I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

I truly love my N810. Although it's no longer "cutting edge" it still attracts attention and is a very valuable work tool and fun gadget. However, I find myself using it less and less for internet browsing.

Don't get me wrong, it is super fast over wifi or bluetooth pan. It's just that I am unable to enjoy my browsing experience as much as just three or four months ago. All due to flash, unfortunately.

I've read many threads on the topic, some vilifying flash, others extolling its virtues. Regardless, the sum total is that the N800 or N810's hardware would seriously struggle to run Flash 10 even if an update would ever be available (I don't think it ever will be). Even websites that still support Flash 9 are broadcasting video and animations too demanding for my beloved tablet. Even some sidebar advertisements are causing it to choke and slow to a crawl - and sometimes crash the browser or maemo itself.

What can we expect in another four to six months?

I have an LG Incite and a Moto Q Global smartphone with the Skyfire browser. Since the actual "heavy lifting" is accomplished by Skyfire's servers (at the cost of some security; I don't try banking or anything!) I can view any content as smooth as silk.

I'm thinking of buying an $220 refurbished ipaq 211 Windows Mobile PDA, installing a tiny hack, and downloading Skyfire. The 4" screen has a VGA resolution so it's comparable to our tablet's. I won't be able to enjoy maemo's elegance but SBP shell will help.

It breaks my heart but I might have no choice if I want to continue using a mobile internet tablet to actually use the internet! Bah. I don't know how my pocket will handle a cell phone, N810 and a PDA. Oh well.

Any other solutions? I can't afford an N900 and don't want to give up screen size. I'm spoiled! Thanks everyone.

BTW - I didn't post this in the "competing devices" section since I felt the post is more about the 810 than something else specific.

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

You could always install Fennec and the flashblock extension...

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

There is a quite easy solution: you can find it at this address http://browser-extras.garage.maemo.org/news/7/

It is a plug in for microb that stop all flash elements and it lets you decide selectively what to play.

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Depending on how much of the rumors are true, there are going to be 2 more Maemo devices coming next year. Hopefully the Nokia World Maemo5/N900 announcement will at least announce the form factor of those devices.

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Those are two really good ideas that I hadn't thought/known about. Thanks very much! That will save me from crashing and speed things up. It will pretty much give me an iphone-like browsing experience then, right? I generally use @scene to view youtube videos anyway. I also downloaded another app (I forgot what it's called!) that will download from a number of video-sharing sites.

Is it possible that I'm placing too much importance in viewing flash content?

Now if I can just find some miniSD cards somewhere I'll be happy. In central California they seem to be extinct. :(

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

That's good to know. Thanks!

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Buy a Samsung Mondi:

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/d...SWD-M100ZKACLW
http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=specs&i...swd-m100_mondi
http://www.pocketables.net/2009/08/w...ung-mondi.html
http://www.pocketables.net/2009/08/w...ung-mondi.html

Love mine so far.. It's basically a faster N810

But i'll also be picking up the N900 if it's subsidized stateside.

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

I use micro SD cards with mini SD adaptors.

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

If this is one of your goals, you can get fairly close with your n810 by doing the following:

• install the Tear webkit-based browser
• disable plugins for Tear
• set Tear's user-agent option to iPhone

See the Tear thread for details.

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Thanks everyone. You are why I will never give up my N810 no matter what.

I know I would love the Mondi; the price is what kills me - twice what the ipaq 211 refurb runs.

I will try out and look at all the other suggestions too. Thanks again!

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Wow, this looks really cool and affordable. Thanks for the link; I don't know if I would have found about it otherwise!

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

I would never use skyfire, everything goes through their servers, which render the pages for you, that's how they can do flash 10, when windows mobile only supports flash lite 2.1.

They give aggregate data to their clients, and your trusting the security of your info to them.

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

I would use Tear a lot more, but it doesn't work well for Yahoo mail and a number of other sites.

My solution for the time being is to use the standard browser! I start with www.skweezer.com. It runs a bunch of sites without flash and without javascript. If I want javascript I can just not start with skweezer.com.

It works very well, in general. Skweezer.com also works well with Fennec, but so far I find Fennec unweildy.

In the longer run, I am starting to lose the desire for a pocketable tablet. I'm happy with my Kindle, which can be used as a browser in a pinch. And I still have a Palm Centro.

I had an interesting experience with my Centro lately -- I broke it!

So, with a year left on my contract, I had to decide what to do. I bought a used Centro for about $80. It works great! I can't tell it's not the same one I broke!

So, when I decide to get a new phone someday, I will first investigate the used phone market.

And a tablet, which I will carry separately. One thing that inspires me about the Kindle is that it has so many flaws! That sounds strange, but I get a heck of a lot of use out of it, but it can be improved in so many ways that bodes well for future versions of it or some similar tablet. Just better bookmarking and history would be a big step, and of course the inevitable color Kindle. And maybe a bigger Kindle!

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Very true about Skyfire, Bolt and Opera Mini; they've never made it a secret about how they bring us the internet. I wouldn't recommend that anyone try to send any sensitive emails or account information. But for regular browsing, research, viewing videos: Skyfire can't be beat (yet).

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Look out for the Archos 5G 5'' android phone.

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

Phone ? Did I miss something ? Who said it's a phone ?

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

I've always thought that Archos had some great looking products. Having considered their products before, I read consumer reviews on Amazon.com and elsewhere. There exists a litany of complaints ranging from terrible customer service/support, glitchy hardware and software, a completely locked-down OS, and (worst of all) the need to purchase software "add-ons" to enjoy basic functionality like flash support in the browser, codecs for very common audio and video formats, etc. etc. Not to mention that if some user error, power failure, faulty add-on download or software glitch caused an incorrect or incomplete installation the consumer would have to pay another $20+ for another attempt.

I wound up choosing the N810 last December (great choice) and a Zen Vision W portable media player a few years back (also a solid choice) as opposed to Archos' contemporary offerings.

Any word on whether their Android device will be any different? I suppose much more discussion on it would mean a move to another section of the forum...

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39...9303427,00.htm

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39...9300995,00.htm

Re: I might have to buy another MID/tablet/PDA
 

You really expect to use a 5" tablet with a hard drive in it as a phone, as in put-to-head-and-talk ? I mean, if voice over a headset makes it a phone, then the Nokia Booklet 3G is a phone, too.