Is this the successor to the Nokia N800?

Just when we're in full-on video game mode, along comes a friendly tipster with some shots of the supposed successor to Nokia's N800 Internet Tablet that snap us out of our daze and remind us that there's more to life than Xboxes and PlayStations. No specs are available yet, but we can tell just by looking at this device that the Finnish giant has been listening to user gripes and thrown in a retractable QWERTY keyboard -- a move that will surely win this product line its share of converts. We'll keep our ear to the ground for more details, but until then you can enjoy a few more pics after the break...

Gallery: Is this the successor to the Nokia N800?

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[Dave (Kaido) @ Jul 10th 2007 7:31PM]

It looks like an AT&T 8525...

[Martin @ Jul 10th 2007 8:44PM]

Do you even HAVE an 8525? It doesn't look anything like it other than the sliding keyboard. I know because I ACTUALLY HAVE ONE.

[xRah @ Jul 10th 2007 7:39PM]

The buttons and controls need to be removed from the keyboard, and the keyboard expanded to the full size of the slide-out section, so that the device can still be controlled and placed on a stand easily when being used with a bluetooth keyboard.

[Amir @ Jul 10th 2007 7:57PM]

Good call. It looks like it'd be awkward w/ your right hand having access to more letters than your left. But I'd still buy one.

[snobo @ Jul 10th 2007 9:25PM]

if these are machined parts, then it's a little late for a change like that. but, maybe it's for a model. or, better yet, maybe this is a chinese product that's branding itself as nokia. haha!

[Kent Pribbernow @ Jul 10th 2007 8:00PM]

Ah, so Nokia is looking to HTC for inspiration now? What they really need to do is dump Maemo Linux and flash the thing with Windows instead. Not that I particularly love Windows, but out of the box the N800 is only useful for basic web browsing and little else. I've played with one several times and it offers very little practical functionality. More like a brain-dead PDA. As a UMPC it might be handy for basic application access and familiarity.

But as with the UMPC, this product is little more than a toy for geeks. And not even a very good one at that.

[Al @ Jul 10th 2007 8:08PM]

Windows? Ew yuck. I'd much rather see Nokia get permission to use OSX, and I hate the iPhone!

[tickle-me-silly @ Jul 10th 2007 8:09PM]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahah............
most amusing comment so far.

[Ryan @ Jul 10th 2007 9:54PM]

If you haven't used Maemo fulltime, you don't have a clue about it's real abilities. Yes, the device is pretty much useless for more than web browsing out-of-the-box, but 3rd party apps are where the device really gets its strength. GPS with cached google maps, mplayer, Real Rhapsody, Skype, Gizmo, Doom, Quake II, ebook reader, bash, x11 (server and viewer), mame, ScummVM, etc. All of those are 3rd party progarms that you have to install yourself. Having a Debian computer in your pocket is the greatest thing I can imagine.

[Mike Klein @ Jul 10th 2007 9:58PM]

Speak not when you know not.

The N800 isn't meant for JoeQPublic. It is for network administrators, security researchers and linux users/hackers...at the moment. Perhaps in another year it will satisfy you.

It is trivial to install Ruby On Rails, Metasploit, gps mapping, j2me, osgi stack, python with bt support, on and on.

It's a very useful tool...lack of cellular and keyboard not withstanding.

[Rich @ Jul 11th 2007 6:05AM]

Full blown Windows would kill the battery in two seconds.

Windows Mobile doesn't have a single browser as good as the N800's.

Just accept the N800 as what it is - an internet communication device. Web, IM, VOIP and streaming media.

The battery lasts for 6 hours when using VOIP. My last Windows Mobile device could manage 2 hours. I dread to think what Windows XP could cope with.

[ScOObyDoo @ Jul 10th 2007 8:04PM]

I'm guessing the lack of phone buttons means there is STILL no GSM radio in it...

[OMG-ur-right! @ Jul 10th 2007 8:21PM]

and there's no optical drive, I guess it still can't play DVDs

lack of joystick, can't play games!

lack of heating element, can't make coffee or cook dinner!

damn, this thing is lame!

[ScOObyDoo @ Jul 10th 2007 8:30PM]

@OMG-ur-an-idiot...

The lack of connectivity besides BT and Wifi is what made the original end up at Woot and Buy for a third of the original selling price.

