A few more details confirmed on Nokia's next-gen Internet Tablet

Last week we got a few tid-bits of information on where Nokia is heading with its next round of Internet Tablets and now we're learning a little bit more courtesy of a spy shot taken at the company's Maemo Summit (held over the weekend in fabulous Berlin). The 3G HSPA connectivity and a TI OMAP3 processor mentioned earlier are confirmed, the latter of which will open the door to OpenGL ES 2.0 compatibility for graphics acceleration and, hopefully, alleviate the occasionally stuttery video playback that made the N810 a somewhat less than ideal PMP. Beyond that all we know so far is that it will utilize the company's Maemo 5 OS (Windows 3.1 is right out), will support USB 2.0 (surprise!), and that use of hair-care products at the Summit was apparently optional.

[artie Lange @ Sep 21st 2008 6:15PM]

What need are internet tablets filling that aren't being addressed by laptops or I/smart phones? The tablet's limitations are obvious. What are their advantages?

[Ryan @ Sep 21st 2008 6:21PM]

They're a helluva lot lighter than a laptop and a lot more useful than a smartphone. Duh. ;)

For me, my N800 replaces both the smartphone and the laptop (desktop only, thanks).

[JohnTitor @ Sep 21st 2008 6:24PM]

they call it their own category "Internet Tablet" but really its just a powerful PDA, with the best web browser of any handheld (not couning Skyfire beta) and works a pretty good media player too with Canola2
http://openbossa.indt.org/canola/

[strider_mt2k @ Sep 21st 2008 8:03PM]

To come down on the other side, I've just decided to give a Dell Inspiron Mini 9 a try after a less than satisfying experience with a Nokia N810.

[dennis @ Sep 21st 2008 9:12PM]

There's no need to low rank him for asking a question.

I picked up an N770. The basic idea is that it tries to provide a good HTML compatible browser in an affordable companion device to a (Nokia) phone, using an open source OS. In a sense, the full HTML browsers on smartphones do make the internet tablet less appealing. But Nokia is presenting a reasonable idea: you can have whatever phone you want, and use the Internet Tablet over wifi or Bluetooth for browsing on another device with a larger screen.

They're also trying to frame the Internet Tablet as a MID, with VOIP and video conferencing compatibility. This will be potentially interesting, with 3G networking, as well as the Sprint-WIMAX Internet Tablet.

The device has always been limited for two reasons: the price is supposed to be affordable without a subsidy, which limits the hardware; the lack of a PIM software suite; and the fact that the Internet Tablet is Nokia's only Maemo compatible device.

After seeing Android in action online, I think of the Internet Tablet as a non-phone Android device. Android will address a lot of those problems, and I could see an Android OS / maemo dual boot at some point soon.

[Benson @ Sep 21st 2008 9:13PM]

It's portability; they're much closer to the laptop than smartphone side, but they are pocket-sized. Netbook killers, you could say.

[loosely_coupled @ Sep 21st 2008 10:26PM]

I agree with your sentiments. There's no doubting the cool factory, and perhaps having one around the house would be interesting, but I really can't find the need for one. The iPhone is the perfect PDA/Email device, as well perfect for around-the-house web browsing, reading RSS feeds, and looking up random information like movie times, wikipedia, etc. (I am stuck on verizon, so I have an iPod touch along with a Treo 700W, but the Palm is a pain in the arse to do anything with, so I use the touch for everything but phone calls).

I'm not sure if TabletOS's or whatever webkit browser is as good as iPhone's Safari, but I can see why a larger, higher res screen would be an advantage for browsing. But in my opinion, if I'm doing something that the iPhone can't quit handle (typing documents, etc) then I'd use a laptop or netbook --- a pocket-size Nokia tablet with chiclet keyboard isn't going to cut it -- so it's difficult to see where this would fit in to the mix.

