Last month, T-Mobile gave me a free G2. Since then, I've been using it "religiously", and in fact, I comfortably used it in China for two weeks (i.e., no N810 or laptop). And believe me, I felt that I was taking a MAJOR risk by traveling without my NIT. In the end, it was a great way to realize what I was missing by not having it there as well as learning what the G2 offered.

That said, I'll do my best to do a personal usage comparison in this post as I continue to use the G2.

• Green favors G2
• Red favors the N810
• Blue is neutral

Firefox
This became my primary use for the N810. The G2 now has it, and in fact has a much newer version. Also, because of the CPU speed difference, FF is also much faster on the G2.

USB Host
Usable on the N810. I also understand that it is possible on the G2, but there has been no progress made. So, sharing files via USB stick on the N810 gets the upper hand.

Ethernet
On that same note, without USB host, there is no ethernet. The N810 was a wonderful companion when staying in hotels that offered only ethernet internet. One of the hotels in China offered lobby Wifi (super slow), but superfast ethernet in rooms. I couldn't use my G2 in rooms.

Skype
Hands down, much better on the G2. Not only is the UI up-to-date, but given the form factor of the G2, using Skype is as easy as making a non-VOIP phone call. On the N810, it was not as user-friendly making private calls because I could not hold the N810 like a normal phone.

Video Calls
N810 loses again. I tried for so so so so long to get this working on the N810 (NIT to PC). I finally got AMSN to work, but the delay was about 30 seconds in video. The G2 has Yahoo! messenger video chat, and while buggy sometimes, it works! Skype video is also coming to android soon. The only advantage the N810 has is its front-side camera.

MP3 Playback
Canola was and still is awesome on the N810. However, the G2 now has Winamp which, once I got used to the UI, was a nice replacement for Canola. Hardware wise, there is also a headphone jack.

Video Playback
The winner here is the G2. For the N810, I had to do video conversion. With the G2, I just drop the file in there and use RockPlayer with either a Hardware or Software playback option. No recoding necessary. VLC is also on its way later this year.

OpenOffice
Easy Debian and Open Office have saved me more times than I can count. Ubuntu (full desktop) can be installed on Android, but I have not tried this out yet. Until then, the N810 wins!

Battery Life
The two are about the same.

PDFs
With evince, the N810 has a much improved PDF experience. However, every so often, I experienced some compatibility problems. Adobe reader on the G2 offers a similar evince experience, but is much faster and no compatibility issues. (Also includes text search.)

Screen Size
This was always my complaint about the N900 vs. N810. However, the G2 is slightly larger at 3.7" vs. the N900's 3.5". Given what it offers, I'm okay with this.

Keyboard
I've since changed my mind on this and have gotten use to the keyboard. The N810 wins just slightly. I can't put my finger on it, but alting-into numbers on the G2 is very annoying... even though I did the same on the N810. Also, the N810 has a ctrl key which allows for some secret Firefox shortcuts. There is no ctrl key on the G2.

Physical Interface
I still love the use of the stylus; it just seems so much more accurate. While the finger input is cool, I miss the ability to easily highlight text. Pushing my finger into the G2 screen, I can only swipe. So, my personal preference goes to the N810 stylus input.

Durability
The N810 wins. I accidentally dropped my G2 and while it still works, it lost a piece of the slider arm. I dropped my N810 once while running to the train (fell out of my pocket onto concrete); it took the hit, got chipped, but still felt as durable as before. The G2, however, no longer feels as snug when the keyboard is exposed.

Speakers
Hands down, N810 is in the lead. While the speakers are not phenomenal by any means, they do have the advantage in that they are positioned just right to provide that stereo effect. The G2 only has one speaker (from what I can hear).

Kickstand
The N810 wins again. The G2 has no kickstand; I wish it did. This is useful for everyday things like cooking. Yes, I would bring up a recipe on my N810, prop it up with the kickstand, and review it as I cooked.

Speed
The G2 is the clear winner. The CPU is twice as fast as the N810s. 800mhz vs. 400mhz.

Touchpad/ Directional Input
I really have gotten to like the G2's teeny-tiny touchpad. In many ways it is superior to the button-directional pad on the N810. For example, swiping does the trick to move in the right direction and pushing the button is the "mouse click".

Tethering
To be fair, the N810 was never meant to tether and instead was a tetheree. That said, the G2 is capable of wifi and usb tethering out-of-the-box for Windows, Mac and Linux (I tested with Ubuntu). No rooting or drivers needed.

So, as I mentioned before, I will update as new things come up. For now, I hope to root my phone soon to get Ubuntu (and OpenOffice), and I will keep an eye out for USB host support. Until then, I can live with everything else. Thanks!