]

Looking nice. If you guys could find it in your hearts to shoot a video review of this unit, I Would be pleased :)

Pics are nice however, thanks guys!

--Jon Z

[PEZ @ Jan 8th 2007 10:40AM]

Im sure this device does a lot of neat stuff, but the design is uninspiring. Not that it should matter, but it dosnt look like anything I would say "wow, whats that" other than its a Nokia, and I wouldnt mind playing with it for a while - but thats about it.

Whats next? Integrating CELLULAR technology in it? Whoa.

[IOTA @ Jan 8th 2007 11:02AM]

No, PEZ, you don't get it. It is meant to be a companion to, but not competitor with, cell phones. There will never be GSM or CDMA radios.

Laptops are sometimes too large to want to take them out for quick browsing, IMing, or emailing.

Somewhere between the smartphone and laptop.

The only additions that could really helpful would GPS and ~10GB of memory storage.

[Mike Cerm @ Jan 8th 2007 9:50AM]

I'd really like to know what the interface is like. When you're providing near PC-like functionality with so few pixels, it's really easy to muck things up.

Also, is the broswer capable of browsing modern websites with javascript and Flash? I know that Engadget wouldn't suffer this problem, but what percentage of websites use fixed positioning and expect widths of 1024? Scrolling right to read the end of every line would get old fast.

[Nick @ Jan 8th 2007 8:13PM]

Interface/GUI videos/pictures would be appreciated Mr. N800 owner :)

[Bryan @ Jan 8th 2007 10:15AM]

I can't speak for the n800 but since it's the follower to the 770, it's web browsing is probably at LEAST the same functionality...

Which means a modified linux interface (heavily used apps / running apps / a launcher menu on the left). Apps run fullscreen. And the browser was absolutely fantastic. It handled "heavy" pages (like WorldOfWarcraft.com) just fine. Flash was supported up to 7, but I can dream that the n800 gains newer flash support. Java was lacking unfortunately, but javascript/ajax were fine - it's the Opera browser after all...

[Zunguri @ Apr 14th 2007 3:50AM]

I have 8GB in one of mine. More than enough for now.

Best thing is using a VNC client to reach back to a desktop with everything I use on it.

[Jamus @ Jan 8th 2007 5:17PM]

What kind of IM does it offer?

What kind of video conferencing does it offer?

[Earle @ Jan 8th 2007 12:00PM]

http://www.nokiausa.com/internettablet has been updated to show both the old 770 and new N800 tablets. No price reduction on the old 770 yet - the price is still listed at $349...

[John Stracke @ Jan 8th 2007 12:11PM]

So now I know why I was able to buy my 770 for $250...

I'd really like the N800's SD support (buying RS-MMC turns out to be a pain), and maybe its webcam; but not enough to pay another $150.

[The King @ Jan 8th 2007 10:24PM]

Try not to jerk off to my exclusive specs please... ha ha ha ha



N800 Specifications:
Interfaces: WLAN 802.11 b/e/g
Bluetooth Specification 2.0
Nokia AV connector 3.5mm (stereo audio out)
USB 2.0 high speed device mode for PC connectivity
Included applications: Web browser (Opera 8) with Flash Player (v7), RSS feed reader, Internet calling with video, instant messaging, email, media player and internet radio.
Connectivity: Autoconnection to saved Wi-Fi hotspots
Input methods: On-screen keyboard, full-screen finger keyboard and handwriting recognition
Display functions: Zooming, full-screen and panning functionality
Utilities: Application installer, PDF viewer, sketch, file manager, backup/restore and image viewer
Audio formats: AAC, AMR, AWB, M4A, MP2, MP3, RA (RealAudio), WAV, WMA
Video Formats: 3GP, AVI, H263, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, RV (RealVideo)
Display: 800x480 resolution, up to 65,000 colors
Volume 138cc
Weight: 7.3 oz
Length 5.7" x Height 3.0" x Thickness 0.5"
Operation Times: Standby time up to 10 days, browsing time up to 3 hours
Engine: TI OMAP 2420, 330 MHz
Memory: RAM 128MB, Flash 256MB
Memory Card: 2 internal memory card slots compatible with SD, MicroSD, MiniSD, MMC and RS-MMC (supports memory cards up to 2GB)

[Angel Roman @ Jan 8th 2007 4:14PM]

Just picked one up at CompUsa on 57th and Broadway (NYC). Some things I noticed right away. Buttons feel better, the center of gravity has been modified so that it's easy to hold with either the left or right hand (the nokia 770 is heavier on the left side due to battery placement). Response time is as one would expect, it is much faster than 770. E-mail client is faster. YouTube streaming works, somewhat choppy but it works. Thumboard and hand writing recognition are more accurate. Speaker frequency range is much better (maybe due to audio, but I would actually listen to music through them.) Control Panel shows support for external keyboards. CompUsa has them for $399.

