I've had the N800 for a couple weeks now, but really got to spend a lot of time with it the weekend before last (back issues meant I spent the practically the whole weekend lying down, what an opportunity to get to know my N800!). A friend who has an iPhone just asked me how I felt about the N800 after a couple weeks with it. (He wasn't trying to see who's %$@# was bigger, just plain curious) and since I've seen a few posts from people who felt that they weren't getting enough of a neutral viewpoint on the Internet Tablets, I figured I'd post my thoughts here.

Agree, disagree, correct my facts, add your own. More's the better. Hope this is helpful to some folks.

So two weeks in, with a couple new repositories and a handful of applications tested out, here's what I wrote to my friend:

I gotta tell you, in a lot of ways, I absolutely love it, and in a bunch of others, it is just not refined enough.

For instance, the fact that I am carrying around a linux machine in my pocket that I could run a server on is just amazing. I marvel at that fact alone. It isn't a real mass market selling point, but it does wonders for my gadget sense of ownership.

The touch screen interface is well done, if you are using a stylus. But having to use a stylus is limiting. It has two touch modes, one if it detects a sharp input, with smaller menu items and keyboard buttons, then another if it detects a dull push, which opens up the finger mode with bigger menu items and bigger keyboard buttons. Thats cool, but it isn't used system wide, so there is still a lot of interaction that isn't finger friendly.. And even with the stylus, when you are trying to use small items on a web page or application (think about the paging system on forums running vbulletin, for instance), it is dreadful.

I've seen interfaces that magnify the items where you are interacting to allow more precise control while still having inactive items take up little screen real estate. Think of the dock in OSX, there is a setting where the item that the mouse is on is magnified and the items near it are magnified a bit less, and so on, so the selected item is much bigger before you click on it than it normally is. This magnifying interface trick really needs to be implemented in Maemo for things like web sites to be really usable. Start magnifying on finger down, activate the highlighted control on finger up (bonus points for allowing a sideways finger flick to cancel the interaction).

The other thing that really has to be there is a scroll control, for scrolling through web pages and information dense documents (like word docs or spreadsheets).

Those two things, magnifying small controls and giving good scroll support are key items to overcome the fact that the display is limited. However, they are also features that could be enabled in software, meaning that the next generation Maemo release (any day now when the n810 is out, they'll release the OS upgrade for the n800 too) could enable these features. I don't think it will, but it is a problem that could be overcome using the touch screen and directional button that are part of the hardware package currently out there, so they are just an OS upgrade away...

The screen is gorgeous. The weight and size are both very good for my pocket, assuming it doesn't have to share the pocket with my phone or anything else. After using several generations of PDAs/PocketPCs, this definitely seems to be a generational step beyond the others, but it still misses some things. For instance, the lack of data access anywhere is sorely limiting once you get used to using the n800. After playing with it all weekend and really digging it, I was at a loss last Monday night when I wanted to look something up for my boys when we were at the playground and realized I didn't have a data connection. (actually, I found an open wifi, but I didn't want to 'borrow' someone else's wifi.)

I think the iPhone with the unlimited data plan has a huge leg up on just being a useful ubiquitous information appliance. And that's really what I think the value in the n8xx series will turn out to be, information at your fingertips whenever you need it. You can pair it with your bluetooth phone, but unless you get an all-you-can-eat data plan paid for by work, it's just too much money right now... maybe next year in 2008 when the Sprint wimax enabled version will come out, I might be persuaded to switch wireless carriers at that point. I'm definitely keeping my ears open, because there is a lot to really like about it, even if it isn't perfect.

I disagree that the data plans are too expensive. I like to use this on the way ,at work, and driving around. Internet access is very convenient for replanning on the fly. FYI Verizon at least will let you add or remove this service at will so you can try it and decide if it's worth the money.

How much do you need to pay for your wireless all you can eat plan? When I last checked, it was almost as much more over the phone plan as getting another phone service? (~$50/month)

I'll be the first one to admit that I am a cheap bastard, but anything over $20 is too much for me to justify paying (and even then, considering I am paying VZ for my home data and then paying them more for my mobile data, that just reeks).

Who is your provider, and are you happy with it? Like I said up front, I am more than happy to hear that my presumptions are wrong. I will happilty get you a referral fee

If you have Sprint, data plans only cost an extra $20 a month, and if you know a Sprint employee or can google their email addresses, the Sprint Employee Referral Plan includes unlimited internet as well, for really cheap plans (ie 500 minutes for $30 with internet)

I have Sprint and unlimited EVDO (the Vision plan) runs me $15.00/month. Pairing with the N800 is flawless. That's near-DSL speeds. Apple OTOH, only uses ATT's EDGE which AFAIK is equivalent to dialup.

N8X0 for the win!

BTW, I wouldn't be holding my breath for WIMAX. I bet the roll-out is delayed or canceled. The Sprint CEO who was pushing WIMAX is gone, and the shareholders are nervous about the outlay.

Yeah, I have it for 15 a month too, but for new customers its now $20 a month.

I work for sprint. Whats coming down the company lines is that WiMax is heading through at the same speed it was a month ago (when the CEO left.)

Thanks for the review- I just bought my n800 and I'm looking forward to it very much. Just not sure if I should have splurged for the n810 instead. Oh well, maybe in a few months I can afford the upgrade and sell my 800 to a friend.

If, by "upgrade", you mean GPS and a kebyoard, it's hardly worth it for twice the price, especially with the reduced storage capacity.

For some people the new screen and keyboard are worth a couple bills themself. Not all of everyone is trying to store large collections of music, video, etc.

True, but if you are storing a lot of multimedia files, then the N800 is the way to go.