Nokia N800 Portable Internet Tablet

I've always kept lots of notes for shopping lists, to-do lists, appointment reminders and so forth, but it was hard to keep track of these notes and to keep them up-to-date. So, I was looking for a device which would allow me to keep all such notes in one place. The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet pretty much allows me to satisfy all these needs. And, it also: will display photos, videos, music & e-books; has wi-fi internet access, an appointment calendar, a contact list, a calculator & games; uses a Linux os with much user support.

Unfortunately, this model has been discontinued after being replaced by the N810. Personally I don't need the GPS or built-in keyboard of the N810. I prefer the use of 2 full-sized SDHC cards, virtual keyboard and built-in FM radio which the N800 has.

I bought one of the last 2 N800s available from Amazon which was described as "used, like new". Upon receipt, I discovered it was missing the charger. However, Amazon gave me a credit which more than compensated for the cost of a new Nokia charger. I also encountered a performance problem, but this was covered by the Nokia warranty.

I'm very satisfied with Amazon and with the N800. I just hope it doesn't die because I'm not as convinced the N810 is as worthwhile given its relatively higher price. I'm optomistic the N800 will last well beyond the production lifetime of the N810.

The N800 is a neat toy if you want internet access in your pocket, along with email/webmail, games and cheap Skype calls. If you have the money and are looking for a business device, get a Blackberry cell phone subscription. If you're content with a $220 toy that gets you web access from Wifi hotspots, and lets you check email/web from any room in your wifi-enabled house, the N800 may be for you. Unix proficiency is a plus.

Battery life is a few days if the N800 is disconnected from your Wifi when not in use. Maintaining wifi contact halves the standby battery life. A car charger is a good accessory to have on-hand. Music can be played for about 6 hours on a single charge. Playing Flash or Video reduces battery life to 1.5-3 hours, and if you are doing a lot of processing, the unit gets warm (but not hot) which means that you're burning through your battery charge.

Limited resources (400MHz) means that on the web, You Tube and Flash animations may have more dropped frames than on your PC, and may lose synchronization between video and audio tracks. DivX video works poorly -- the N800 lacks the processing power to give you more than an ugly slideshow -- but the audio tracks still work. I still use it to play TV episodes that I've already seen before.

Skype (voice over internet on your PC) finally makes sense with the N800 -- the N800 can be kept turned on, unlike a 500 watt PC, and $10- of Skype credit goes a long way (toll-free calls do not cost money). The limited resources (400 MHz CPU) of the N800 means that if you try to surf the web while running Skype, your call will lose quality or Skype will drop your call.

This is not a toy for the nearsighted -- with a 4" screen, folks over 45 years old may want to steer clear and get a Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) with a 9" screen or larger. If you have some experience with a Unix command line interface, you'll be able to get more from this device.

This was a good deal at about $200 (from Dell) or $220 (from Amazon in May 2008), which is a few bucks more expensive than a portable DVD player, and more useful while traveling. It's easy to spend an extra $60+ on SD cards and accessories.

Don't touch this piece of junk! It won't turn on reliably. Do a Google search on "N800 won't turn on", to see all of the grief N800 users are having with this. It's a known problem with the N800, and Nokia won't do a thing about it. People are having to remove the batteries and even put it in a fridge to try to get it to work! I have two - one I bought for myself and one I bought for my wife as a gift. Both have this problem. Once you turn it off, you can't get it to turn on again. Don't buy an N800 until Nokia fixes the problem!

Got this gem about 2 months ago. Purchased it here on Amazon. Was shipped and delivered promptly, well packaged. Best mobile internet surfing experience. Period. In addition to that you can watch movies, read news and books and some more.
Get it. For the price - it's unbeatable.

I purchased this item open box for a fair discount but when i received it, it was DOA and would not charge, not only that but when applying for an RMA it shows up as a NEW condition product what type of gimmick is this? I will definately not purchase from warehouse deals again!

This is an amazing little toy, and I love it. However, be forewarned: you need to be at least a little linux-savvy to make full use of it and customize it fully.

The N800 impressed me,it's small and light ,fits in a pocket.It has many great features including mp3 player ,net browser,games, alarm.The screen resolution is amazing,really clear it can show a full web page.It seems much more advanced than the IPOD Touch that I considered. The Nokia has a larger clearer screen,built in speaker and 2 sd card slots meaning you can have great capacity,I currently have 8gb and 2gb for a total of 10gb, can always buy a 16gb card in future. Overall a fantastic product

I bought this on the trailing end of the product offering. Most places don't carry this anymore. Battery is long and the stylus is a little ackward (most pen driven devices are). Plays videos and mp3s just fine. PDF are a little slow and some require constant fidgeting to read them. GPS module is on the way. Did not try the new OS, but planning to. Excellent device to fill in those few minutes where your waiting for something or somebody.

Finally.. Almost a month after I get my hands on the N800.. A chance to review it !
I loved it the minute I had it in my hands ! The N800 is an impressive piece of equipment that is well built. The screen, at 65k colors, is awesome. I dont think it needs anything else.

The N800 comes with OS2007, and I upgraded it to OS2008 within a couple of days. There are many tutorials around on how to do it, and it is easy!

My first bad experience was when I charged it for a little while and started using it for the first time, I tried turning it off and back on again. It wouldn't turn back on. The trick is to disconnect the charger, remove the battery, wait a while, insert the battery, wait a while, and then connect the charger and see if it responds. Then turn it on. Took me 3 hours to figure it out ! Luckily, the problem disappears after upgrading to OS2008.

