Newbie to internet tablets and my N810
 

Country: UK
Purchased From: www.misco.co.uk
Purchase/Arrival Date: ordered 11/12/2007/arrived 12/12/2007

(My background: Psion organisers, Nokia 9210, Sony Ericson P800, P900, P990i; Sony portable laptops: TR1MP and TZ)

Likes:
- Neatness,
- Wireless comms (wifi and Bt) - easy setup with my Sony Ericsson P990i phone and various wifi points,
- Usable (just!) keyboard,
- Clever backlight adjustment (screen & k/b),
- Open-ness and flexibility of the Linux-based platform,
- Super web-based support from places such as InternetTabletTalk (thank you, folks!)
- Standard 3.5mm audio jack
- overall performance: the N810 feels pretty fast in operation

Dislikes:
- Lack of physical separation / borders / distinction between keys on the keyboard
- Mozilla-based browser (I appreciate the tidy way Opera renders pages on both my laptop and the pocketable devices I've used over recent years). Hmm: I wonder if I can get an Opera for the N810?
- A shame the USB port isn't the same mini-usb as many of my other devices, and I dislike the new, slender and fragile-feeling Nokia power connector
- Poor in-the-box documentation on the device: I'm still trying to work out the significance of the various different colours of the flashing LED!

Favorite Apps:
- Maemo Mapper - fantastic, works well with the integral GPS, and very nearly justifies the price of the device on its own (I must remember to go make a donation to the Maemo Mapper cause!)
- openssh - at last: one of my pocketable devices can not only get inside my company's firewall, but also the openssh port redirection means I can access internal services using the devices own standard applications
- Xterm - a dollar-prompt and vi in my pocket :-)

Particular thanks are due to genevan for their post http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...4&postcount=13 which explained to me how to get started with the repositories and application manager (I thought I understood the concept, but didn't realise that there were multiple repositories and the device didn't come out-of-the-box with a complete setup of where to find new apps).

Simon.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: UK
Purchased From: www.misco.co.uk
Purchase/Arrival Date: ordered 12/12/2007/arrived 13/12/2007

(My background: Psion S3, HP200LX, nokia 770, Toshiba libretto 50CT)

Likes:
- nice design and small
- really like the keyboard (and also that we have other options as well)
- much better than my nokia 770
- even like the pouch
- others said lot of nice things before me

Dislikes:
- PDF reader is a great improvement, but why could not they make two small additional changes: 1) when one goes to the next page it should stay where it was vertically - if you align it in the middle it would be perfect to read pdf-s, also finer zoomng options would have been nice. Evince might correct these, also rotated mode would be nice sometime.
- It seems that a screw is missing on the left side on the back (when it is open) and because of it it is not as tight as it could be - any idea who should I contact? (Misco or Nokia?) Or can somebody just tell me what type of screw I should buy - I am not afraid of putting it in. Any help would be appreciated. (Anybody else having the same problem?)

Favorite Apps:
- would be PDF reading (hopefully Evince comes soon)
- FBReader

I plan to put build A+ (http://www.aplusdev.org) as it is the closest one can get to my favourite programming language called K (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K_programming_language) on the tablet now.

Attila

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

And therein lies the reasons for your disappointments.

Compared to a laptop, sure. Smaller = less powerful processor so yeah. But I understand this so Im OK with that. A more powerful processor would use more power and lower the battery life...

Just bear in mind, that those apps didn't even work at all on the 770 and even the N800!

Im glad its not a laptop.

I wasn't expecting a great keyboard experience so its doesn't bother me but its good to have for certain applications. For writing I would get one of the many Bluetooth keyboards.

Not noticed these problems. Did you try switching on the virtual memory in the control panel?

It does for me but I will say it was tricky to get it to snap in correctly (took several tries), but it does fit flush with the case now. Maybe this is what you're seeing?

Agreed. From a usability standpoint, the larger menu items makes it much more finger-friendly than the 770 or N800.

I would say its fiddly. But then I have a 4Gb card that doesn't get removed very often.

These are harsh words perhaps. Its not a laptop and never will be.

For me, its better than any smartphone out there. Better than the iPhone/iPod Touch. Lots of software available for it which can only get better over time.

You forgot to mention some of the nice touches like the light sensor (which I didn't know about) which was a nice surprise when I first saw it adjust the brightness and light up the keyboard. The LED is useful. The change in the placement of the top buttons is a vast improvement over the N800. I also like the styling of taskbar buttons on the left. The unit feels very solid and fits even better in my pant pocket.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

There is no need for Meebo when there is built in IM support for Jabber/SIP/Gtalk and Pidgin if you don't want to set up Jabber (with other gateways). Meebo would be a complete last resort IMO.