That, and the fact that it sucked.

I'm amazed Nokia is still spending R&D money on these devices.

[UR-so-totally-right! @ Jul 10th 2007 8:38PM]

totally agree!

this thing sucks so much I am actually it as a vacuum cleaner! Nokia should like, totally merge with Hoover!

yeah, selling at a third of the original price after the upgrade came out, how totally lame! that totally never ever happens to any other electonic stuff! yeah!

[eas @ Jul 11th 2007 4:06PM]

Nokia has to tread lightly with respect to an open WiFi enabled cellular device that can run VoIP apps. Cell carriers aren't going to be in love with such a device, and Nokia has a hell of a lot of existing business (both handsets and network infrastructure) that could be at risk if they piss them off. The companion device approach gives them more room to manouver. If they can rely on early adopters to help them while the polish the feature set and build a software ecosystem, then they'll be in a much stronger position. Especially since now the iPhone probably has carriers looking for leverage in negotiating with Apple.

Apple could play hardball with carriers regarding various aspects of the iPhone, to the extent they did, because they didn't have existing business with the carriers that was at risk.

[Johan S @ Jul 10th 2007 8:19PM]

IIRC, the N800 wasn't a phone for some reason.

Anyway, I wonder if the browser can render at a higher resolution and then be zoomable/scroll-about-able like the iPhone's is.

If it's a phone (and it better be), it must support live video share, have integrated GPS, over 4GB storage .. AND cost under $300 if it wants to compete with iPhone.

[Al @ Jul 10th 2007 9:00PM]

The processor should be on par, if not faster, than the iPhone. Webkit is open source so I wouldn't be surprised if the browser felt like Safari.

I hope it has GPS built in as well.

The N800 currently supports 2 card slots and can currently fit 16 gigs in there. This successor needs to keep that support if not 1 up it.

[VinodLive @ Jul 12th 2007 3:15AM]

The WebKit is no iPhone Safari - really - iPhone could render (though read-only), the Google-Docs. I tried with http://docs.google.com/?browserok=true on my WebKit based E61 browser, but no result.

[Vu @ Jul 10th 2007 8:21PM]

random thought but the phone that took the pictures is a Nokia 6103, i think.

[TrueDis @ Jul 10th 2007 8:21PM]

Interesting considering the Nokia CEO said they would never ever put a keyboard on the N800 when they were developing it. I guess he changed his mind for the next iteration. Now if they can just make the software suck less...

[PEZ @ Jul 10th 2007 9:28PM]

If tehre is one thing Nokia can do is screw up a keyboard.

[Firebird @ Jul 10th 2007 9:03PM]

The software isn't really that bad, and open source suits these devices very well. They are too small to be able to run full windows reasonably, all umpcs are much bigger and are at a much higher price point than nokia's internet tablets. People need to stop comparing these things to the iPhone, seriously, that is not what they are designed for. Out of the box they arnt particularly useful for much except browsing the internet, getting email, and listening to internet radio. If you spend some time with yours you would be surprised how much you can get the tiny little cheap device to do thanks to it's maemo linux os. Frankly I'm not sure they are meant to be exactly useful. With work they can make great tools for a variety of things, but frankly they are exactly what they say they are. An internet tablet. A small thing with an excellent screen boasting an 800x600 screen res that punks the iphone's screen, and yes, the browser is zoomable, it has been since the now $130 nokia 770. Bash it all you want, but its a fun little thing and it has come in handy for me several times when I want to jump on the internet but can't be effed to drag along a laptop. This new one, if it is a new one, is rather ugly though. Hope they clean it up.

[snobo @ Jul 10th 2007 10:27PM]

i have to say, i have an N800 - i think it's quite lame. the browsing experience is a pain. after seeing what browsing on the iphone is like, i have to say... i want THAT. that's all i wanted, a good browsing experience. the screen is great, but the UI is crap. they shoulda thought through at least having hardware buttons on both sides of the screen. come on! sad. i know people keep saying this, but thank god for apple's iphone. not because that's exactly what i want, but it should make EVERY company double think it's user experience. maybe we'll have less engineers designing devices for themselves, and more designers designing phones for real people.

