My N810 is here !! My initial impressions

[silvermountain]

My used-as-new N810 arrived a few minutes ago and I am writing this as I unbox it, just to capture my initial thoughts....

I'm believing the guy who said he used it twice - it looks brand new and even have the screen stickies on it. Shiny. Precciousss....

1) Size
The device mtay be a tad smaller than I had expected it to be, not a good or a bad thing though, just an observation.

2) Feel
There seems to be a bit of 'play' in the device;
- The plate on the back can be moved maybe 1-2mm's left and right and up and down,
- when I turn the device around on its axle, I can hear/feel some small movements coming from the screen- keyboard split.

Also when I close up the keyboard there is still some play (2-3mms) up and down - I sort of wish it would 'lock' in place to give a more 'solid brick' feel.

But since it's not carved out of a stone I'm not too surprised but one thing that the iPhone does have over this device in this area is a very solid feel.

(Does everyone have the same 'play'/etc as I described above)?

I'm very pleasantly surprised by how nice the keys on the keyboard feels. Very nice.

3) The stand
It's really surprising to me how extremely valuable a 'small' design detail like this appears. I love it.

4) Accessories
i loved the 'thoughtfulness' of including a spare stylus..heaven knows I am bound to loose one.

I actually liked the included case quite a bit. Nice neutral colour and with a snug fit. I will use it in two hours when I head out of here and head to the train :)

Not sure I will use the car kit but there it is.

There wasn't any included memory card...wishful thinking..

5) Turning it on
Very nice screen. I boosted the brightness and it's really nice.

The sound came across as a bit canned/tinny and not as loud as I had expected. I'm curious to what it will sound like when playing movies/music.

It came with the battery level pretty low so started charging it.
As it was charging I clicked on the settings icon at the top of the screen and made some changes to the brightness - and the device froze on me. I had to remove and replace the battery to get out of the frozen state. Is this common?

Maybe there's a way to 'lock' widgets in place on the homescreen - would be nice as I kept moving them a bit as I clicked :)

I even connected it to the internet very briefly and running the browser it comes with I was able to browse around at a surprisingly good speed. The connection went smooth as well. Great experience there so far.

Aaaanyway, it's 10:50am and I need to be out of here in 90 mins to catch a train..I'm hoping it will have gotten some beauty-charging.

Which brings up a question...can I charge the N810 by connecting the micro-to-USB connector to a laptop?

Looking forward to playing with it, and driving my gf crazy, later tonight :)

[sjgadsby]

(Does everyone have the same 'play'/etc as I described above)?
A bit of "play" as you put it is normal, yes.

...made some changes to the brightness - and the device froze on me. I had to remove and replace the battery to get out of the frozen state. Is this common?
No.

Maybe there's a way to 'lock' widgets in place on the homescreen...
No. Well, there's no simple way, anyway. Please see bug #2639 (https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2639).

...can I charge the N810 by connecting the micro-to-USB connector to a laptop?
No. You need a CA-100 adapter (http://www.google.com/search?q=nokia+ca-100) instead.

[benny1967]

2) Feel
There seems to be a bit of 'play' in the device;
- The plate on the back can be moved maybe 1-2mm's left and right and up and down,
- when I turn the device around on its axle, I can hear/feel some small movements coming from the screen- keyboard split.

Also when I close up the keyboard there is still some play (2-3mms) up and down - I sort of wish it would 'lock' in place to give a more 'solid brick' feel.

But since it's not carved out of a stone I'm not too surprised but one thing that the iPhone does have over this device in this area is a very solid feel.

(Does everyone have the same 'play'/etc as I described above)?

yes. i remember i was a bit disappointed because of it when i got the n810. (not that my n800 was any better, but still...)

meanwhile i've completely forgotton about it. thanks for reminding me. :p

[totololo]

I don't have the little play when I open/close the keyboard. Closing it makes a nice soft noise, i like it !

Yes, the back have some play, it's not so disturbing for me.

Personnaly i like very much the default browser and find tear not really faster, and a lot less convenient for zooming ...

I hope you next posts here will be full of satisfaction !!!

[sondjata]

It came with the battery level pretty low so started charging it.
As it was charging I clicked on the settings icon at the top of the screen and made some changes to the brightness - and the device froze on me. I had to remove and replace the battery to get out of the frozen state. Is this common?



Freezing requiring battery removal happens relatively often to me. Had it happen yesterday. It's not linked to any one action, but like any computer, sometimes a confluence of events will lead to some condition that can only be remedied by pulling the battery lest it get run down.

[debernardis]

Freezing requiring battery removal happens relatively often to me.