The same would go for Gmail via the web vs. setting it up as a POP or IMAP account for Claws or Modest mail.

The "Web" route isn't always the best route! :D

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I think it's important to remember that even if the tablet is as good as current hardware gets for the money, it still might be too slow with a screen that is too small to be worth the price for some. I think that's valid feedback.

I like to see the constructive criticism: a device with a 4.8" screen that allows smooth web browsing with reasonable battery life is physically possible. It could even be smaller than current tablets. The technology is just not affordable yet. But I like the vision, and it's good to hear which areas people think require the most future work.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: USA
Purchased From: www.letstalk.com
Purchase/Arrival Date: Nov. 23 (ordered)/Dec. 8 (delivered)

(My Background: HP Jornada 548, HP iPaq 2215, Nokia 770, Apple iPhone)

Likes: Interface speed/UI improvements over 2007. True Flash 9 playback over the hacked up versions I had been using in 2007HE. Xterm off the bat... saved me one out of two of my first steps in my install. Ability to set up 128mb of Virtual RAM, 2gb internal memory... build, feel seems tons better than the N800. And getting it to boot now is muuuuuch faster than my 770.

Dislikes: The camera (horrid in anything but the brightest of bright days) , the inability to remove the internal memory card - sorry, but not being able to extend my Virtual RAM to my bigger external memory is bothering me too, once I load up the maps, I have zero room, and ran into where I couldn't extend out my virtual memory, had to clear my existing install, reset the darn thing... under one week of having it. Thank goodness I've had plenty of reset practice with my 770, I can install it back to "norm" in under 3 minutes with my bluetooth keyboard.

Micro USB. Seriously... I've had to buy some of the oddest darn memory cards due to Nokia. Make up your mind Nokia.

Favorite Apps: Skype and Gizmo... hands down. Finally I can use BOTH and not run out memory and have them run alongside each other without issue. Pidgin, I've gotten used to since it's on my main PC as well as my 770. Can't say that I'm surprised - I know, I know... covered all to death by now - that the IMAP doesn't work. Modest doesn't really enthuse me, but I'd like to replace the standard e-mail client real quick. Even my iPhone supports that ;)

Even though I came from a Mobile Windows background... thank god for Linux devices. At least I can use these without too many problems. Just wish the results of using the software was a consistent affair, it truly isn't.

Overall I'm happy, just real surprised that I have to wait for some of the more blockbuster apps... had to wait for Skype which still doesn't have video, waiting for Canola - which I will be patient for, and waiting for true IMAP support in the mail app.

Best investment in a while. Just wish the integrated GPS was worth it. Gotta learn Maemo Mapper now.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Lots of my thoughts here:

http://www.maemopeople.org/index.php.../n810_thoughts

The hardware's very nice, generally. OS2008 is very nice, generally. Pleasantly surprised by the GPS after all the comments here.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Hi everybody,

I hope this isn't my first and last post here but it may well be.

I have used one sort of handheld and another going back to the early days of the first Psions. Also laptops starting with the very first one from HP in 1986 and every Mac laptop that has been out. I am also fluent in a lot of programming languages including PL1, PL2, Algol, Common LISP, etc. (guess that shows my age) and can work my way around Linux without problems. I gave up on all of the handhelds some years ago because none of them had the functionality I needed, at least now without spending more time than it was worth; so, I stuck with my laptop, trying to keep it as small as possible.

When the N810 was announced I was psyched. I figured this was the device that would let me work on planes, work in the hotel, make phone calls from anywhere in the world and maybe, just maybe leave my laptop home or in the suitcase most of the time. I was even more psyched when it arrived on Friday. Today I returned it to Amazon. Here are my detailed comments:

-It is cheesy, the metal on the back is just too thin, feels like a kid's toy. The cover on the memory card slot won't go back in and stay in after you insert the card. Not cool for something that costs this much.

-The GPS just plain didn't work. Couldn't get it to lock onto a satellite after driving around for over an hour in the car (no I am not going to stand outside in on place with it until it locks on as a Nokia tech suggested, at lest not right now in the middle of winter in New Hampshire).

-The web browser works well and is nicely done. I used it extensively and had no trouble reading the screen or navigating.