[Ryan @ Jul 10th 2007 10:46PM]

I've been a Nokia IT-series user since day 1 of the 770 and 1 day early on the N800 and I've loved both devices so much that I've purchased 2nd units of each. The browsing experience is far and away much better than the iPhone's for two reasons: firstly, the huge number of extra pixels on the Nokia and secondly, the horrendous text rendering speed when zooming on the iPhone. There's an iPhone in my house that I've been using quite regularly and, while it's a work of engineering genius and the interface is a thing of beauty, the browsing experience just doesn't stack up against the N800.

What I really like about these devices is the aspect of having easy access to the internet in your pocket, without having to lug a laptop around and on a much greater level than any Palm, PocketPC or other Smartphone device. Plus, it's Linux and I can SSH into my home machine. ;)

[Mike Klein @ Jul 10th 2007 10:04PM]

Only way I can think of improving the N800 is usb charging, more bt profile support (a2dp, avrcp), slideout keyboard, wwan radio and double-size battery options...current battery is very tiny but does yield 4-7 hour life.

I would also like to see a 2-way consumer infrared port on it like the PepperPad3 has...but this ain't happening. FIR/SIR can go to hell.

[Al @ Jul 10th 2007 11:28PM]

Infrared has me thinking:
This thing could be super awesome if it could double as a universal remote control.

[Mike Klein @ Jul 10th 2007 11:39PM]

The CIR on PP3 is flawless...I own one. Records 99% of codes I ask it to learn and blasts WIDE the signal...it will turn off tv even if I point it backwards. CIR is less directional than FIR/SIR.

With the oh-so sweet Canola/etc on N800...yeah a universal remote to round things out w/be sweet.

The N800 is most definitely not targeted as living room device...PP3 is.

[ken @ Nov 14th 2007 3:21PM]

Would the FIR/SIR on the N800 work properly if you used a Leapfrog IR repeater or the like?
I've got a Palm TX that I'd like to replace but it looks like the universal remote aspect is still missing from the N800.

[Locus @ Jul 10th 2007 10:28PM]

It needs to have everything you could possibly have on a mobile device (at the time of release) Price is obvioiusly gonna be restrictive to some,

Why tf does every thing have to be compared to the iphone now?

Nokia do make a device that costs

[darkstar @ Jul 10th 2007 11:22PM]

im still using palm OS. why? because of the financial software i use... time value, amortization...etc.

i have yet to get the n800 cause i havent seen a financial calculator soft for it. have u seen one?

[silpol @ Sep 11th 2007 4:02PM]

http://www.icewalkers.com/scrshot/2068/
Gcalctool with minimal update might help

[noah @ Jul 10th 2007 11:59PM]

I assume some sort of multi-touch (no need for stylus) with the physical keyboard for heavy chatting & productivity apps. I like it! Let's just hope they're using KHTML/WebKit for a browser and not another version of Opera.

[gerbick @ Jul 11th 2007 2:45AM]

I don't think a fixed camera is an upgrade from the N800's camera. Nor do I think adding a keyboard is a good evolutionary step.

Oh well... maybe the N800 will end up on woot.com and be 140 bucks or so. My 770 is getting a bit long in tooth.

And Maemo... I'm sorry. It's a quite nice, and open system.

[Matt @ Jul 11th 2007 6:59AM]

About two weeks ago I reviewed N800 (I was offered test unit via WOM World). I have to say I do like the device. I used Nokia BT keyboard with it and it was quite fine but a slide out keyboard was something that I felt was missing. WAN radio in it would be a Saviour so I can hope this one will have one in built. I did not have much time to review the unit (family emergency) but the time I had with it was all fun and the battery life was quite amazing for such a tiny piece. I was browsing the web for three hours or so almost non stow (via WiFi) and still had two bars left to go. Check out the brief review at http://www.symbiosis60.com

[mrben @ Jul 11th 2007 8:15AM]

Well - I just got an N800 at the weekend, and personally I love it. But then - I am a bit of a Linux geek. Put a load of new software on there already - including the mapper, scummvm for some point 'n' click badness, ukmp for a fullscreen media player, and a few other utilities.

The keyboard is lacking a bit, although the fullscreen thumbkeyboard (and the proper detection of when you're using fingers and when you're using the stylus) is pretty good. Not sure I'd use it for writing letters or anything ;)

It's not a phone, and it's not a PDA. It's kind of a PMP with internet.