[Obelisk @ Jan 8th 2007 7:36PM]

Anyone know if the 800 is able to store RSS feed content offline? The 770 couldn't and that was a realy drag...

[Angel Roman @ Jan 9th 2007 11:31AM]

Nick, http://www.internettablettalk.com/2007/01/08/the-nokia-n800-picture-review/ has a set of nice pictures. It would be hard for me top them. I agree with you, a video would be nice, I'll see if I can get around to it. BTW, nokia.com has a page for the n800 already, you can find more info there.

[Pat @ Jan 25th 2007 1:42PM]

and, an ideal case for the N800 is provided by case logic
as their hard drive case. Available at Staples, $15.

http://www.caselogic.com/compact_portable_hard_drive_case/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=80400

holds the unit and a usb cable.

..pat

[Chris @ Feb 5th 2007 1:35PM]

I take it you have bought this case and it fits the N800? Just want to make sure before I go out and buy it. Do you have the case Logic part number? Thanks

[v-money @ Jan 27th 2007 11:32AM]

I NEED TO KNOW IF THIS THING HAS AIM ON ITT!!!
-it decides weather i buy it or not..
someone pllz respond back

[Will @ Feb 2nd 2007 9:00PM]

v-money,
It has gaim (included I think), so yes. Full list off apps supported here:
http://maemo.org/maemowiki/ApplicationCatalog

[maverickSC @ Feb 2nd 2007 7:54PM]

Anyone know if you can couple this thing with a Verizon broadband USB modem (USB720) and get wireless internet beyond just Wi-Fi?

[bassanov @ Oct 12th 2007 11:13PM]

It would be great if I could use my Sprint Broadband card with this device. Wifi is still not that available in my area.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Oct 29th 2007 10:53PM]

well it has a usb port so probably

[micah360 @ Feb 6th 2007 12:31AM]

It dIt doesn't come with aim. Im using the device to
add to this forum the onscreen thumbboard is fast
and makes texting easier that with the stylus. I
heard that aim and skype are going to be available
as downloads but its linux and if you are coming
from windoz that can be confusing.oesn't come with aim. Im using the device to add to this forum the onscreen thumbboard is fast and makes texting easier that with the stylus. I heard that aim and skype are going to be available as downloads but its linux and if you are coming from windoz tha

[Zunguri @ Apr 16th 2007 1:33PM]

Just install the GAIM port.

[Giovanni @ Feb 7th 2007 12:41PM]

How do you guys think Nokia should market this? What would attract you to buy it and what are the best features of the N800?

[Elliot @ Feb 8th 2007 7:15AM]

I think that they should let me try one! i don't care about a list of spec i want to know if it works well and is good to use and looks as good in the real world as it does in the pictures.

That what they should do.

[Gavin Ng @ Apr 20th 2007 10:50PM]

Can I use GAIM to chat with people with AIM on their desktop computers?

[Jordan @ Jun 28th 2007 8:48PM]

Yes, GAIM lets you talk with people that have AIM on their desktop.

[fondoo @ Jul 9th 2007 1:38PM]

selling my n800:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150140544574

[assabakie @ Oct 2nd 2007 8:25PM]

so cool. but is it true about its keypad like an iPhone?

[dan @ Oct 6th 2007 3:51AM]

does the N800 and N770 support windows based software?

Also does it support bluetooth gps recievers?

wanting to use mainly as a gps car platform...any help would be appreciated. please respons cheers
DAn

[chatterbox @ Oct 13th 2007 3:12PM]

Dan: It does not support Windows based software, however there is a huge application library available for this device.

It does support Bluetooth GPS, there's a navigation kit available for the 770 and the N800.

[Jeff @ Dec 27th 2007 12:53AM]

The Nokia N810 will handle turn-by-turn navigation for cars utilizing Wayfinder Navigator. There are more details at http://gpstekreviews.com/2007/12/27/nokia-810-internet-tablet-gps-enabled-review/

GPS reciever is built in with the Nokia N810.