-Nice that it supports IM's but why not support the largest IM network on the planet, AIM? So I loaded Gismo to use its AIM chat capability, didn't work. Made phone calls just fine, just the IM's didn't work.

-Email is barebones to say the least and I couldn't get it to send mail on one account. I know all the setting ere correct but it just wasn't happy. Tried Claws too and that didn't work either.

-I realized there was little or no Mac support (we are a 100% Mac shop) but I figured I could do software updates using Parallel or Boot Camp. No such luck according to the friendly Nokia tech who said "it works some of the time and not others." That was the final straw, that was when it went back in the box and got returned.

I figure with some time and determination I could have worked through the other issues but why should I? This is being marketed as a consumer ready platform and it isn't. I see it is a slick piece of hardware that has huge potential and if I were making my living running networks, programming, etc. It would still be in my pocket. However, I don't and what I need is an internet tablet that does all the things the N810 is supposed to do but actually does them out of the box and does them well. Oh yes, does them well and is better put together than the N810 is. Shame, shame Nokia.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Does this adapter allow you to plug in the USB cable to the 810's power input? Sorry I didn't know they made adapters like this.. do you have a screen shot or link to an ebay auction selling this? Thanks! :)

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

ok, i just quote the whole thing, so this is long
i completely agree with you on somethings, but you understand this is really a side project, and really isnt consumer ready, for IM you could use pidgin, or jabber(i think, dont actually use), really this is for internet browsing, and anything else, they're giving to the programmers, and just supplying some hardware, so i agree with your sentiments, but i do feel some things needed explanation.
as far as i can see, the N810 was really kept pretty quiet, really it was just caught with the touchscreen hype,
thats all

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

no, it just goes to the power charging slot, the usb is for the computer, or whatever you would use

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: Finland
Purchased From: www.verkkokauppa.com, for 449 €
Purchase/Arrival Date: 10/17/2007 / 12/17/2007

Likes:
-Screen
-Look
-3rd party applications
-Keyboard, takes a little practise but its good

Dislikes:
-Slow network, payment for longer battery life
-Battery life, but this is just natural

Favorite Apps:
-Vagalume
-Pidgin
-Xournal

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I'm not comparing to a laptop. I'm comparing to a close competitor of the N810, the Raon Digital Everun. Its bigger, not pocketable, but its far more worthy of the term 'internet tablet' than the N810 is.

Whether it works or not on a 770 or 800 is irrelevant.



Will try that. Thanks.
Another example of problems consumers might have though?

I don't own a laptop. Never have, so I can't compare it. I'm comparing with mobile compters, handtops, ultra mobiles etc.

Thanks for the feedback.

Steve.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

No, there *is* a need for Meebo. Apart from the simple fact that its a web page and it should work on an internet tablet...
I want a log of all my chats available from any internet browser. I want to be able to log int without having to fiddle with apps and set up all the IM accounts.
I was a long-time (5+ years) user of Gaim and Trillian but those apps are out of my life now!

Regarding Gmail, have you ever tried searching through a GB of emails for an address, someone's name using client-side apps on a low-end device? Maybe Gmail IMAP supports server side searching, i'm not sure. Having a 6GB online, backed up, available from anywhere, instantly searchable and filterable mailbox is so much nicer than a client-side app for me.

The same issue 'configuration' as above also applies. I use gmail web interface on all my PCs and, as long as I have internet, its there and I don't have to set anything up. I used to use Thunderbird, Outlook, Kmail but thankfully those days are over!

As you see, I disagree!! For me, the web route is far better than any other. Cheaper too! (even though I spend a large proportion, too much!, of my apps budget on a 3.5G data contract as a back-up to my broadband.)

Regards
Steve.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

We completely agree that it isn't consumer ready. OTOH, if it's not consumer ready why is it so readily available for typical consumer outlets in the US (e.g. Best Buy, Amazon, etc.)?

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: France (am i the first in this thread?)
Purchased From: Nokia boutique
Purchase/Arrival Date:19/12/07

Here is some thought after my first day with N810 without any real internet access (so no software upgrade or anything) :

Likes:
- Very nice hardware (really! any shiny pocket-pc looks like crap in comparison) Keyboard, GPS, big screen and so on ...
- Hey it's a Linux box in my pocket !
- loudspeaker incredibly good for a device this size
- I love the multi-colored flashing led in the corner, it so cool !
- Easy configuration : just tell who is your phone carrier and it's ready to connect using your bluetooth phone. Bluetooth keyboard is just some clicks away too.
- Really pocketable device
- Browsing experience seems to be very good (but just tried 5 minutes when coming back home).