Unfortunately this also tends to corrupt the filesystem. Since it's frequent for your tablet, be sure you have a good backup. Or, trfy to reflash. Just my 2c.

[javispedro]

Freezing requiring battery removal happens relatively often to me. Had it happen yesterday. It's not linked to any one action, but like any computer, sometimes a confluence of events will lead to some condition that can only be remedied by pulling the battery lest it get run down.

What? It shouldn't happen. It has only happened once to me and it was because I had been playing with kernel modules!

The device automatically reboots if it has been frozen for the last 60 or so seconds. I've seen that around four times since I bought it (it's been... 4 or 5 months already?) .

[sondjata]

What? It shouldn't happen. It has only happened once to me and it was because I had been playing with kernel modules!

The device automatically reboots if it has been frozen for the last 60 or so seconds. I've seen that around four times since I bought it (it's been... 4 or 5 months already?) .

I don't think I've waited that long, but I assure you, once it gets stuck the battery is soon dead. When I say relatively, I mean relative to happening maybe once. But in the past 3 years I've had it more than a few times. Fortunately no file system corruption though...unless that explains Modest suddenly deciding I have no mail. :-)

[JayOnThaBeat]

Reflash!

...
...

[geneven]

Reflash is almost always the answer for chronic problems, in my experience. But I'm not so sure this is a chronic problem for these users. I occasionally have to remove the battery to get rebooted. I don't really think about it much. I would guess it happens once a month or so. It's no big deal.

[sondjata]

Reflash is almost always the answer for chronic problems, in my experience. But I'm not so sure this is a chronic problem for these users. I occasionally have to remove the battery to get rebooted. I don't really think about it much. I would guess it happens once a month or so. It's no big deal.

Exactly. Not reflashing for that.

[javispedro]

It's a big deal. I can see BoyGeniusReport & iPhone fanboys enjoying this thread already. :)



N900 iPhone 4GS
Crashes every month Yes No

Joking... I assume the iPhone crashes too once a month, for some users at least.

[sjgadsby]

I occasionally have to remove the battery to get rebooted. I don't really think about it much. I would guess it happens once a month or so. It's no big deal.

While I did have to pull the battery a few times with my N800 in the days of Bora and Chinook, I haven't had to do so once with my N810 in the nine months I've had it. It may have watchdog reset itself perhaps five times over those months, but it's never locked up badly enough to require battery removal.

[JayOnThaBeat]

Reflash is almost always the answer for chronic problems, in my experience. But I'm not so sure this is a chronic problem for these users. I occasionally have to remove the battery to get rebooted. I don't really think about it much. I would guess it happens once a month or so. It's no big deal.

His was purchased used, so I would say that in this case a reflash is a must.

[Texrat]

Silver-- I have a preproduction unit and even it doesn't exhibit the behavior you cite in #2. Maybe your experience explains why it was resold?

[attila77]

Anyway, if you got it as a used device, I'd certainly recommend a reflash to the latest release. You can never know what the guys in the shop (did not) do/miss.

As for play in parts: backplate yes, rest no.

[Texrat]

It's so weird to see the loose backplate comment-- the N810s I've handled all had plates so tight they were hard to remove and replace during battery removal. Zero tolerance, no unusual movement. But, maybe those were selected units.

[mobiledivide]

Definitely haven't had a lock up in a LONG time definitely not this year. I have had a pretty stock n810 for a while, I decided to run it with a new fresh install and only apps available from extras with no command line trickery and since then this has been the most stable device mobile I have ever used.

[Rider]

It's so weird to see the loose backplate comment-- the N810s I've handled all had plates so tight they were hard to remove and replace during battery removal. Zero tolerance, no unusual movement. But, maybe those were selected units.

no loose backplate here, and no loose keyboard either.

[geneven]

Reflashing is an essential part of the user toolkit, and you should do it at least once even if you don't need to, just so you know how it works. The smart time to do it is when you first get the tablet.

BTW: I also have to take the battery out of my Palm Centro about once a month and reboot...

[silvermountain]

Thanks for all the kind responses.

Just got back home...it's 11pm and the GF is asleep..which means it's gadget time :)

When I was on the train playing with the N810 it froze up every three minutes or so..after another minute it auto-reset... This happened five-six times.... I was getting very sad and rather disappointed.

I noticed that if I disabled the WLAN auto-connect (it was set to scan every 10 mins) - I had no more freezes. Very weird....

I also noticed a lot of beta programs, even Android installed on the device..so a reflash is absolutely called for...and which is what I will be doing right now after I've read up on it some more.