The N800 accepts SDHC cards, and I've been able to put two 8GB class 6 cards on it.
Once the cards were in place, I installed the OS2008 on one of the cards so that I could install more apps. I thought I could install the apps on the SD card if I booted off from the card, but I was disappointed. The apps still install in the inbuilt memory. I dont know if this has a workaround. But they sure get a little more space because the OS is now on one of the cards.

It's not a monster at running apps, but as long as it is some 2-3 apps you run at once, it handles them well without a problem. Anything beyond that, it's a bit sluggish.

Connecting to home Wi-Fi was easy enough, and it picks up the signals from quite some distance. I haven't tried connecting through a cell phone though.

The camera, is a very low-res camera, and serves almost no purpose. Video calls can only be made to another N800. No inbuilt support to use the camera to click a few pictures! There's an app that uses the camera to take pictures, but you're better off using the camera on your phone to click a few.

RSS feed reader isn't good at all; And so is the e-mail program. Get claws for e-mail client, and get the RSS plugin for claws for your RSS feed reading. They do the job well.

The in-built media player is a bit slow at playing music, and is not the best, but I use it anyway because I couldn't find anything better. So, if you have an iPod, you're better off with it. Get MPlayer to play video files though. Nothing beats it. I use it as my music player in my car, connecting it to the AUX in my car.

Video playback is smooth, and it can play DivX videos without much problem. The inbuilt speakers are also good, and the quality of audio on the earphones/headphones is good too.

Input is through a keyboard, or through handwriting. The keyboard/handwriting section is the lower 1/3rd of the screen. The keyboard input is through stylus, and a qwerty-style layout. It could sometimes be annoying to type because it is small. There's a full-screen keyboard for typing with your thumbs, but that needs a little more patience, and a little more pressure to type that you'd think. It's not fast. I personally found the handwriting recognition to be much easier than I was expecting it to be, after reading many reviews/articles about how hard/unacceptable it is. I do a mix-and-match of input depending on the mood I'm in. None of them fits the bill for a full-fledged IMer though. And yes, there's a cut-copy-paste feature !

The browser's pretty fast and good, but is a bit slow with content-rich sites. I've had no issues with the browser as well.

Inbuilt messenger supports only GTalk (and another protocol I dont use and hence dont remember) and handles the voice calls very well.

Battery life, is good, supposedly lasting for 5 hours of use, and 8 days of standby; I get to around 3-4 days of medium use. I run my email client 24x7, and the browser for about an hour a day. I ocassionally do a voice chat. The longest voice call I did was for some 2 hours, where the battery levels dropped only by 25%. I'll label that 'impressive'.

For those who want to get a GPS functionality running on this.. Get one of the BT GPS reciever, and get your maps from google maps, or other open free maps. There is an inbuilt maps software called 'Maps', but it doesn't provide you a routing functionality unless you purchase a license, which is very costly.

I'm still trying to get more useful apps on it to make the most out of it. Up in the line is VNC, and an SSH client. Also, you probably want to get a screen protector for it so that you dont end up scratching the screen too much.

After one month of using it, I just dont let it go anywhere out of my sight. It has to be with me ! This is probably the best thing I ever owned in my life ! I just love it.

I bought the Nokia N800 Portable Internet Tablet as a gift for my 23-year old son. He's very happy with it's capabilities, and finds it be to versatile and convenient.

Nokia N810 Portable Internet Tablet

Works well and hasgood battery life.

Captain Jim

handy little hand held...only limitation is have to have access to wireless...works great for internel calling with the built in camera

I travel a lot and own a small business, so I need to have a computer to access emails and manage internet activity. For my short 2-3 day trips, this pocket computer works great. It is much better than a PDA phone, since you get full web pages displayed, and much more portable than my laptop. The music player is nice and on line video conf. is very cool. I use it a lot to show pictures stored on the handy external SD, but the pictures need to be resized, or they are very slow to load. Web surfing can be slow at times, mostly due to the Java and flash files loading up, and this unit requires a good set of eyes or glasses. A bluetooth mouse would make this a star, but I don't think anyone has done this, yet. Overall, for the money, this is a great travel companion. If the airlines ever bring Wi-Fi to planes, this would be great.

I like a lot the Nokia N800 - it fits easily in a pocket, has a nice and stylish design, user-friendly interface, and a relatively big screen for its size. Plus, it does everything I need and allows for downloading custom maps and adding gps functionality.

I have now been using this for a few weeks...and love it. After using the Sony "mylo" for about a year, I finally had to look for something better. Haven't had the chance to use the new Mylo, but could care less. The N800 does everything I need, and more. My job revolves around the use of my company's intranet website, and the N800 allows me to go through and view all items and opening new windows with no problems. I wish that I could watch videos at higher quality so I could catch up with my sportscenter while in Europe, but I will survive.

The browser is also rather quick in opening the items I need. The speakers for the media player are great. The fact that I can take the sd card from my camera, view the pics, upload them, and email them through the N800 is awesome. Don't have to lug my laptop through the airport and have to take it out every time I have to clear security. They have no idea it's a mini computer. Oh, and yes, the lettering can be a bit small, but you can zoom into the part of the page you are looking at, and increase the size of the lettering.

Did I mention that it comes with skype? It does, and it's great at it. The camera for video conferencing isn't very good, but it's an added toy. Again, it's the type of item that isn't for everyone. Not a full laptop, not a cellphone, but as an internet browser that you can throw in a jacket pocket.....it's awesome.

Even my wife, who thinks these are worthless toys, loves that she can run it through the bluetooth connection on my cell phone while I'm driving on long trips.