Dislikes:
- seems far less rugged than N800 (will probably not survive its first fall)
- very slippery material makes it insecure to hold (if someone bumps into you, you're sure to drop the thing ...). Bad for a mobile device.
- No easy solution to attach a wrist strap (cf. previous point)
- No hard cover for screen. Default case is nice (i like the color a lot) but offers no protection at all for the screen. If i don't drop it, it will probably die from a cracked screen. I'll use at least some Brando screen sheet.
- One handed operation difficult / no jogdial or controls easy to use with one hand for navigation
- Proprietary connectors (power and USB). Stupid, stupid Nokia !!! Please just a standard mini-usb for data & power !
- Software package abysmal -- in fact it's a good point : it means it's still a hacker playground !
- Really confusing power options (is the device really on or off or something between ?)
- GPS does not work (but i'll try outside next time)

Favorite Apps:
- huh without internet access ... osso xterm ? :-)

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: USA
Purchased From: buy.com
Purchase/Arrival Date: dec2,2007 for $430

Likes: wow- even after tons of reading about the n810 to hold it in man hand blew me away. It's great! I'm a commuter and will use the heck out of the new features. I really enjoy the new OS and can see it getting even smoother in time. I've had a n770 and been very impressed with it (especially from 2005). I think at $100ish the N770 is still a hugely successful device for many reasons.

Dislikes: neglected to buy a 4gb class 6 mini sdhc when I ordered it. Why does N810 have one a 2gb internal (and why can't that be upgraded?) It would be fun if they could squeeze IR into it so it could control my home theater and lights.

Favorite Apps: sure, it may not be as consumer-ready as could be, but it is the possibility of what can be that makes the n810 so exciting. heck, it takes half a day to get any new computer sorted out, properly outfitted, and rolling. There is already terrific community support. I'll be jumping for joy when I can video-conference with friends at their laptops.

Future: I hope next year we're all upgrading to the next N8xx with wimax!

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: UK
Purchased From: Nokia Online Shop UK
Purchase/Arrival Date: 20/12/2007

Likes:
The Keyboard really makes it so much more usable
The camera is massively improved with the light sensor
Seems a little faster

Dislikes:
1. GPS is painfully slow (I have an external GPS which I use in my car so not really bothered, it is very handy having an onboard one)
2. Memory card fitting is a nightmare.
3. USB is completely stuffed, it seems to lock the memory card and get the tablet itself in a complete state requiring me to remove the battery to get it back into a sane state. (thankfully I have an N800 so I connect that up for transferring files, which is a bit of a pain! (and that is running OS2008) )

Favorite Apps:
Gizmo
Modest
Canola2

I seriously hope the USB fiasco get's sorted soon!
Also the map app seemed to crash every time I tried to update the settings manually, however now it has "auto-updated" it seems fine

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Have you tried to umount (or safely remove, as the case may be)the 2 drives from your desktop before unplugging the cable? I mount/unmount many times a day without ever needing to even turn the N810 off. If you are doing this, then perhaps something is wrong with your cable or usb hub or usb port?

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I always unmount the "drives" before I unplug, there is definately nothing wrong with the usb port as I use it for my n800 and other usb drives and haven't had a problem before.
No way of knowing if it is the cable, but I doubt it as it see's the drives ok, then everything goes badly wrong after I use it.
Given my current experience with the N800 and N810 I'd say there is something badly wrong with the memory card handling somewhere.
I've had some weirdness on my n800 since upgrading to OS2008 related to memory cards, (had to take battery out for 5mins) all stable now, but I'm leaving them well alone for the moment until my USB sd-card reader arrives then I can shutdown my N810/N800 take the card out transfer data to/from it and then put it back in - just way too unreliable and I don't want to lose data again.

Unless there is a formatting difference between the N810 and N800 and it's the swapping them around that stuffs them?

mmmm....I'll try reformating my external and see if that helps
(it seems to have helped, maybe that is all it is?)

Is there anyway of "securing" the memory card in as it may be slipping out?

Cheers,

Malc

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: US
Purchased From: Didn't. Nokia sent it to me after some consulting work.
Arrival Date: December 20.

I sum up my thoughts here: http://www.openthefuture.com/2007/12/touchy_touchy.html

In short: some improvements over the N800, but not enough to warrant the price delta. Some brain-dead decisions by Nokia (miniSD, microUSB), but not enough to make me stop using it.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: australia
Purchased From: somewhere in california, our USA office purchased it

Likes:

has a nice sturdy feel to it.