[JohnTitor @ Sep 21st 2008 6:22PM]

finally, graphics acceleration, actually the n800 and n810 have a GPU but its used for the display running at 800x480 res which couldn't be done on the CPU alone, now they need to cut the built in memory crap and bring back the dual SDHC slots from the n800

[Bleck @ Sep 21st 2008 6:58PM]

Hmmm, I am expecting this to be twice or perhaps three times as much as the Pandora.

[Ryan @ Sep 21st 2008 8:08PM]

The Pandora is set for ~$350 USD, you expect this thing to cost between $700 and $1050? Funny.

No, Nokia has made it clear that they're interested in keeping the price reasonable. Somewhere in the ~$500 range.

[Ashraaf, N @ Sep 21st 2008 8:52PM]

Hopefully they built it compatible USB port that can support external hard drive!, so that we can watch movie on it while on the go rather than surfing the web alone....haha (laughing to Ryan who claims it replaces laptop or dekstop). Oh yea, the portable hard disk? yea you can use the IOMEGA eGo Helium i guess http://www.juststorage.blogspot.com

[oZ @ Sep 21st 2008 9:08PM]

Uh, not to let facts get in your way or anything, but the USB port supports host mode, so you can plug in external peripherals.

Just so you know.

[Legodude522 @ Sep 21st 2008 7:30PM]

What are you talking about? The Nokia Internet Tablet first came out in 2005. How would it be an iPhone rip off if they share little in common besides being about to run a web browser. The Internet Tablet's primary functions aren't phone and music.

[DBrim @ Sep 21st 2008 7:32PM]

!

[Kasi Viswanath @ Sep 21st 2008 7:36PM]

When the Nokia N770 came out, the iPhone was probably even not there in the mind of its designers!

[ThreeDee912 @ Sep 21st 2008 8:00PM]

Headshot!

[Gylman @ Sep 21st 2008 8:34PM]

Nokia was way ahead of everyone else with their first internet tablet, but they totally dropped the ball after that. I had the N800, and for its time it was a great pocketable way to browse the internet. Too bad it was so underpowered it couldn't do much else. Then they pretty much did nothing for 2 years, while the whole UMPC / PMP market emerged. They could have owned that market.... too bad, so sad.

[Charbax @ Sep 21st 2008 9:12PM]

Problems with Nokia tablets:

- No hard drive, thus no usable storage (Nokia went from 2 SDHC to 2 Mini-SDHC (what's next? microSD??))
- No DSP accelerated video playback, bad codecs support thus no full support for the worldwide Internet Video standards
- No "legal" content, thus no DRM formats, neither Windows Media DRM, Dish Networks DRM or any other "legal" content delivery system
- No full screen DSP accelerated smooth flash video support still, not some third party transcoding other format app, launch Youtube and other flash videos directly from the browser.
- No real VOIP that wakes the device up on incoming calls,
- No HDMI output to HDTVs, since no interest in using a DSP chip
- Crappy camcorder with crappy sound recording, no microphone input
- No Android Linux, crappy Maemo instead (cause Nokia is above using other people's open-source standards)
- No video recording, since no interest in using DSP acceleration, no compatibillity with any DVB Mpeg2 recordings either

Maemo 5 probably won't come before Christmas since Nokia doesn't have anything to actually show, for now it's just some talk. Not even a picture. Announcing a product early is one standard tactic for industry monopolists trying to take away buzz on new products by smaller companies.

Those are just some of the problems with the Nokia product philosophy.

If you want an Internet Media Tablet that does all the things Nokia tablet's don't do, get the Archos 5 which doesn't have Android applications support nor VOIP for now, but could come in firmware updates that could come before the next Nokia tablet even is released.