Cons:
The new version of the software should be already installed.
You cant install the new software without a pc (isnt it supose to be a wireless device??)
No Mac compatible (!!!)
No LAN port.
Startup time.

Pros:
Price.
Size.
Good reception.
I dropped it twice and still works ok.

This is great gadget! Whole family uses it as internet terminal. It is very easy of use and extremely fast.

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.

Ok, I bought my N800 after searching between PDAs, smart phones, and MS devices for a few months. My goal was to replace a laptop for multiple international hiking trips - Hong Kong, Costa Rica and Argentina. I didn't want to carry even 2 lbs of computer when backpacking in the New Territories of Hong Kong SAR or at the Iguazu Falls in Argentina, but I still wanted email, web and photo upload access. A good contact manager would have been nice ... sadly, the N800 still doesn't have one of those.

Below are some reviews from my personal website ...

Ok, so with all the traveling that I'm planning to do this year, I didn't want to drag a laptop along, but still wanted to be relatively connected and recharged.

So I bought a Nokia N800. Comes with a worldwide charger and very long standby time for a device like this - 10 days. I know 14 days doesn't work - recently left it in standby in my car as I went to Hong Kong for almost 2 weeks. I got to reset the date/time upon return.

The N800 is turning more and more into a multi protocol mobile communication device for WiFi connections. If you have a cell phone with a data plan, you can connect via bluetooth and use it. I don't.

First thoughts:

* For the first day, I couldn't get it to connect to my household Wifi. Thankfully, the 2nd day, it connected WPA2 and life was good.
* The web browser is really nice. Not just nice for a hand held, but nice for any platform. I have more trouble with Firefox on my laptop than I did with the built-in N800 browser.
* I spent toooo much time the first 3 days trying to find acceptable input methods (typing, stylist, handwriting recognition). I've decided to teach it the old Palm Graffiti. Well, that didn't work - too much overlap between upper/lower/numbers, since letters and numbers aren't entered into different parts of the screen.
* First thing I needed to do was upgrade the firmware from OS2007 to OS2008. Fairly easy and it seemed to be helpful with app compatibility.
* 2nd thing became obvious quick - I needed more disk. The included 128MB SD simply wasn't any where near enough. Ordered an 8GB MicroSDHC.
* The default apps are lacking. Basically, it is a web browser with trivial video and audio playback. Oh, and you can IM lots of ways. I don't IM, so who cares?
* That isn't to say it didn't come with other applications - it did. Email, SIP client, GoogleTalk, Skype, and a bunch of games that are worthless to me.
* The built-in contact manager is worthless. I'd be embarrassed if I were Nokia. Phone is an optional entry for each contact. Crazy. Even after I setup the SIP client, it insisted on using gtalk for phone calls. I HAVE A PAID SIP VOIP SERVICE! Let me use it!
* Ok, so I started grabbing free applications for this baby.
Camera for quick picts, MPlayer for audio/video GPS Mapping Software 3 kinds
ssh - fire, wheel, unix, ssh .... a bunch of normal Linux tools Weather
Claws for email FBReader (an ebook and other file format reader - text if beautiful on this device) PalmOS Virtual Machine
Voice Recorder (for quick voice recordings) DiskUsage Password Safe
rsync/grsync - fire, wheel, unix, ssh .... HP 42 Calculator FM Radio
* The built-in video camera appears to be worthless. I loaded an app to snap pictures with it. Grainy is putting it nicely. For video conferencing, I could see where it may be nice, but I don't do that today.
* FM Radio app - recently learned that the headphones are the antenna.
* GPS Mapping - there seems to be a bunch of software for this available. Probably due to the N810 having built-in GPS. Before I ran out of storage (128MB), I was able to get 1 size of detailed maps for Hong Kong and Atlanta. The zoom was bad, but what do you want when you're missing 20+ detail levels? Can't wait for that 8GB SD to arrive.
* I really need to get the SIP client working ASAP. I'd hate to be stuck without Skype-out as my phone when I'm out of the country. Also, wouldn't it be cool if someone called my house and I answered when in Costa Rica or Hong Kong or Germany? That alone makes it worthwhile!
* IMAPS and SMTPS is working, even the IMAP server folders work now

Ok, so what's wrong that can't easily (read free) be corrected?

1. Sucky contact management - I've never seen anything this bad. Heck, an XLS file with autofilter is better. It is unacceptable for a pocket device with Skype, SIP, and email capabilities NOT to include a contact manager at least as good as Palm had in 1996!
2. Text entry - the finger tip entry should be the default, not handwriting recognition or peck for letters. Palm Graffiti won't work.
3. Bluetooth N800 Keyboard for data entry, typing.
4. How to delete the apps/games that I don't want? Some that are part of the OS?
5. How to reorder the applications in their lists and re-group them?
6. Hotels have 100BT connections, not WiFi in the rooms - what am I to do since there's no RJ-45 port? Ordered a tiny wifi router today.

They did do some things besides the browser well. 1-click installs using normal Linux tools, USB Drive when connected to a PC, SD memory (and all the smaller versions with SDHC upto 8GB), RSS feeds, Google search on the main page, World Clock shows local time based on where you click. There's a bunch of GPS and phone connectivity stuff that I don't plan to use too. Bluetooth connections for these devices is expected.

I'll add more to other articles as I learn more. I've got to get a usable PIM app on this thing QUICK.

How much did this thing cost me? Nokia N800 Costs
cost me?