GPS

Dislikes:

The pull out keyboard is a big disappointment. The keys are too close together and hard to discern from one another, even with my skinny fingers. I keep hitting the wrong keys. The Zaurus keyboards are much easier to type with.

As well, why isn't a camera app included? I do prefer the pull out and rotatable camera of the n800.

Not enough open source/too much proprietary closed software.

Keyboard backlight turns off while keyboard is pulled out. This is irritating at night.

The desktop applets are not lockable like on the n800. They keep moving around and often find myself fumbling to move them to find an applets underneath.


Favorite Apps:

maemo mapper.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: USA (but the n810 rom thinks I'm in the UK).
Purchased: 12/15 from a CompUSA in Des Moines IA (3 hour drive, but they had it in stock which by then no one else - even online - and at 20% off since they were closing).

I'm really impressed.

Everything works well. The speakers are loud enough and clear for such a small device. I don't think I've been below 3/4 full on the battery. Bluetooth goes without effort to the other side of the office. Wifi picks up APs as well as my MacBookPro. GPS is good for the size/space/power, but I'll probably use an external one most of the time. The BT headset switchover works well.

Screen loses color saturation in sunlight but is still very readable (a key reason for the n810 over the n800). I've not seen the OLPC/XO but it might be the only real competitor. Keyboard works well - having it lighted is useful too (there isn't enough screen real-estate to have the tapboard up all the time).

It runs linux so I have VNC both ways, ssh, etc.

Sometimes the web access is a bit slow, but not unexpected for the device (and huge web pages. Adblock and greasemonkey with a blockflash script helps a great deal). YouTube and other Flash9 multimedia work great.

RSS needs to "open in new window" for links. Missing windows media codecs for speech
or such (Win Mobile for ARM processors has them as: wmsdmod.dll wmadmod.dll wmvdmod.dll), so a small number of streams aren't accessible. They aren't on the iPod/iPhone either though.

Hate list: I NEVER have typed the euro or pound symbol, but since I hack linux I use the or bar ("|") and control keys. I keep putting my left thumb over the ambient light sensor so the screen dims. Keyboard doesn't seem to latch fully. USB port covered by the stand. Only OEM chargers indicate full. The "lock/unlock" sometimes sticks - the LED flashing as an indicator would help. The power switch also doesn't feedback well.

They need to include the two adapters I mention in another thread from Amazon with the unit:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=2AMZC5EDCTPTU
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=2AMZC5EDCTPTU

And/or a car adapter. They include the vehicle mount.

Although it has some proprietary software, it is real Linux - USB host mode works, I can add kernel modules, and I use Gnumeric, and the shell and system is all familiar (I do embedded linux professionally).

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: USA
Purchased From: micro center - Houston, TX
Purchase/Arrival Date: 12/29/07

Likes:

beautiful screen, great web experience, handy qwert keyboard, linux OS, impressive battery life, excellent multimedia performance, decent number of apps & add-ons...it's really a pretty little machine!

Dislikes:

gps slow to connect, won't do my laundry for me

Favorite Apps:

so far - web browser, internet radio

Comments:

I'm an IT n00b...and a linux n00b, but I was able to flash my n810 to the latest os2008 last night using my EEE PC. I was pretty happy about that! I have fairly large hands, but the small qwerty keyboard doesn't seem to hinder me....I'm writing this from my n810!

all in all, I'm happy and very impressed with this device. is there room for improvement? sure, but it really does everything I need it to do...and it does the job well.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

London, UK
Purchased 12 Dec at play.com

This is my first IT and my first brush with Linux. I got my hands on the N810 on Christmas Day but I've only been able to use it for the last 3 days.

First impressions are that it's pretty much what I was looking for though I do require PIM software to be installed. Screen is lovely and the keyboard is good, for my fingers at least.

First thing I did was install the OS upgrade which went without a hitch and took around 30 minutes from start to finish including download.
I then tried YouTube which is excellent, a bit choppy with some sequences but on the music ones I like perfectly smooth.

I've sorted the PIM stuff out. First I had to come to terms with repos and all that stuff but didn't find it difficult, thanks to many helpful and clear contributions on this forum. (The manual is a waste of space in my opinion)

I installed GPE Calendar, ToDo and Contacts. Then I signed up on Google Calendar. Then I installed Erminig. This complained of missing libraries which I downloaded one by one. But it all stalled on the python-runtime which I could only find in corrupted form (see elsewhere on the forum!).