[Kieran @ Sep 21st 2008 9:32PM]

Possible solutions to those problems you have, as I own an N800:
-Use an external USB flash drive using USB host mode (Also, the N810 only has one miniSD slot, stupid decision I know)
-Codec support can be sorted using third party applications
-I myself stay away from DRM, so no help there
-Not huge familiar with the jargon that you've used, but it can play Youtube and other flash media in the browser, if that's what you were trying to get at
-Don't use VIOP so no help there so no help again
-Is that actually a problem? ALot of PMPs don't have HDMI output, and the Nokia Internet Tablets were never intended to be such
-True, although I've never really been bothered by this and never actually used the camera although it may interest some
-Android has been shown to run on one of the NITs, can't remember which, so jsut have patients and it may happen. For the average Joe Maemo is adequate aswell
-I take it you mean no video recording from and external input, even though it's not intended for that

Also, they haven't announced any new product as you say, this is just some slide from some conference, hardly a public TV ad now. And the Archos 5, you say it will get those features with a firmware update, guess what?, the NITs could too like they have in the past.

[Kieran @ Sep 21st 2008 9:35PM]

Also, as you(???) said above, far too many people confuse the Nokia Internet Tablets for PMPs which they aren't, that's like saying that desktops make shitty laptops.

[Gylman @ Sep 21st 2008 10:12PM]

Charbax - you're all over the Internet promoting the Archos. That's cool, at least you are honest enough to do so with the same username everywhere.

Fair enough, the Archos 5 is a nice device. But here's the killer.... CLOSED PROPRIETARY OS. Therefore, no software development outside of what Archos graces us with (which historically has been poop), and therefore no Archos for me.

Too bad, because I was really looking forward to the new Archos, and the form factor is probably the best of all existing PMPs.

Peace.

[Benson @ Sep 21st 2008 10:26PM]

> - No "legal" content, thus no DRM formats, neither Windows Media DRM, Dish Networks DRM or any other "legal" content delivery system
No, lack of DRM is a good thing, and legal DRM-free content does exist.

> - No real VOIP that wakes the device up on incoming calls,
Except that that's completely wrong, because the device doesn't "sleep" in any way that requires waking. All the VOIP solutions (there are at least 3) will ring when they receive a call.

[Charbax @ Sep 21st 2008 10:48PM]

Benson, how long time can it stay in "idle" mode awaiting incoming VOIP, SIP, Skype, IM, Email or RSS update, on HSDPA, that is the question. If it can only stay idle connected to HSDPA listing to VOIP, IM, Email ing calls for like 4 hours per charge, then that defeats the whole purpose. The idea here is to replace old fashionned voice telephony with new media type VOIP instead. Basically use the Tablet instead of a phone. Idle running VOIP, IM and Email and ringing on incoming packets would be crucial.. Nokia could probably do it, but I am not sure they really want to enable their users to throw out their old fashioned voice-service mobile phones.

Sure you can put 2x 32GB cards in the Nokia tablet that would support 2x SDHC cards. But that is for a cost of $150 or $200. Not good value at all. Considering a 60GB 1.8" hard drive costs about $30, it makes no sense if Nokia again does not use hard drives. My theory is that Nokia does not want their customers to have a lot of storage on a HSDPA device (you would more likely downloads lots of stuff on the HSDPA network).

I think HDMI is necessary, especially if you have the new Texas Instrument Cortex processor which can with its DSP co-processor playback HD resolution video. Thing is, Nokia never has and probably still isn't going to want to use that DSP co-processor.

So really, no matter what the third part software development community does, if Nokia on purpose limits processing to ARM and no DSP, if Nokia on purpose limits storage again, and if they on purpose limit VOIP usabillity, then again, in my opinion, it is a missed product and basically the hardware is unfixable.

On the other hand, I do think Archos could add Android apps support in the next few months (once their engineers look at the Android source code) and they also could also add VOIP support (though probably not with full-day idle mode, for it to replace effectively a normal mobile phone). So really looking at it in terms of hardware, the Archos 5G is probably better. The software is another question. But I'm just saying, you can't do any software miracles on Nokia.

