[QUOTE=Texrat;74422]I never ONCE saw an N800 on display at either of the Fry's here, and I practically live in those places.

Today at Fry's I found a red "Nokia Internet Tablet" shelf marker, and amazed because I'd never seen it there before (and I too am there frequently, shall we say), I looked high and low around on that shelf and others, but found nothing. Just a tease?

And I'm with TR on this...what the hell are you doing talking to those guys?

I dislike some fry's employees and similar peoplle too when they don't really know what they are talking about, but please remember they are hired to help get people the product and answer basic questions. These people aren't 'experts' in any product and work for slightly better than minimum wage. It is easy to criticise them for being *****s but they don't have the knowledge to know everything about all the products their store sells. I don't think they have training sessions on all products. Let's try not to be so hard on them.

yes, it would be nice if nokia educated the general public better through their website. Apple has a freaking 212MB video download tto illustrate the functions of their product. granted, there really aren't that many functions on the ipod touch.

No, no, no, sorry but I won't entertain ignorance from anyone trying to "sell" me something.
I eat vendors for lunch on that...particularly government vendors flogging Apple's server kit.
In my chosen career field, the wrong information gets the wrong people dead. Period.
So I tend to make sure my information is 100% correct, period.
If I don't know something then I damn well TELL the people I don't know it.
I expect the same from EVERYONE on the planet.
And if I hear "I don't know" from someone trying to sell me something in the store they WORK IN when I ask a basic question about a product, then to hell with buying anything from them.
I'd rather that "sale" or "commission" go to someone who's excited enough about the product(s) to know all they can about it. It's why I tend to buy in the smaller mom-n-pop shops.

Better yet, Nokia can toss out the appropriate video capture software for Mac/PC/Linux and hold a contest for us folks here. Best "walkthrough" on a stock device, from basic features to installing new software, etc. wins a prize or two. I figure that's the ONLY way you'll see something like that because Nokia's just too damn lazy to do it on their own. A free N95 or E90 to the winner should drum up MORE than enough contest entries and they'll still save money by not hiring outside or making someone internal do it. All submissions become property of Nokia of course.

Fry's specializes in having lots of stuff at a low price. It doesn't specialize in techs that know a lot. I don't want any help; I just want the staff to get out of the way and let me get what I want, or at most tell me what aisle it's in.

For people with that attitude, Fry's is perfect. That's why they are so popular. Oh, and they also have a pretty easygoing return policy.

The one thing I most missed when I worked in Manhattan and in Moscow was Fry's.

there any chance of a new product? any rumbles?

I never really talk to the workers there cause when I do they never have a clue what Im talking about, But I did this time because There was one the other day on the shelf and I thought it was weird it was gone. But the guy didn't know where it was or if they had sold it because he didn't seem to know what he was doing with their own computer system. He also told me about one that a nearby frys had but when I called them they said it was sold to an employee once the price dropped and they assured me the system says 0 in stock. But its all good thats why we have the internet. But the frys in California did stock them because I know of two people that bought one at that frys. And I also saw a 770 there earlier in the year. (hmmm wish I would have got that just because)

Sure, I understand that. And I would agree.

But, at the bare minimum, they should train their employees to tell the truth. If they don't know, say so. Being told erroneous crap is worse than being told no information at all.

I admit i have often been a "buttinski" when I over hear an employee tell a customer out right incorrect info. Even when I am not completely sure what they ask, I point them to some web sites and google to at least start the learning process.

Outside the the fact that everyone seems to agree that people at these places don't know much about the products, the more disturbing note is that big retail chains are dropping the N800. Not a good sign for the future of the product!

Bingo. I'm with geneven in that I zip into Fry's, get my gear and-- well, I'd like to say zip out but we all know the cattle queue doesn't allow that.

But if I *did* fail to do my research on my own and if they don't know an answer, I'd definitely rather hear that than something like... an N800 sent back for Vista compliance...

I picked up an older issue of Linux Journal Magazine, September 2007. They named the N800 the "Ultimate Linux Handheld"... I know there are other handhelds out there running linux but I can't rattle them off the top of my head. But reading the article, the guy talks about it seemingly like a new device and that nokia is supporting it and devoting R&D dollars to it. Future still seems promising, but the doom and gloom is looming.