So far:
Desc Cost
N800 $231.56
Blue tooth Keyboard $34.99
8GB MicroSD $100.66
2GB MicroSD $58.29
Screen Protectors $13.83
Portable WiFi Router $52.13
Total $491.46

Well, perhaps an Asus Eee would have been more cost effective at $299 for the 2GB model and $399 for the 4GB model? I'd have much less to carry around with me traveling, but for day trips, the N800 is clearly the better form factor for mapping and battery life.

--
The Good:

* WiFi (802.11g) w/ WPA support
* Nice web browser and RSS reader I'm addicted
* Form factor, the size is nearly perfect.
* Screen resolution - double what the Apple iTouch has
* CLAW IMAPS/SMTPS email (SSL/TLS encryption)
* Standby battery time over a week with minimal use
* Swappable Disk memory - SD, MiniSD, MicroSD supported (really just SD)
* Maemo-Mapper Rocks even without a GPS connected if you plan ahead a little; I'll never need a paper map again
* MP3 and Video playback via mplayer; there are other solutions too.
* Linux computer for all that means
* PBReader for ebooks
* PDF Reader
* OM-Weather on the desktop
* Maemo-Recorder for sound recordings on the go
* Skype and Gizmo included. 3 months of free SkypeOut. Skype works as well for this thing as it does on PCs. Sound quality is comparable.
The Bad:
* Text entry sucks without an add-on or remote keyboard
* No PIM - I hear GPE or a PalmOS emulator cover this nicely.
* Package Manager Hell - dependencies get out of whack quickly
* MP3 playback battery life
* Nokia Charger - NOT USB.
* No screen protective case
* No RJ45 Ethernet - must use WiFi or blue tooth.
* Scroll wheel would be nice, but using your finger on the screen works well too.

Text entry is the main problem with this device. There are 5 ways to enter text.
a) finger touch keyboard that you have to toggle between numbers, letters and symbols - not an ALT key.
b) stylist touch keyboard that also requires toggling
c) handwriting recognition
d) remote in from another computer or
e) blue tooth keyboard

Yes, this system is a nearly complete Linux computer with most of the great things that means except full X/Windows. I've been using Linux since 1993 and found the lack of quick, accurate text entry troublesome. UNIX systems need typing. A portable USB keyboard would really help. That isn't supported at this point, but because it is Linux, someone is working on it.

A little background ... I bought the N800 after researching options for months. I looked at the iTouch, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and tiny PCs. I needed a laptop replacement with WiFi to keep me connected as I travel the world for leisure. Long battery life, lite web browsing, and IMAPS email were at the top list after wifi. VoIP/Skype is a bonus. The Nokia does that and more. The web browser isn't the normal "portable" limited version. It shows most websites correctly. I have more viewing problems using my desktop browsers when locked down. I haven't found the settings to control cookies or javascript in the browser, nor have I found a TOR client yet. For my purpose, it has been a reasonable choice and certainly was the most cost effective solution.
After seeing the Asus Eee form factor, I may recommend that PC instead. You get a full PC in a fairly small package, Linux/WinXP and no specialized software to relearn. Things that you are used to will simply work. By the time I have my N800, blue tooth keyboard, and charger, I have almost as much stuff as the Asus Eee brings self contained. AND the N800 IMAP doesn't quite work the way I like yet. Also, the Eee price is almost the same as I spent for all the N800 + accessories + SD memory.
For day trips, the N800 is clearly the better form factor for mapping and longer battery life.

Memory expansion/swapping it key. There's 2 SD slots available. 1 internal near the battery, the other swappable from outside.

Getting IMAPS working took a little hacking and a few days. Seems the built-in email program didn't support entry of my complete password. A few special characters were stripped. I had the same problem with WPA key. Also, the IMAP password is stored in a plain text file. Unacceptable. I switched to CLAW email and was able to connect, but still don't have other subscribed IMAP folders working. The good news is my password is encrypted in some manner.
There's no PIM included. The included contact manager is worthless - like Motorola's phone contacts. It seems to have been written by a college kid over a weekend. VCARD? What is that? LDIF import/export is what we all need. This is Linux.
There's a whole list of applications available for it. You add "repositories" and can select what you want to load. I'll bet some packages will conflict with others and I'll be in package manager hell in no time. I've already run in to "incompatible package" errors trying to load some applications - like GPE the most talked about PIM for the N800. This is common in the Linux world since any developer can create a completely custom development system that will almost never match your system. You can also load .DEB files provided they don't conflict.
Free applications are the rule here, not the exception. You've entered the Linux hacker world which is a good thing. Updates will be nearly constant which may or may not be good.
I've been pleasantly surprised by some of the other capabilities. Maemo-Mapper is fantastic has a map replacement, but you'll need much more disk memory than the 128M included. I ordered 8G and 2G upgrades since I planned to replace my 60G Zen media player. After a few hours of listening to music, the battery was nearly spent. I'm used to 11 hours of playback time. Standby time is what this device is designed for, not MP3 playback. The amount of battery on standby is impressive, but not endless. After just a few days, the device needs to be recharged. I did use the mapper for 45 minutes while driving. It has already replaced my Atlanta area key map. I'm in another test now. Turning the device off between use with morning and evening use for email and news web browsing. After 3 days the battery charge doesn't appear to have dropped. Nice. This will help as I track through South America later this year.

Speaking of charging. Leave it to Nokia to require a specialized charger - NOT USB. That simply sucks. Now I get to carry a USB charger, Nokia charger and Sony charger AND a wifi router around the world. Perfect.

A belt clip would be nice too. As a nerd, I really miss my status symbol on my belt.