[Gavin @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:59AM]

| - No hard drive, thus no usable storage (Nokia went from 2 SDHC to 2 Mini-SDHC (what's next? microSD??))
Buhwuh? There's something wrong with NAND Flash storage? So while lots of high end laptops are moving to SSD Drives (NAND Flash) it's a bad thing that a smaller tablet isn't moving to a hard drive. To your point, yes the move from SDHC to Mini-SDHC does seem to be an odd one. But still, 8GB on a mini SD doesn't seem too bad. That's as much an iPod Touch... only on the Nokia you can have more then one.

| - No DSP accelerated video playback, bad codecs support thus no full support for the worldwide Internet Video standards

I'm wondering what "standard" your talking about. I've had almost no trouble with MPEG-4 video. There is some screen tearing on some videos and this is a known issue. But it's not the DSP, it's the LCD controller that can't update fast enough.

| - No "legal" content, thus no DRM formats, neither Windows Media DRM, Dish Networks DRM or any other "legal" content delivery system

No, you can't use any proprietary DRM systems with it. However you can use plenty of content with it. Though it does depend on what you mean by "content." Any Amazon MP3 will happily play. If you mean video, well good luck getting any device to play something other then it's parent companies current DRM of the month.

| - No full screen DSP accelerated smooth flash video support still, not some third party transcoding other format app, launch Youtube and other flash videos directly from the browser.

Eh? YouTube plays just fine, so does blip.tv. Haven't tried Hulu, mmm, maybe I should.

| - No real VOIP that wakes the device up on incoming calls,

Skype, Gizmo, and built in SIP client. All three do this. As for time it can be on. My N810 which I by mistake left in my bag for 2 days happily rang this afternoon. So that's what, 36 hours of network standby?

| - No HDMI output to HDTVs, since no interest in using a DSP chip

Why the heck would I want HDMI on a pocket portable device?! I just don't understand the need for this feature.

| - Crappy camcorder with crappy sound recording, no microphone input

Yes, it's a web cam. Get a Flip Cam for $149 and use that. Small well designed dedicated device will nearly always work better for dedicated tasks.

| - No Android Linux, crappy Maemo instead (cause Nokia is above using other people's open-source standards)

Woha... Okay, a) Maemo is 3? years older then Android. b) Maemo is based on Debian which is easily very standard c) The UI is based on GTK and the Gnome project d) Nokia is an active contributor to freedesktop.org e) Android is the non-standard one here f) Andriod hasn't shipped.

| - No video recording, since no interest in using DSP acceleration, no compatibillity with any DVB Mpeg2 recordings either

Err... see above. Or did you mean HDMI in? (Tell me, when you find a device for under $5k that can record DTV or whatever it is your trying to record). If you mean recording analog video... why the heck are your trying to record your old VHS using an Internet Tablet?

| Maemo 5 probably won't come before Christmas since Nokia doesn't have anything to actually show, for now it's just some talk. Not even a picture. Announcing a product early is one standard tactic for industry monopolists trying to take away buzz on new products by smaller companies.

Yes, like Andriod. Which hasn't shipped anything yet. Maemo on the other hand you'll note has a 5 after it. That's right kids, it's been shipping for 3+ years. In fact you can download and use it today! In fact a fair bit of it's code has already made it upstream and is being used in lots of other Linux distributions.

[Ivan @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:22AM]

"But I'm just saying, you can't do any software miracles on Nokia."
Much less on an Archos since they patch up any loophole that leads to its freedom. The Nokia Internet Tablet is just that, an internet tablet. It's not a Nokia High-Definition Media Player with Internet Browser... There's no need to have HDMI on it.

The funny thing is that I hadn't even read the user's name, but as I was reading your first post, I felt like I was reading something familiar. And wow, the next post started off with your name, and when I look back up, THERE YOU ARE!

Anyway, why would anyone want DRM on their device?

"Crappy camcorder with crappy sound recording, no microphone input"
There you go with the crappy again. It's an Internet Tablet, not a camera or a camcorder. You don't go around expecting to shoot sharp, clear, 640*480 video with your phone and then complaining how "crappy" it is, do you? The camera on the tablet is the equivalent of a regular webcam for the PC, and it's for the purpose of video chat/live conferencing, not to replace your camcorder.