I solved this by clearing all Application Manager catalogues and making a new entry called All at web address http://stage.maemo.org.extras. This worked well (thanks again to various forum members).

I then filled in a few details in Erminig and -wahay! It alo synced up first go. Brilliant. I now have a PIM system, on IT and PC that comes somewhere near my Palm TX - which is headed for eBay.

I've also installed Eggtimer, Password Safe and Camera.

I intend to install maemo Mapping soon. All in all, Linux ain't that hard to use. I tend to learn things hands on and this proves to be an easy way to get to know the N810.

Great piece of kit. it's cut my TV viewing by half. I don't think I've even scratched its potential yet. I intend to learn Python and do a bit of programming for it myself.

What don't I like? The poor Nokia documentation. The ambiguity over standby/ turnoff. Do I switch it off - or let it idle? And with Linux, the number of people who use what looks like gobbledegook instead of English.

Luckily, this forum is a fantastic tool and I thank the all organisers and contributors for it.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: USA
Purchased From: Amazon.com

Likes:
- Feels pretty good in your hand, fun to use. Impresses by-standers quite a bit.
- I like the keyboard. Slides in and out in a good way. The D-pad actually works better than it seems like it will; learning to just trust it helps.
- It's smart about a lot of things, like not popping up on-screen keyboards if hardware keyboard is open, connecting to a variety of networks w/o any fuss, guessing words as you type, lighting up keyboard when needed. If you hide the browser's toolbar in full-screen view, it pops up briefly when you're connecting to a new page. Nice!
- It connected to my Treo 680 via BT w/ no problem, and uses the Treo's Cingular network connection when WiFi isn't around.
- Full-screen view is wonderful. Clarity/sharpness seems great. Desktop theme is attractive and easy to customize.
- Speakers are loud and clear. Sitting it on its stand and letting Internet Radio run is pretty cool.

Dislikes:
- A bit slippery, and rattles when shaken side-to-side. (I may try putting a bit of electrical tape on the battery to see if that solves the rattle.) Definitely not that desirable "slab of metal" feel I'd like, but that's part of the deal w/ a slide-out keyboard I guess.
- I'm OK with the D-pad being on the slider, but I'd love to also have page-up/down keys on the face. Maybe on the right, just like the existing buttons on the left? (Are you listening, Nokia?)
- Some apps have the wide page-scroller bar on the right, but most don't. That tiny scrollbar is impossible to get to with your finger! Page flicking is interesting, but sometimes I want to grab the scrollbar and move down a long page. Links/text-entry fields in the web browser are small and can be tough to select, too.
- More unique cables to stow - USB cable is not mini-USB, and doesn't charge the device. The new Nokia charger seems like the pin could easily break, and it could stand to fit more snugly. It does use a standard headphone port, though.
- Email support is weak for power-users, and otherwise this device seems best suited to power-users! I don't plan on using this thing as a PIM, since my Treo does that quite well. Checking email when I get an attached PDF to read, though, would be nice. I've got the Modest email client installed; it's better, but still isn't as good as I'd like to see w/ its support for IMAP folders. Can't Nokia adapt Thunderbird to the Maemo interface the way they did for Firefox?
- Documentation: As noted by others, this is a real weak point. Come on, Nokia - what do those blinking lights mean, anyway? I had to turn them off!

Favorite Apps:
Let's face it, most of us got this thing at least in part because you can do a lot of messing around with it. I downloaded and installed quite a few apps, but have now found that many of the built-in ones work pretty well if given a chance.
- Maps (the built-in one): I purchased the nav option, and it works great! True, the GPS won't lock to the satellites indoors, but what do you want? It works like a charm in my car, and I hardly ever need to navigate when I'm in my kitchen. :-) I just sit the device in the ashtray area forward of the shifter, and it locks on in less than 2 minutes. That works for me. So far, the POI database seems very complete. (Note: it says "voice-guided turn-by-turn". This is true, but it does not call out the streets by name. I had another GPS for a while that did do this, and it was nice. I find, though, that it really doesn't matter that much, at least for me.) Unlike some of the other posters, I couldn't get Maemo Mapper to work at all. It couldn't find the GPS unless Maps was also running. Then after a LONG delay, it placed me in the next street over!
- Media player: Very usable and attractive interface. I installed Canola2 beta, and love its look and feel. However, I find it to be flaky for anything except photos, so I reverted to Media player for my everyday music & podcast needs. I even like the included headphones, which wasn't true at all for the Nokia phone I got a few years ago.
- RSS reader: Looking at these over my morning coffee is nice. Feeds with attachments, like podcasts, can be downloaded right to the device. I imported my feeds from bloglines no problem, right from the device's web browser. My ipod/itunes combo seems like a bit of a pain in comparison.
- omweather: Gotta have a desktop weather widget, right? (Oops, I mean applet!) Not sure why this wasn't included in OS2008, but this one is easy to get and set up.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country - UK
Purchased from - play.com
Purchase Date - 22.Dec.2007