List of applications that I've found to be useful on my Nokia N800:

1. GPS - Maemo Mapper
2. voice memos - Maemo Recorder
3. Outliner - NoteCase with encryption
4. MP3 Player - Media player / mplayer
5. IMAP email - both built-in and Claws
6. Skype
7. File Manager
8. ssh / scp / sftp / rsync
9. PDF Reader
10. Camera
11. Calculator - Free42
12. zip/unzip/gzip/b2zip

I still need:

1. cross platform (winxp, linux, N800) password manager
2. XLS File Reader - I like to track lots of things in XLS.

I had to write a few little scripts to push and pull files to/from my N800. I've said it before - rsync rocks! I grab ~user, /media/mmc1, /media/mmc2

Ok, I acquired an iGo Blue tooth keyboard today. Getting the keyboard and Nokia paired took more time than it should have. I found a number of instructions on the internet that didn't work for first 5 times. Here are the steps that finally worked for me:

1. N800 Control Panel
1. Bluetooth Keyboard
2. Generic 105-key PC and English USA
3. search for new devices
2. Keyboard
1. Enter discoverable mode by pressing CTRL and BOTH Fn Keys simultaneously until the green LED flashes.
3. N800 discovers the keyboard
1. Select it from the list
2. Note the code provided - mine was 4 digits
3. Select Pair
4. Quickly on the Keyboard,
1. Enter the code (hold the blue Fn key to enter the numeric code #### and key. Keep the Fn key down for all. (If you aren't quick enough entering the code plus , try again. You may need to re-enter discovery mode on the keyboard again too.

In theory, you'll be paired now. If so, it will be fairly clear. If not, you'll get an error. When entering the Try Again for pairing, I never got it to work - always had to start over from the beginning.

* There was no software to be loaded.
* There was no need for Windows at all.

Review of the Keyboard
Well, I'm pretty particular about my keyboards. I've been using IBM-101 keyboards for over 10 years now and no other keyboards have made me happy. For portable keyboards, I only have experience with a Palm-Pro keyboard which I traveled to Japan with many, many years ago. It was ok, but not a replacement for my IBMs.

Ok, this iGo is portable. It is mostly full sized when opened. The keys feel soft and the lack of a number row drives me crazy. Occasionally, keys get repeated on the N800 when only hit once. I'm guessing that is from the blue tooth connection. Some of the keys aren't in the right places - at least not for my touch typing. In the end, there really wasn't much choice for a keyboard for the N800. I guess this will have to do, since using the other input options are simply terrible for non-trivial typing.

Reviewer [A20FR4GDESILPA] | Date [May 3, 2008]

Straight out of the box, the Nokia N800 seemed to have rather limited functions. But after upgrading to OS2008, installing some neat software (e.g. Maemopad, Screengrabber, GPE calendar, etc.), and launching the FM radio, the N800 is now a nifty little multi-tasker. Very impressed by it. Syncing it with Google calendar will be the next step for me... I'm sure there is some software out there that will allow me to do so. Hunting for appropriate software and installing and launching them can be a bit tedious (hence the four star).

This gadget, at about $200, is a absolute steal. It's a perfect gift for any programmer, GNU/Linux/BSD/Open Source enthusiast, or gadget hacker. It's something like the Mac OS X of PDA's - a very pretty, very functional interface laid over a hardcore Unix foundation.

For the technological cognoscenti among us, this is a device that works the way we expect a well-engineered device should work, and as for any new ideas you can come up with, the N800 can be programmed, scripted, and mashed up freely!

Since many reviews date well back to 2007, now in OS2008 some very important functionality works, and continues to improve with each release: USB Host Mode (automatic with the right cable, or software-enabled with a standard cable), Skype (however no video yet as of early 2008), VoIP functionality through Jabber/XMPP (including Google Chat with video!), and VoIP through SIP services (including your own, if you're running an Asterisk server!). Bluetooth pairing to a data-enabled cell phone works, as does using host mode to run over a USB data modem. Enjoy!

This is a great little device for travlers to access the internet.. better than carrying a laptop... Look you don't even have to pull it out of its protective cover/out of your bag during airport screening..
Bad side of it.. The internet browser isn't fully functional.. Example..
the software needs Java Enable.. a lot of programs on the internet use this to access certain sites... Nokia.. please get your programmers on this... you will make alot more sales..

This is the ultimate Geek toy. After updating the device to OS2008, the product works as advertised. WiFi is stronger than my laptop and I am pleased with the response I get with the Web browser. Lots of cool apps available through the Maemo Repositories.

This thing works. No high priced subscrip serv. no contract. Just bluetooth. Perfect!

I can't say I've figured out exactly what to do with my Nokia N800 other than check e-mail and experiment with Skype phone calls, but it definitely is cool. It whet my appetite for a mobile computer, and now I'm thinking i-phone so I can be connected even when no wireless hub is around. If there is a useable router nearby, this thing finds it and links up to it quickly (as long as it isn't blocked or you have the password). Typing with the stylus isn't as hard as I thought it might be.

This is one awesome product! Picked up a bluetooth keyboard to go with it and it is amazing! Upgraded to os2008 and this thing runs like a dream!

Nokia made a good attempt, but needs to try a bit harder.

First, the good:
-Small and light
-Gorgeous screen
-Great battery life
-Wireless connections just work -- no fiddling around

Now, the less-than-good:
-No keyboard (I know -- get the 810. But it's $200 more, and the keyboard is all that I want from the 810)
-The OS seems as though it was created for a bigger screen. Especially in OS2008, the menus and fonts are HUGE, taking up a lot of screen space and necessitating a lot of scrolling.
-This is not a PIM. No attempt was made to even try to make it one, although you can hack up a fair facsimile.
-It's a bit slow: start-up time is incredibly long (almost as long as my desktop PC), and it's not as responsive as I'd like it to be.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a web browser/book reader/note taker that is small, reasonably quick, and hackable, then this is the gizmo for you.

needed a small portable internet tablet, iPhone, iPod/T have way too small screens for passable browser use for anybody above 20 and they are all closed architecture. For those reasons I went with N800. This plus Skype, GPS, SIP, etc.