"No Android Linux, crappy Maemo instead (cause Nokia is above using other people's open-source standards)."
"Crappy" Maemo, IMO, is a lot better than your closed Archos OS. Like I stated before, they patch up any hole that leads to the device's freedom. Nokia encourages you to explore their platform and do many things with it.

"get the Archos 5 which doesn't have Android applications support nor VOIP for now"
And the Archos probably won't ever have them... But Android's already been ported and run on the N810, and there are several VOIP applications already on the N810.

[Charbax @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:29AM]

Gavin, Kieran, it's really easy to just keep saying "but it's not a PMP, why do you want PMP features". Fact is, it should have better media features, otherwise it's a waste of silicon and electronics.

Gavin, are you saying that you can have Skype, SIP, IM, RSS and email notifications running in real time with auto-connect WiFi on and with power saving mode ON on your N810 to have over 36 hours idle battery life? If power saving mode needs to be OFF, an online search talks about 7 hours battery life in that mode on WiFi, so that would barely hold a day to replace your old fashioned phone 100% with VOIP.

Why HDMI, well cause it doesn't make any sense not to have it if the processors available can support it. We are all having HDTVs now, and it doesn't make sense not to connect any device to that and display HD resolution videos and HD browsing on that.

A quick search on Youtube, does not show any smooth full screen full framerate playback of youtube or other flash videos using an N810. Framerate seems half of real framerate, no real full screen mode is shown. Look at how Flash videos work on an Archos 5 so you will know what I am talking about. Basically Nokia doesn't want to use a DSP co-processor to accelerate stuff like Youtube and to make it work right.

Finally about hard drives versus nand flash, only reason high end laptop manufacturers use nand is to earn more money, cause they make more money with higher margins selling the exensive ssd models. SSD aren't much faster, they don't use much less power. What's the point in faster transfer speed then the bitrate of the video, that argument is bollocks. The interface and the OS is always going to be on fast access flash memory anyways (as long as it's not some type of crappy Windows OS). Sure SDHC cards are better then what Apple is doing, but doing better then Apple isn't really hard.

[Shyam D @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:55AM]

Uhhh, Charbax, it's a waste of silicon and electronics to you. Don't force your opinions on others. Not everyone needs their music/videos with them 24/7. That being said, Canola is quite a good media player and matches most PMPs. DRM is not something I care for. The industry is slowly moving away from it.

You're statement about the standby time made no sense. Learn to reread what you write, so that it actually makes some sense. I'm not being a grammar nazi. Even if 'talks' = 'takes', that statement makes no sense.

Why not HDMI? Because, until recently LOW POWER HDMI chips for embedded world didn't exist at low prices. Try, the Technology wasn't there last year.

Anything you have to say about Nokia not wanting to use the DSP or GPU is wrong. Try, TI/Imagetec haven't been open-source friendly until recently. Only with the latest series of OMAP3 procs have they actually opened up the DSP to the open-source community. If it was as simple as Nokia not wanting it used, someone else could have written a codec using the DSP.

Also don't compare the Archos 7 with N810. You may not have done it openly, but anyone that analyzes your statements can tell you are. The Archos 7 series PMPs, just came out and are based on the OMAP3 Series Chips. When Nokia brings out their new Tablet, then it will be a fair game. Comparing it to the N810 is like comparing a Prius to a 66 Mustang on Fuel Efficiency. It's just not fair.

Finally, SSDs ARE Faster, CONSUME less power, and are more reliable. The problem is, that comparison doesn't make sense. SSDs use LOTS of Flash chips. That's how they work. You know what that means? Yes, it means they consume a lot more power then just 1 or 2. SD cards are far lower in power then an SSD, they're not even in the same ball park. You're talking about mW vs. W. That's 3 orders of magnitude difference. That's equivalent to saying someone making $1 million a year is in the same game as someone making $1000 a year.


