yabbas | # 1 | 2007-07-04, 19:19 | Report

Beware - long post

I've been on the lookout for something to replace the aging laptop; the N800 seems to be it - though whilst I was writing this other Ultra Portables have sprung up (jeez I had no idea how cheap some hardware is getting!) and that's kinda thrown me into a state of indecisive limbo.



A bit of a usage description first ...
Ultimately my requirements were that the device is small & lightweight as I'd carry it everwhere I go (I do that with my 2.5kg laptop atm!),
with a battery that lasts at least 3 hours,
Wifi,
cheap 'n' cheerful (within reason),
video out (preferable),
at LEAST 800 x 480 (minimal size for web pages imho - yup - even HTC's Ameo 5" 640x480 screens aren't good enough for me ,)
very good support for internet browsing,
viewer for PDFs and CHMs as I have countless eBooks I want with me,
possibility to use other apps/expandable (preferable.)


With that in mind the obvious option was the Nokia tablet. However, prices in the UK are shockingly different for the N770 and N800. N770 retails for around £80 while the N800 is around £240.


Listing the options found while researching:

Option 0: Internet Tablet - Nokia N800 £239.32 / Nokia 770 £81.00

Pros: tiny, cheap, does everything and does it nicely, Opera & Linux based machine, good community based around it, gorgeous 4.3" 800x480 screen.

Cons: possibly too small? Not as cheap as the N770 which is available brand new for a ridiculous £74 - N770 is apparently a lot slower and worse for ware than the N800 - my question is: Is the N800 worth £150 more than the N770 - one thing's for sure - you don't get 2 SDIO card slots with the N770. N770 is also available with the GPS travel pack for £150 from Amazon - p'raps I may just buy one for the GPS unit & software AND buy an N800 (use the GPS with the N800 and keep N770 spare)?

If I got this I'd also have to buy 2 8GB SD cards at £80 because I'd like the option of having loads of storage with me for music/videos/applications/my stuff/etc - pro to this is that it's ALL solid state.

Overall cost would be £320 for a 16GB N800; or possibly £400 for a 16GB N800, N770 and Bluetooth GPS


Option 1: Pseudo Internet Tablet/UMPC - Pepper Pad 3 £410.00

Pros: runs a 1.8 watt AMD Geode x86 processor and Linux, large 7" screen, Video Out, 20GB HD. Cheapest x86 option.

Cons: Looks a bit ****, software buggy, whilst it is x86 nobody seems to have found out if it can boot Windows! 7" good - 7" bad (i.e. large and weighs 1kg??) Costs nearly £200 more than the N800 and if I were to get one I'd _have_ to hack it open and replace the DDR ram with 1GB instead of 256MB because that's just the way I work. Crappy bluetooth stack and software could be much better.


Options 2-6: Ultra-Mobile PCs
Origami T770 - £550
Samsung Q1 £575.00
UBiQUiO 702 - £590
OQO model 01+ - £610
Raeon Digital Everun - £630
Toshiba Libretto U100 - ~£400+ from eBay??

Pros: Basically ultra portable laptops, compared to the Pepper Pad at least these come as standard with Windows support and much better everything including larger HD, more RAM, better CPU, etc, etc at around £140-£220 more.

Cons: Not so tasty £340-£440 more than the N800; am I _really_ going to be using the additional software - am I really looking into buying another laptop again? Will I really be using it to program on the go?

Option 7: Windows Mobile
Toshiba Portege G900 - £361

Pros: The only Windows Mobile 6.0 phone with the Hitachi 3" 800x480 touchscreen?

Cons: Windows Mobile 6 - Do I risk it? How many apps are available to run in the native 800x480 resolution?


Option 8: Macbook - £??? around £700 I think

Pros: Nice OS, pretty small

Cons: God I hate Mac users




So - umm - there are the options. Like I said - most of what I do on the go would be Web browsing (I use Opera on Windows, Java's a non-issue for me and Flash 7 is cool ); reading PDFs/CHMs; listening to eBooks/MP3s; watching DivXs, Remote Desktop, Terminal/Shell, powerpoint presentations.

I do occasionally fire up Visual Studio and Matlab on the laptop but with most of the dev stuff I do being graphics and mathematics based (and my current laptop having a shitty gfx card) I tend to rely on the desktop for the rest. Like I said though - the laptop goes with me EVERYWHERE so size and weight do matter (I'm fedup with sore shoulders.)

I'm not a Windows zealot (I'm not an OS zealot!) I'm techincally adept (to give you some idea I run Debian on my NSLU2) but I don't dabble in things OS for OS's sake (I also run Ubuntu and XP on the desktop .)

I am a cheapskate, but also I realise the value of good hardware and good sound investment - at the same time I'm not looking to spend over £600 on a portable.

I hated the N95

I've spent a good week researching these options but I haven't arrived at the stage where I'm going to put money down.


Like I said - the Nokia option seems the best overall investment - Nokia 770 for £80 or would I be that much happier with a Nokia 800 due to the storage options? How about the Pepper Pad ... or dare I say it anything else I listed up there

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Last edited by yabbas; 2007-07-04 at 19:26.

Rider | # 2 | 2007-07-04, 19:29 | Report

The N800 is fine for most of what you want.

But: the screen is small. Depends on your eyes, but when you read a PDF with small fonts, you have to magnify and then the good resolution is "gone". Horizontal scrolling is not something you want.

Then there is no keyboard, and all touchpad solutions are enough to type a web address, and send a few short lines of mails, but not much more.

Of course, you can attach a BT keyboard, but then everything is getting bigger and more heavy too.

Probably there is no ideal gadget which does it all. For the best price, get the 80 Pound N770 and use it for ebooks, mp3, mails and browsing only. Later you will buy the other gadgets too ....

yabbas | # 3 | 2007-07-04, 19:35 | Report

My eyes are fabulous I tend to run at ridiculously high resolutions all the time anyway (I prefer the screen real-estate.)

But aye - it's the price discrepancy between the 770 and 800 (and Pepperpad!) that's getting to me. What's the max storage options on the 770 at the moment (hacks or no hacks.)

Gilbert | # 4 | 2007-07-05, 14:18 | Report

I have read there'll be no more Updates for the 770, all resources go to the n800 (desperately awaited throughout ITT ). I'd take that into consideration too.

greets, Gilbert.

yabbas | # 5 | 2007-07-05, 18:10 | Report

Meh - I'm this far <-> from making a decision.

Currently trying to browse ebay for a bargain - if I can get hold of a 2nd hand N800 for around £150 then I'd be happy. Wish me luck!


Are PDF and CHM readers good for the device? Ideally I'd like something that'd render the actual PDF content as opposed to something that'd translate the text/images (akin to a pdf->html convertor program.)

Gluz | # 6 | 2007-07-05, 18:55 | Report

Most of my school documents are given as pdf's and I've used N800 to read them and its very nice. Evince is great program and the built-in pdf reader is also ok. Its a lot nicer and easier to read on sofa or bed with this small device than laptop. I'm not sure about CHMs though..