[roc ingersol @ Jul 11th 2007 2:37PM]

Screw the physical keyboard. The landscape thumbboard on the n800 is fine. Add that fancy proximity spell-check that the iPhone does (weighting misspellings toward nearby keys) and it'd be perfect. As is, the landscape thumbboard is superior to apple's portrait keypad; I just figure Apple will add proper landscape keyboarding before long. And pass the n800 due their more effective spell-corrector.

And who the hell thinks browsing is -better- on the iphone? Are you mad? iphone browsing is obnoxious: zooming in and out again and sidescrolling all over the place? Ugh. Contrary to what steve jobs has to say: the 'real' internet is not 480 pixels wide, flash-free, and subdivided into neat little div containers for apple's convenience.

The iphone is cute, and the UI is leagues ahead of the n800.
But if i need to get things done the n800 is the way to go.

[Peter Tripp @ Jul 13th 2007 2:14AM]

"Nokia has to tread lightly with respect to an open WiFi enabled cellular device that can run VoIP apps. Cell carriers aren't going to be in love with such a device"

Like what, the entire E-Series that has SIP clients? Or the n80 with project Gizmo? Yes, they can't make every phone include a SIP client, but it certainly didn't stop them from selling the E70 (Qwerty + Wifi + 3G (Europe only)) and fully supporting IP telephony.

Also, hardball? We'll see how open the iphone is in a year... but for now with no tethering; required activation; no mp3 ringtones; no 3rd party apps; no push email; no VOIP; no games; SIM locked to one carrier (2yrs!). All ways Nokia doesn't cripple their $600 phones. Not that the iphone isn't cool, but the only concessions Apple's "hardball" got out of ATT was at home activation and visual voicemail.

Also these communicators (n800/770) need a GSM radio like a hole in the head. Why would you want to pay for a second data plan when you could just tether to your current phone and share it's data plan, then upgrade your phone if you want faster service (or a different provider).

[Seth @ Jul 20th 2007 4:41PM]

Another down on the physical keyboard...especially if they're making it QWERTY?!!

Good gawd, when are we going to get out of the typing stone-age. The least they could do if they insist on including a physical keyboard would be to make it dvorak, or at least make that an option and include a pack of stickers to relable the keys.

[Jeff @ Jul 26th 2007 12:50PM]

I'm a happy user of the thumbboard. I'm sure the Nokia guys have a lot of requests for a physical keyboard, so I can understand that.

What I can't understand is why they would move the 5-way nav and menu buttons away from their convenient position under my left thumb. Putting them down there makes it so you *have* to use the slide-out keyboard, and there are plenty of times I don't. Move them back up to the device body, and break the stupid "Fn+" numpad out into actual keys. The presence of a "Ctrl" key is odd...I haven't had any use for control keys so far, and I doubt I will in the near future.

I like the N800, especially the openness of Maemo and the new Mozilla browsing engine. I hope Nokia's n800 successor gets a little more airtime as an iPhone competitor.

[Matt Newhall @ Jul 27th 2007 7:01PM]

Dear Nokia

Please please please do not force users to pull the keyboard out for basic controls. Keep the buttons that are on the device now off any extendable keypad and on the body of the device. It´s fine if you extend the touchscreen to the edge to include them.

Work on batt life to CPU speed, memory and software stability.

I use my n800 with a full size bluetooth and a stand. Check out the URL for pictures.

http://thickerthanbloodthebook.com/research/770/

[Travis @ Sep 8th 2007 8:53PM]

Where did these pictures come from??
I hope that the price is resonable because the only thing that kept me from buying the nokia n800 was its price. Also, is it touch screen or is everyone just assuming it is?

[TD @ Sep 8th 2007 8:54PM]

camera??

[AlmostDone @ Sep 16th 2007 3:01PM]

The onscreen keyboard does a fairly good job. All it needs is the iPhone proximity thingy mc'bobby. :) The slightly anooying thing about the thumb board it doesn't have numberic keys so I'm having to do extra work everytime I want to type a number.

[reza saeedi @ Jan 23rd 2008 9:07AM]

dear sir or madam,
with greeting,
i live in iran.i need to have a nokia mobile n99,but i do not know how i can buy one.so i would be grateful if you be kind enough to direct me how i can?because i have searched many websites but i haven't succeeded in finding any shops.
meanwhile,i have to say it's still not available in iran.
best whishes,
reza saeedi from iran