Next time you want to make a valid point, do your homework, quit blatantly lying, and leave your obvious bias at home. You might want to try being a Car Salesman though, you've already got the skills.

[loosely_coupled @ Sep 22nd 2008 3:42AM]

@Charbox

I'm not commenting on your other assertions, but this one is dead wrong: "SSD aren't much faster, they don't use much less power."

Now of course, not all SSDs are alike. There are many variables involved, including the type of NAND, drive controller architecture, # of channels, power saving technology, etc. However, the newest generation SSDs from Intel, Samsung, Mtron, et al are much faster at most tasks than average 2.5" laptop HDDs and 1.8" PMP drives -- even the cheaper MLC type. Seek time is orders of magnitude faster than any HDD, which makes small, random-access read/writes quick, and sustained reads speeds in the new Intel drives break 200MB/sec.
At the same time, the vast majority use much less power than laptop harddrives, especially when in active use. Flash wear, even with MLC flash, is no longer a major issue, and they are much more durable and reliable for mobile applications (hence their long-time use in military/aerospace/etc).

[Jukka @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:18AM]

What's most interesting to me in those specs is the 3G connectivity! It does say 3G HSPA, but wouldn't that mean also ability to make normal voice calls?

[Charbax @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:19AM]

Ivan, look up what the Texas Instruments DaVinci C64x+ DSP / video accelerator means, don't say it's useless in an Internet tablet. It makes HD video, all codecs, HDMI, video recording, high quality video camera mode, full Internet video streaming, full quality flash video playback and all those features work.

Nokia deciding not to use that simply makes their tablets really weak on the media side, even with a new faster ARM processor.

There is no excuse not to make a better quality video camera. It's not a price or size question, it's a basic hardware question. Mostly the fact you can't use hardware acceleration on all the Nokia N-series to shoot videos is what makes the video recordings on services like Qik and Shozu look really bad image wise, and the fact you can't use any external microphone or that they don't find it important to ship a higher quality microphone in the unit makes the videos basically unwatchable, not only because of non-hardware accelerated video but because of terrible sound quality. Basically rules out using a Nokia device for any type of usable video-blogging. Shooting any type of personal stuff using a Nokia device is basically very sad thing to do, since your memories just look and sound like crap. Don't give any excuse, a $500 Nokia tablet should make correct hardware decisions to provide usable camcorder modes. Otherwise let them advertise with a "We've got a crappy camcorder quality and we are happy about it".

Archos definitely can add support for third party Android based applications, Archos OS is similar to Android OS, both are embedded Linux, Archos simply need to tap into their java based application stuff. If Archos will do it I think will depend on success of their new Archos 5 in the next couple of months. I am sure it will be successful so I am confident they will do something like that. In fact they could probably release that before Nokia even shows the first picture of their N900. iPhone was released without an app store remember? That type of feature can be added later on devices.

As for why have DRM support. Well how about having access to the biggest amount of "legal" content, tons of video-on-demand, up to HD quality video on demand, unlimited music download subscription and streaming services, transfer content digitally from your Dish DVR, record from DVDs, support macrovision on TV output and many other such things. Google Android devices will support any type of DRM stuff, that is the beauty of Android, they combine proprietary stuff with open stuff in a perfect mix of ways. So carriers can control stuff and still users can use open applications. That mix is really a hard thing to do, and I think only Android will succeed in doing it. And to support it, you need hardware that works for it, which the carrier and which the content providers can target their content and services on. Nokia will not provide you that balance. Nokia just wants Nokia OS on their Nokia.

[Ivan @ Sep 22nd 2008 3:04AM]

Same old Charbax... Combining his love for Archos and Android and dismissing everything else as "crappy."

