Looks like I am coming back. Nice to be back.

Well I sort of never left.

But I was somewhat angry at Nokia for kind of dumping the 770 users when they introduced the N8XX series.

Of course they made an effort with the hacker edition of the OS.

But as mad as I wanted to be the 770 remained to be my favorite handheld device ever, and the new default way for me to read book... now for years. I loved hacking on it, but I always had a few complaints.

The browser was pooey, I prefered minimo.
There was not enough storage memory.
The CPU was just a bit slower than I wished.
I just don't like on screen keyboards.

The N810 solved pretty much ALL of this, but cost $400.

Well I found I could buy them now at Walmart for $219.

Sold.

So I get the feeling Nokia may be on the verge of the next version of the hardware. And though I HOPE they don't dump me AGAIN I have a feeling the 810 will pick up where the 770 left off and carry me for many years. So in a way I don't really even care what is next. (Especially if it is a phone, or mainly has more phone like features).

But I am curious. what do you guys think?

Was I crazy to finally adopt the N810 THIS late in the game?

With so many guys trying to convince you that the n8x0 series was a major improvement over the 770.... my answer would be yes

http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer

So Sachin you don't think the 810 is an improvement over the 770, or are you saying I waited too long? I am not sure I track the humor.

Mer looks like a wonderful thing Ryan. I will try it on my 770 eventually for sure. But I still look forward to more memory, a keyboard and GPS to have fun with.

Nope, not crazy at all Here the price just dropped to 200 EUR so I bought a N810 a couple of days ago. Also I have a 770 lying around. It's a huge difference. Really. Especially speed and keyboard. And with Mer around the corner it should get a proper after life, even if support from Nokia is dropped.

Cheers!

Welcome back. Hopefully you already know that the forthcoming OS release, Maemo 5, will not be officially available from Nokia on the N800/N810. However, there are alternatives like Mer which will hopefully result in a kind of 'hacker edition' for older hardware.

Not at all. Due to software updates and the increase in available memory card capacity, both the N800 and N810 are better devices than when they were launched, and now they're cheaper too! I also recently bought an N810.

It's a bit of an odd situation. The drop in availability and price wasn't due to the imminent arrival of the successor. It seems that it was to avoid confusion and competition with the N97. For people like us the N97 isn't a direct competitor, but for the non-technical masses the N97 is probably the better choice for a "pocket computer" as Nokia has described the N97.

Regards,
Roger

True indeed. I have recently stated that some of the best has yet to come for the N8's. I believe years from now these devices will be considered the best tools to use in order to accomplish certain tasks.

Right now with browser style sheet tweaks and the addition of layers to Maemo Mapper my device can run circles around any Personal Naviation Device out there... at any cost, and with many more features.

My job requires 95% travel. I have about 1,100 task descriptions stored in PDF's that I now can access in the field when ever I need to refer to one. Prior to that, I had to carry two 4" thick 3 ring binders full of documents to accomplish the same thing.

During the recent financial turmoil I could access real time net news with just a minimal, always on cell phone connection. By choosing the right lunch spot, I could watch and listen to real time broadcasts over broadband.

Quite a few of my co workers have expressed interest in the N800 as a tool because of this... A year ago they only saw it as some geek toy I used for amusement.

I already have a N800. The emergence of Mer prompted me to look into buying a N810 to hack around with, just be aware that 3rd party things like Flash and Skype may or may not be available on Mer (they are working on it).

I think the tablets will be great toys for years to come, too. My only concern is availability when Nokia stops producing the N810 (if they haven't already). Already the N800 is EBay-only, and on the used market, well, quality is variable.