Looks-wise the device is OK, kind of uglish but passable. Screen should be LED or OLED not this 10 year old rather crappy technology. Easy to carry around compared to laptops but is not iPod of course. Solid plastic feel. The device is underpowered relative to its screen size, this shows quite badly with video. audio fine.

Software is a major major problem here with a few exceptions: Skype is fine (no video though), Media Browser is a few steps below iPod experience but usable (no cover art, no list creation etc) but I'm OK with it. Image Browser positively stinks - (unable to automatically collect all the images on the device).

Browser experience is not very good, crude, comparable to iPhone where the screen size makes it rather unpleasant in the long run, here screen size is OK but how you zoom, move around, etc is grossly subpar compared to iPhone.

Text entry I find OK, your mileage may differ.

Mail program is ridiculously crippled, it won't even read mail from some servers GMAIL for example (over IMAP). That is it will give you headers but not body of the message. This is more than radiculous.

There are 3rd party solutions (outrageously complicated program called Claws for example) but almost all 3rd party software, whatever little of it is out there tend to disrupt the operation of this device to the point that in most cases you will have to erase everything and reinstall the OS from scratch. Plus you will be rebooting all the time, the device hangs all the time especially with 3rd party software.

PIM functionality (calendar, contacts, etc) is almost nonexistent here,workable 3rd party solutions exist but synching is a major headache here. You need worry free integration of your digital life go with Apple products.

Nokia software included with this device generally stinks real bad, in addition to aforementioned MAIL program, SIP client (phone application) has major problems with most SIP providers out there. The included MAP software I find useless on device of this size. Maybe with an optional GPS receiver one could get some use out of it.

In summary, browser experience very borderline, mail stinks, passable media player, good Skype platform, bad SIP client, very mediocre MAP/GPS support, basically no serviceable 3rd party software. 2 stars at the most.

I've had this product for two days and, so far, I like it a lot. I bought it mainly to use as a voip phone. Out of the box, it worked well until I turned it off for the first time. After that the wireless stubbornly remained off, no matter what the setting. Then I upgraded to OS2008 so I could load Skype and everything's been fine ever since. I've made a few phone calls on different networks and the call quality has been fine. Battery life is very good. I have no trouble using it with the online applications I earn a living with, so it's a great backup for my laptop. I was happily surprised when I found I could run Pandora but it crashed the web browser after playing a few songs. I might need more memory. Overall, a little pricey but if you buy it as a cell phone killer, it pays for itself in less than six months.

The functionality of this product is so-so and the on-off switch does not work all the time. And there are times it will not turn on at all. The only way to turn it on is to plug in the power cord - so much for mobility. Also, applications and games are seriously lacking.

I recommend NOT buying this product. Waste of time and money.

Sure, you can download 'repositories' - but why not just call them applications? And why do I have to worry about dependencies. Come on. It should be a toaster. The Palm is a toaster with thousands of cool little programs to add in that do all sorts of silly little things, like an egg timer.

For what I needed, its fine. I get my home email and read it on the way to work. I can surf anywhere where there's free wireless. I can write notes. But the freedom to explore cool little programs just isn't there. And, as much as I think I would like to develop my own programs, I don't have the inclination to really dive in. Some day perhaps there will be the following as strong as Palm. Until then, realize that you are getting a cool small internet ready toy.

I bought the Nokia N800 last month. It has been an excellent handheld computer for me so far, but it is not yet a smaller, more convenient, handheld laptop that operates in a WIFI environment. Data entry is slow without a virtual or external keyboard, and although the screen is excellent for its size, print on the Internet is hard to read because magnification creates other visibility problems.

FINANCES - definitely worth the $218.00 I paid for it.

INTERNET - I am a little frustrated over Internet visibility, even though the resolution is excellent. When I magnify the webpage for text, the icons also magnify and crowd out the visibility of the text, so I cannot read all the information. My laptop is obviously much more accommodating. The I-phone does a better job with the visibility issue.

NOKIA DOWNLOADS - I am having trouble finding just where there might be a complete list of available downloads for this great little thing. The ones recommended within the device are good, but the list is small. I am looking for something like OPEN OFFICE, so I have good calendar and address book programs. I would also like a good Bible reader and recording software, which I am not finding.

SKYPE - I downloaded SKYPE right away, and when I call my friends, they say they can hear me just fine, so the microphone and speakers are adequate. My one criticism of the software is that I cannot type in the name of someone and just isolate that person. I have to scroll to find the person I want to call.

RADIO - One of the most pleasant surprises for me as been Internet radio. I can easily download the radio stations I want to listen to and pick them up when in a WIFI environment. The Sound Quality is excellent. As for local radio, I love the fact that I can pick up local FM stations. I just wish I could also pick up AM stations. Is there software out there to do that?

MEMORY - I appreciate that there are two SD card slots for external memory. I have downloaded a lot of my digital music, and it is easier to use for choosing selections than my daughter's mp3 player. They say the maximum capacity is 2 gigs for each card, but I am going to try an 8 gig card in one of the slots to see if it will play all of the digital music I have stored on my laptop.

