okay, so my first thoughts, in totally random, stream-of-consciousness order, as I sent them to a friend this morning (I really should edit this a little better for public consumption, but can't be bohered to atm...)


I definitely like the look/feel more than the n800, though it will take a little while to get acclimated with. the back of the device is completely flat, and when holding it, my index fingers miss the curved part of the n800, which they seemed to fit under nicely. I dunno if I explained that right, pick up your n800 and you'll see what I mean.

It feels a lot smaller to me than the 800 -- might be because it's flat on the back, and also thinner and narrower. Fits better in my pocket too.

I don't like the stylus. It's much thinner than the n800 stylus and just feels cheap. The stylus from my n800 seems to fit in my hand better. I also like that the metal end on the n800 stylus helps balance it in my hand. The n810 stylus doesn't have that. Given the fact that the screen moves, and they lose half the usable space, they did what they could, and I guess I'll deal with it.

I don't like that I was forced to remove the screen protector because of the damned tamper-proof barcode / sn sticker.

I don't care for the car mount -- the only provided way to mount it to your car is with screws... they could've used strong tape, or industrial velcro, or even a giant suction cup... I'm not too keen on screwing crud to my dashboard.

I liked that the camera on the n800 could be rotated, but I can see why they took that particular bit out -- it eats up a lot more space.

I love having the built-in keyboard. the keys are a bit mushy, but you get used to them pretty quickly. I can type on the thing at a pretty good clip, even with my fat fingers. I almost think it would've been better if they made the keys a little smaller, but left space in between them. Still -- I already feel comfortable enough with the keyboard that most of the work in the console I've done in the last hour or so, I've done with the device as opposed to via SSH from my laptop.

I like having the gps built-in. I actually used it while walking yesterday from my office to the store. I used it with the included map application on the way there, and Maemo Mapper on the way back. Worked great both times. took a few minutes to sync, but after that worked great. I think I instantly liked Maemo Mapper better than the waypoint app too.

I actually like the included case, the device fits into it snugly, whereas my n800 is constantly falling out of the case it came with.

Some people have complained about the d-pad being in with the pull-out keyboard... this doesn't really bother me too much, even as much as I use the d-pad, the device fits in my hand just as well with the keyboard out as in, so it's all good. I really think shrinking the home and escape buttons on the face, moving the d-pad off the face, and moving the speakers to the sides were good design choices.

Incidentally, the speakers sound just as good as on the 800... I even notice a little more separation when the device is in front of me than I did with the 800.

Overall, the n810 both looks and feels more refined than the n800... I think the device is a keeper.