Look, I don't really care to argue with you. But I don't understand why an Internet Tablet must have such a high quality camera when it is simply an INTERNET TABLET. It is not a camcorder, it is not a DSLR, or a point-and-shoot camera. It's intent was to be used for video conferencing. That's it, nothing else.

As was stated before, an internet tablet does not require an HDMI input/output. There is no use for that since it is an internet tablet, not a PMP. The Nokia c-a-n be used as a PMP, but that is not it's main purpose.

"Don't give any excuse, a $500 Nokia tablet should make correct hardware decisions to provide usable camcorder modes. Otherwise let them advertise with a "We've got a crappy camcorder quality and we are happy about it"." Yeah, and my $30,000 car should be able to drive itself and tell me jokes, but it doesn't.

Go ahead and say something else since you must always have the last say in things.

[Johan S @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:22AM]

Too bad the resolution sucks on these phones.

Fail.

[Rauha @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:33AM]

Too bad that you have no clue.

A. It's not a phone
B. It has 800 X 480 resolution.

You fail in life.

[L @ Sep 22nd 2008 3:16AM]

Seriously, what do you expect? Full HD on a 4.1 inch screen? 800x480 is a *very high* resolution for that size.

Please do us all a favor and stop whining about thing you're clearly clueless about.

[pdexter @ Sep 22nd 2008 8:24AM]

Wow you really got owned there.

Like someone said here N770 in it's time was someting special, but it's time to move on. N810 was N800 in sexy packet and some new features, but this next tablet seems to be the real deal.
Most important thing is that the new tablet will have OMAP3 so hopefully it gets announced in near future.

[Al @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:39PM]

Damn, Johan S got totally pwned

[blarvh @ Sep 22nd 2008 8:41AM]

Micro USB-A? As in it can host? No?

[Ryan @ Sep 22nd 2008 1:21PM]

Yes, it supports USB OTG, so it can act as host. The same is true of every other internet tablet released from the 770 to the N810, though. ;)

[oronzous @ Sep 22nd 2008 9:26AM]

i have a N800 since last year.

I still haven't figured out what it is good for. Slow. Awful battery life, sucks as agenda. unstable rss reader, unstable IM. Cannot use office files. Don't like that canola player. Maemo mapper is a joke.

the good so far was using Mplayer in planes or doing some unproductive browsing on my hamaca.

And to show that i'm not even a picky gadget freak, i still use an aging Palm Treo !.

[timmy @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:32AM]

I have the n800 which i use as a simple way of keeping track of work emails when i am at home but away from my computer and i also like to use it to keep track of sever weather in my area with out being tied to a computer. I do wish it had better video playback and an atom type processor.

[Greg @ Sep 22nd 2008 12:13PM]

It's a fantastic pocket size, high resolution web browser tethered to my palm centro (via bluetooth) for web connectivity and browsing anywhere I get a sprint signal. Add a little folding bluetooth keyboard and I've got a ultra mini system that makes a UMPC look clunky. All this for about $250 (N800=$200, Keyboard=$50).

[whiskey @ Sep 22nd 2008 11:11AM]

If i'm wrong then they need somebody to go over again at those ppt templates... but if i'm not, this seems a bit odd to me...

Lower right corner: Both white boxes right margin is misaligned.
Connectivity: the WLAN row seems misaligned on the rightest column.
the last line on the column for the 770: the word edition seems misaligned with the line below it...
the last column, the "Maemo 5": seems darker (?).

This could all be just that the phone camera wasn't that good... but in any case, i hope this specs are real and the undisclosed ones are even better. I also hope it's priced right so i can buy one!. This is indeed a revolutionary product!

[Kypeli @ Sep 22nd 2008 2:27PM]

Just for the record; the picture is not a spy shot, since the summit was open to anyone without NDA requirements.

[yrag @ Sep 23rd 2008 2:02AM]

@ Tim Stevens
(the photo)
"and that use of hair-care products at the Summit was apparently optional."

Tim, I laughed so hard at that, tears were running down my face and my sides hurt.