TEXT - So far, the only useful software I have downloaded is the PDF reader. Nothing Microsoft can be read by the Nokia N800 as it has come, and I have not yet found any software that will allow me to read my documents from Word, Excel, Power Point... I hope there is software that will allow me to store my documents with Microsoft software on my SD card, but allow me to read and even edit my documents on this handheld.

EMAIL - I am enjoying the email software this device came pre-loaded with. I have two different servers sending my emails to this little device, and it has been very handy for reading, but not for editing, just because the keyboard is so small.

RECOMMENDATIONS - Add a port for an external microphone, and work on the awkward visibility issues when the Internet pages are magnified.

First, I have to say that though Amazon turned me on to this great little gadget, I purchased it elsewhere online and saved $30 bucks! PS. I've also heard that *somehow* the N800 purchased from Amazon does not include a 3month voucher for free outgoing calls with skype, though every other retailer includes this...

Anyway, the description and features speak for themselves - wifi, bluetooth, usb client AND host mode, a brilliant screen for web-viewing and videos, and the speakers sound great for mp3's or with the FM radio app.

The onboard memory isn't great, but after reflashing the firmware to OS2008 for free, the new 16Gb SDHC are compatible, so for less than a hundred bucks I now have 32Gb of storage!! You can also save the OS and applications to external memory, so you can save wear/tear on the onboard flash chip, excellent!!

Doesn't come with many extras in the box, headphones (double as FM antennae), usb cable, ac adapter, and two styli. Battery lasts about 5 hours full use for me, but I found a second one online very reasonably priced, along with a silicone case and screen protector, the IT is shiny and looks very fragile, but it is actually pretty stable.

Well, I guess that's about it, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes tweaking with their gadgets, upgrading software, using xterm, ssh, and vnc in Linux. Just don't expect everyone to love it, it can get frustrating at times, but once you start playing Doom on that awesome screen everything else melts away!!

Oh, and DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND PRICE SHOP!!! MUCH BETTER DEALS ELSEWHERE!!

I really like my tablet... seems a little buggy in the software, but then again, it's open source, so usually by the time something goes wrong, there's a new build or update to fix the problem. That and of course, if I don't like the way a piece of software works, I can go get something else. The web end is really great, all the google products (gmail and maps, mostly) I use work fine. That and wikipedia make this thing the coolest since sliced bread. Highly recommended.

Internet works great, wifi is outstanding, display clarity is fantastic. Upgrade to new OS version was a breeze when connecting the unit to a Linux desktop. I use the N800 to access the internet and to back up and share digital photos. For that it is excellent. I also use Palm OS programs through a third party program and they work great. For the money, a great tool.

El Nokia N800 es muy practico para el uso diario por su reducido tamaño, su bateria dura lo justo para el uso que se le puede dar. Logicamente por lo limitado en tamaño de su pantalla no sustituye a un Laptop pero si ayuda mucho para estar conectado a la internet y mantenerse comunicado con los amigos y relacionados.

I bought it in 2007 to blog when i was on a week-long bike trip. It served it's purpose well for that. Since then i have been able to find other uses. Recently I was particularly pleased to use its media player to plugin internet radio feeds through my house wireless to my stereo system. No need for an extra subscription to digital radio.

On the downside, i have had difficulty using Web 2.0 applications, particularly Google Maps, flash, and any web application that relies on mouseover events. The laptop is still a better option. But i see this as a device that will be longlasting, in spite of the fact that newer models are already available.

-ted

The first unit I received failed to boot. I am now on the second unit and the wireless module has failed. I bought this to replace a Dell Axim. After a month and a half it is starting to look like I should have sent this back before the 30 days were up. I really wanted this to work but it has been a disappointment.

Why did I get it?
1. To have the internet on the go, wherever Wi-fi is around.
2. Mobile Skype, wherever Wi-fi is around.
3. Read e-books and text files.

So how does it work? This thing is geeky. Pretty much a half-baked product. However, after owning it for 2 months and going through two OS versions and 2 firmware updates (now it on OS2008, second firmware), it is finally coming close to being a somewhat user-friendly device. Before that, there were regular hang-ups and other kinds of problems.
1. Internet works fine, rather fast. Supports all kinds of sites - Flash, Ajax included
2. Skype works well. However, the audio quality can have less hiss
3. Still only one e-book reader soft - fbreader. Pretty cumbersome to make it usable, but now after hours of tinkering this one works OK too with tap scrolling, capability to use landscape and portrait modes, etc.

However, there's one thing that's not going to make this thing a keeper for me. Display quality! All the geeks on the net were drooling about the resolution on this thing, being higher than iPhone, iPod Touch etc. But the resolution is not all! I think, the problem with N800 display is back-light. It's not spread out evenly. Some portions of the screen is lighter than others. That's why it's hard on your eyes. Anyhow, a text looks a bit blurry. That's a killer for me. I think it's actually a systemic problem for Nokia. I saw n95 phone, which had the same problem. I can make comparison with the displays on iPod Touch and Palm TX. Ipod Touch may have a lower resolution, but, boy, how nice it is to read internet pages on that one. I can't wait till Apple loosens its tight grip on the software and people can create e-book readers for this thing. Palm TX has actually a pretty good display - not that bright as N800, or iPod Touch, however I read some 100 books on it and had no problem at all. And both iPod Touch and Palm TX have smaller screens than N800. Today, when you can see gorgeous Samsung screens on cheap $100 phones, it's not acceptable for Nokia to save money on their displays. For $200 I paid for it, I still keep it till a something better comes around, then this brother goes straight to eBay.