I'll post more impressions tomorrow but so far they are overly positive (sure there is some 'play' here and there but nothing that will really bug me, and I noticed that even though the seller said that 'everything that it came with is included in the box...there were no headset.which I think is included... Im gonna find a full itinerary of what should be included and see if I can't get a small refund if he can't find the missing pieces and send them over. Bah.)..

Anyway, reflash-reading time.
Wish me luck :)

[JayOnThaBeat]

Community tab -> wiki -> users -> updating firmware.

(or https://www.nokiausa.com/A4686323 ;))

easy-peezy

[JayOnThaBeat]

@Silvermountain:

Did you use PayPal when you bought your N810?

You should totally return it, get your money back, and order a minty-fresh new one!

(that's what I would do anyway :D)

//EDIT: Hey! Post 300! (tho it will prolly drop back to 299 when my spam report post gets cleared :()

[attila77]

I also noticed a lot of beta programs, even Android installed on the device..so a reflash is absolutely called for...and which is what I will be doing right now after I've read up on it some more.

An 'almost new' unit that has that level of customization ? Interesting :) Also, let me confirm, there is a 3.5mm Nokia handsfree (=earbuds+mic), a reserve stylus and the car mount (+parts) in the original box.

@Texrat: I don't remember if the backplate play was there from day 1, but I swap batteries fairly often and I noticed the small arm that locks the backplate is quite flimsy, it's all too easy to bend it a bit -> that would certainly result in backplate play.

[silvermountain]

An 'almost new' unit that has that level of customization ? Interesting :) Also, let me confirm, there is a 3.5mm Nokia handsfree (=earbuds+mic), a reserve stylus and the car mount (+parts) in the original box.

@Texrat: I don't remember if the backplate play was there from day 1, but I swap batteries fairly often and I noticed the small arm that locks the backplate is quite flimsy, it's all too easy to bend it a bit -> that would certainly result in backplate play.

Yeah, I'm not a happy camper today...

The ad stated: "Excellent Condition Nokia N810 Internet Tablet. All original cables, car mount and accessories in the original box. Again, this is barely used in like-new condition"

a) It didn't include the headset,
b) It included a MINI-USB cable instead of a MICRO-USB cable so I can't even reflash the device right now!!!
c) It came installed with a lot of programs including Android, etc.

I have contacted the seller.

So...not...happy.

[silvermountain]

@Silvermountain:

Did you use PayPal when you bought your N810?

You should totally return it, get your money back, and order a minty-fresh new one!

(that's what I would do anyway :D)



Yes, I used funds that were in my paypal account.
And yes, I would at this point love to return it and go and get a new one (I'd even save money if I did..).

[JayOnThaBeat]

Yes, I used funds that were in my paypal account.
And yes, I would at this point love to return it and go and get a new one (I'd even save money if I did..).

PayPal buyer protection has you covered!

[silvermountain]

PayPal buyer protection has you covered!

True and that's a good thing..but I dread that this will be a month long process if it goes to that... :(

[mobiledivide]

True and that's a good thing..but I dread that this will be a month long process if it goes to that... :(

I'm with Jay with brand new units going for $175 use that buyer protection and get your money back, there is nothing like new with all original parts about your purchase. The fact that the seller couldn't be bothered to at least reflash the device speaks volumes.

[JayOnThaBeat]

I'm with Jay with brand new units going for $175 use that buyer protection and get your money back, there is nothing like new with all original parts about your purchase. The fact that the seller couldn't be bothered to at least reflash the device speaks volumes.

Many people will disagree with me on this, but what he's going through is exactly why I won't purchase electronics on eBay.

[silvermountain]

I'm with Jay with brand new units going for $175 use that buyer protection and get your money back, there is nothing like new with all original parts about your purchase. The fact that the seller couldn't be bothered to at least reflash the device speaks volumes.

Sigh, we'll see...if the seller doesn't answer in the next 24 hours I'll open up a paypal/ebay dispute and take it from there.

SO disappointed as I was REALLY looking forward to playing with this device now :(

[silvermountain]

Seems like I'm dealing with a very honest man though...just received an email where he offered to overnight the correct cable and the headsets...OR...give me a refund. Too bad, it's a cute device.

I chose the refund...and will ship the box back to him as soon as if/when the money is back in my account.

I guess then I may go to Amazon or Buy.com

Is buy.com completely legit and trustworthy or safer to go with Amazon for $20 more?

[silvermountain]

Got the refund...now...

Amazon.com for 199, or
Buy.com for 179....

Anyone with any experience buying from them?

[sjgadsby]

Amazon.com for 199, or
Buy.com for 179....

Anyone with any experience buying from them?

I've bought many items from both. Buy.com is fine, just watch the shipping as their cart will automatically select something higher than free ground as the default.