Likes
Size - it's a much better fit in my pocket than previous versions.
Keyboard - granted the size gets some getting used to, however it's a much better method of typing than with the stylus (for me anyways)
UI - OOooooh pretty.. seriously a great improvement :D

Dislikes
Position of fullscreen and zoom buttons when using the keyboard.
Webcam - hmmm, same quality as n800 but without the funky rotate ability.
Repos - these seem to be broken at the moment, but easily fixable soon :p

I am hugely happy with my new n810 and havent put it down since the day i got it. Hopefully the repo probs will be sorted soon, but this hasn't stopped me putting on my fave apps;

• Pidgin
• skype
• xchat
• maemo mapper

Will be even happier when canola matures (e.g. proper cover art functionality) and pidgin finally gets webcam support.

I now have to think what i can do with my n770 and n800!! seriously like the idea of a using n800 as a wardriving machine for my security work :)

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Couldn't you just use your 810 for that as well?

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

picked my 810 up last night. currently taking a **** at work while typing this. nuff said.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I like my n810 alright, it's a nice pda/pmp, it does the job, a little pricey but I like the convenience of linux on it. Now I need to use it more.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

first impressions were that it definately does some things great right out of the box and that a huge world of options were out there for anyone who wanted to learn about them. Being really busy during the holidays, I hadn't had the change to get into it much. Here's a quick example of how much this thing has rocked for me in just the short time I've had it:
wife called to say heat in car wasn't working. I hit the n810's google bar to get some articles about why and learned about the heating components. I froogled the part to see makes and prices. I local searched the part to a nearby autostore, gizmo called to see if it was in stock, and used maps to get directions. After arriving at store, they couldn't actually find it <critical misstep not asking by phone for them to touch part>. I used their website to see other locations, show picture of the correct part, check other autostores. They called to confirm part in stock at next nearest store and hold for me. I walked out door and used GPS to drive to other store. Used net to review tools required and view install procedure while upside down under dashboard (no laptop would fit there). Listened to internet radio. $30 and 3 hours total to aquire and install, heat works in car; wife very happy. Next day I called local autorepair shop to check= $400 saved. Wife no longer gives me any crap whatsoever about how much nokia toy cost. note to self, do not have a beer with neighbor before being upside down for an hour.

it ain't saving the world yet, but it's really cool.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

@above: It is cool to hear about people using stuff like this to actually improve their lives in a realistic way. This thing will not cure world hunger, but if we have realistic expectations, I think most people would agree the n810 is pretty nice.

Personally, I use mine as a way to make life easier when traveling. Itineraries at the airport, movies on the plane, email at the hotel, notes in the board room. It is a nice way to bring things together.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone. It is a little pricey if all you need is an mp3 player, but anyone with more needs should look into this.

Cheers,

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I've been waiting since November and finally received my N810 today. I'm in the US and had ordered from PROVANTAGE. I have been reading the posts daily and making a list of the covers, USB cable, data card and apps I wanted. I was anxious to start coding in python and make it my own. I held it in my hands. It has a wonderful feel to it. I put in the battery and plugged it in. I left it plugged in for 4 hours, requiring much self-discipline since I was at work. After 5 I tried to turn it on. It does not work! I don't want to send it back. I asked for help on the newbie thread but I'm steeling myself to send it back for repair. I sacrificed for this baby.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I just got my new N810 tonight, and I'm already indebted to the ITT people. Whoever it was that wrote about the penny pinching screen protector (I can't seem to find that thread with the search function right now), I just want to give you a big thanks. Incidentally, I did modify the procedure a bit. After carefully removing the two stickers, one of them left a patch of sticky silver diamonds on the screen protector. I remember the thread mentioning that they could be removed with a particular type of screen cleaning solution, which I didn't have, unfortunately. Obviously, I didn't want to wait to use my N810, so I took out a bottle of something called Goo-Gone. It's a cleaner meant for removing sticky glue patches from things. I put a little bit on a paper towel and rubbed it on the screen, and the glue residue did eventually come off. It takes a fair bit of time and patience, but I think it worked out okay in the end. YMMV.