I first learned of the Nokia N800 by accident just looking at PDA sights on the Internet. The more I learned about it the more I wanted it. A newer model (the N810) came out so I compared the newer and the older models and the older one won hands down. Like the Iphone and Ipod touch, this offers a full internet browsing experience not just mobile sights and the clarity of the screen is stunning. Also it is an internet radio with presets from all over the world so you can use it as a radio. Also, hidden inside the radio but not mentioned in any Nokia Literature, the N800 has a hidden FM radio receiver (the N810 does not have this). With a few commands you can activate it and you use the earphones as antenna - but you can listen thru the speakers. You can also watch videos on You Tube with no problems at all. You can download the latest software that comes with the N810 for free from Nokia. Speaking of downloads, ACCESS has made Garnet (Palm OS) available free for download so you can download Palm programs to the machine. This is a Linux machine but don't let that put you off. I had never used one and have found it easy. Plus there are lots of free software like FBRreader available which lets you make the N800 a digital books reader. They've also just released a program for free which completely simulates a Star Trek PADD from the Next Generation. Whew! Is that enough for you? Oh did I mention that all this is a little over $200 - half of what you pay for an Ipod Touch and you get so much more. PS there are 2 memory chip slots so you can put in as much as 32 gig on cards purchased separately. The N810 only has one micro memory card chip slot. Oh and the battery is easly changed - it is a Nokia battery available at any cellphone supply store unlike Apple where you have to send in the whole unit when the battery runs out. All in all, this is a winner you will not regret.

The Nokia N800 does what it says except for the Bluetooth feature. Nokia has confirmed the Bluetooth feature will only work with select Nokia Bluetooth capabile phones.Even though my current cell phone is Bluetooth capabile, the Nokia N880 would not connect. Because of this I returned the unit to Amazon.

I bought one of these after the price dropped. I was really looking for a PDA replacement that would do video, and it was soooo close. Look, I realize that this is an internet tablet, not a PDA or ipod, but it aspires to be another convergence device, and it almost makes it there.

It is much smaller than I was expecting, but really too big to fit in a pocket. It feels well built and solid, balanced. The screen at first blush, is amazing. Browser pages render beautifully, and after you get used to the really tiny print, browsing is good.

The enthusiast community is wonderful. Go to internettablettalk.com and look for anything. It has been addressed somewhere for noobs and experts, and there is a real supportive sense to the whole thing. There are many apps floating around in repositories and private sites, and they are generally easy to install via the Application Manager. No Linux command line needed. Canola is nice, mplayer was buggy. Erminig almost sold me after I figured out a few bugs. The GPE Calendar is fine. VNC and FTP software is out there (VNC on this thing is particularly stunning and easy to use).

What finally caused me to send the Nokia back was persistent dysfunction even with relatively low expectations. For such a high resolution screen, it would seem reasonable to have a processor capable of using it. Using a variety of media (avi's, rips, etc) encoding with Nokia's and everyone else's product, Mac, Windows, nothing gave me simple or satisfying video. I really wasn't expecting much based on reviews, but I couldn't even manage consistency. Stuttering, sync problems, jaggies.

The other thing that I do fault an internet tablet for failing to do is stream video. YouTube is OK, but I couldn't manage any decent video streamage from a home-based server. I think that is part of an "internet tablet's" job, and the difficulty with this was inexcusable.

Last complaint is the screen's backlight, which is shadowy on the right side of the screen. This appears to be a common problem.

In short, the execution of its designed internet abilities are more than satisfying. It's extensibility and supportive community are unexcelled. (I would point out that the thing has no memory of significance - by the time you have bought the n800 and an equal amount of SDHC cards, you have equaled the cost of a similarly equipped iPod Touch or Archos 605). But when I find myself wrestling with a basic objective, and struggling without a tinkerer's enjoyment, it is likely time to cut and run.

I'll wait for the iPod Touch SDK Love to happen (and flash prices to drop), and go that route. So close Nokia.

Pros:
Runs Maemo, a port of Debian GNU/Linux.
Installs new software in just a few clicks.
Big 800x480 resolution screen.
The web browser has Adobe Flash built in.
Putting the Nokia's newest 2008 version of the OS (from 2007) was painless.
Extra stylus included.
Not too hard to gain root level access.
Growing open source development community.

Cons:
Some code on the device isn't GNU yet, so Maemo is the only choice of OS.
No Java support out of the box.
Battery door fits loosely.
Built-in radio requires headphones to be pugged in.

Recommendations:
Get something to protect the screen from scratching.
Update to the 2008 OS, lots of handy features over the 2007 version.

Everything works great on this laptop substitute, except the screen is too small. It's bigger than a cell phone's, but I'd use it every day if it was 3x bigger. The zoom feature is just too cumbersome.

The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a good mobile communications tool. With a WIFI connection you are ready to communicate or receive information just like being in front of your PC. One drawback regarding the Tablet, there are certain streaming websites that I am unable to view, particularly those requiring JAVA. Recently I've added a GPS to the unit and is working fine. Altogether, I am satisfied with the product except for the streaming of JAVA driven websites.

I am a self-proclaimed gadget freak so when I saw the Nokia N800 on Amazon I just had to have it. I ordered mine on Friday, February 15th and received it on Monday, February 18th. The thing that I most like about the N800 is the touchscreen. I do find it a little difficult when using it but I blame that on my lack of experience and no default with the device. Since receiving it yesterday, I was able to flawlessly hook up to wireless network. No problems whatsoever! I have downloaded a few other programs to the device without any problems either. I am able to surf the Internet anytime I want. I especially enjoy surfing from my bed. Seeing that I just received it yesterday I haven't had time to experience all features of the device but so far I am loving it!