Likes:
- It is so small and sleek. I love the metal finish.
- The screen is beautiful! It is so bright and crisp. Even looking at the little blue bubbles of the default background takes my breath away. This is my first pocket-size computer, so I'm probably more impressed than people who have owned other devices though.
- Based on some other threads, some people seem to think the N810 doesn't offer a good web-experience. One particular post suggested that the web wasn't fun on an N810. Well, I disagree. Perhaps it's just the web-sites that I visit, but I think reddit, wired, ITT and loads of other sites work just fine. I was preparing myself for the worst, and have now been pleasantly surprised.
- The software is open source! Most people don't mention this in their first impressions posts, but I don't think it's possible to underestimate how important this is. Even when Nokia drops support for the N810, as long as there are users, there will be software updates. And it seems very hackable too. They have xterm installed by default.
- I'm also glad that it comes with the aforementioned DIY screen protector. I still think Nokia could have gone one better and just shipped it with the screen protector in place and no annoying stickers, but you can't have everything, I guess.
- It fits in my pocket so well. It's slightly longer than my wallet, but slightly narrower as well. I'm sure this will be a constant companion for a long time.

Dislikes (and everything here is an extremely minor quibble):
- Boy, the documentation is really sucky. People had mentioned this before, but still... (good thing we have ITT)
- The first time I tried to open the battery cover, it seemed to stick a little bit. I pushed the cover closed completely and then hit the release switch a second time, and it popped right open. Not really a major thing, but I suppose if I had been less cautious about my new baby, perhaps I could have bent the metal back by trying to force it open.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Country: U.S of A
Purchased From: Best Buy of Mount Vernon
Purchase/Arrival Date: 12/29/2007

Likes: Form Factor, Apps, Speakers, to much to explain

Dislikes: Metal finish is slippery

Favorite Apps: Kagu

Re: Newbie to internet tablets and my N810
 

Well, it looks like the phone carriers and manufacturers have standardized on micro USB as the universal connector for phones and mobile devices.

So maybe Nokia's change was in anticipation of this standard ratification?


http://www.omtp.org/news/news_pr_universal_cable.html

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I know i've requested this in another thread, but the speakers on my n810 have a distorted rattly sound, and are much quieter than the single speaker on the 770.

Would appreciate anyone who considers themselves to have good hearing to comment on speaker sound quality and volume vs older tablets. I'm trying to decide whether mine is defective.

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

Just got my n810 yesterday. This is a major piece of hardware! This gorgeous device absolutely blows away the Palm/HP PDAs. Which leads me to my primary peeve: Software.

Were it not for the lack of software, there would be no reason why the N810 cannot be a serious contender in the PDA market, or even as a notebook replacement.

In my opinion, Nokia should develop a decent set of apps that handle basic "office" productivity. MS Word is the worldwide standard for word processing. How about an MS word-compatible word processor?

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I agree completely. I think though, that Nokia is unsure what its market is with this device.

I bought it because it was the next logical step from my Palm TX. But many people, often those who previously had N770s and 800s are on the technical side of things and simply want 'net access on a tiny Linux computer.

In other words, for me it's a Palm with laptop capabilities, for them it's a laptop that goes in their pocket.

With the Palm, you got lots of software development because people (including me to a small extent) can make money from it. With the open source movement- and I'm a great admirer of it - you get what someone chooses to supply from the goodness of their heart.

What I'd like is for there to be a mix, so that I could buy slick commercial style software, a Win/ Mac/ Linux syncable PIM, for example, if I wanted. But why would someone, Nokia included, spend money developing software that in at least 'good enough' form can be obtained for nothing?

Nokia could corner the PDA market with this machine - who would want a Win Mob box after trying an 810? - but I don't think they are interested. Maybe, compared with phones, simply not a big enough market?

I'd love to know Nokia's take on this!

Re: The itT Nokia N810 First Impressions Thread
 

I completely agree. I'm holding out on buying one until either the software improves or someone comes out with something with equivalent hardware and good PIM, word processing, media playing and web browsing software. The n810 only has the last 2, and that's simply insufficient. I love what I've seen of the hardware, but I also have absolutely no interest in becoming a linux expert just to use a device. If it were possible to reflash it to Windows Mobile 6 or if the Palm emulator could be made full screen, I'd get one in a heartbeat.