GeneralAntilles | # 31 | 2008-02-25, 14:35 | Report

Which is great, but the fact is, features like "excellent Microsoft Office compatibility" don't come free. They require the investment of people and time—people and time that would come from the browser team, or the UI team, or the communication team, etc, etc. Sure, it's nice to talk about, but it isn't as easy as it sounds.

sherifnix | # 32 | 2008-02-25, 14:41 | Report

It needs a focus that it IS good at, and document editing is something the current tablets COULD do. Multimedia support is weak due to hardware limitations, both in storage and capability (tearing, low bit rates).

The multimedia experience is NOT superb. There is no media management, and video is sub-par. The built in media player is adequate at best, and Canola needs to be installed to give a decent front end.

You buy an iPod Touch and its very straight forward, you fill up iTunes and it syncs down automatically. You can purchase movies and music, subscribe to podcasts and its sync'd. That is what end users need, they are not technical like us.

I love the N810... they keyboard has transformed this device for me, as I like to IM heavily. These are just my thoughts on helping it go mass market

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Last edited by sherifnix; 2008-02-25 at 14:46.

iamthewalrus | # 33 | 2008-02-25, 14:43 | Report

It is tricky to market these things I guess. Selling something by saying what features it does not have (PIM,GSM, synching,office compatibility) wouldn't work. But by not mentioning it you will get reviews like these.

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Last edited by iamthewalrus; 2008-02-25 at 14:45.

rcadden | # 34 | 2008-02-25, 15:05 | Report

I agree, just pointing out that the marketing should point to what the device is designed for, and that simply adding an office suite doesn't necessarily make it a stellar device all of a sudden. There are people out there (such as myself) that don't really use office docs at all, be it word, excel, or powerpoint, and find the N810/OS2008, in its current form, more than perfect for 'getting work done' and media usage.

I still don't think the Tablets should have been lumped in with Nseries, nor Eseries, for that matter. It almost feels like they looped into the successful one just to take advantage of the marketing, which somewhat backfired, as is apparent in this thread and nearly every review.

sebring | # 35 | 2008-02-25, 16:02 | Report

I use to feel the same way about the one device obsession, but since getting my N800, it was a lot of fun for awhile and I took it everwhere. I now, however, find myself leaving it home more and more. The problem is, it doesn't do ANYTHING really well, including web browsing, for which it is supposed to be designed. For me, if I'm going to carry a second device it might as well be a small laptop, which is ever so much more capable and only moderately more inconvenient to carry. It's gotten to where I leave the N800 at home so much, I wonder why I even still have it. It is what I call a tweaner, not really great at doing anything. The most useful feature I've found is as a better Skype wifi phone than any of the ones currently on the market (it at least allows for logging on to the web at free hotspots like Panera), but who wants to carry around headphones or use it as a speakerphone in public.

As a GPS, the n800 is a poor solution. Very limited software and poor screen for use outside and in a car. As a media player, I'd have to re-encode most of the videos I've previously encoded because of the limited file format support. As a internet tablet, it chokes on most sites that have videos and is otherwise very slow.

In a nutshell, it seems to be a great device for linux hobbists, but for mainstream users that want something that performs a few inportant functions well, right out of the box, there is very little there.

fms | # 36 | 2008-02-25, 16:11 | Report

There is no such thing as "excellent Microsoft Office compatibility", Microsoft has insured that by changing document formats often and documenting them rarely. Hell, even Office itself fails loading older Office files correctly.

But, as long as you are comfortable with "decent Microsoft Office compatibility", any company that is making office suites for Symbian/S60 (there are three or four) can be persuaded to port its stuff to Maemo, for a reasonable fee. I am guessing the "reasonable" figure from the assumption that they are not making fortunes selling office suites for 240x320 mobile phones.

GeneralAntilles | # 37 | 2008-02-25, 16:26 | Report

Moderately!? You're kidding, right? On what world is, "requires carrying a bag or backpack" "moderately" more inconvenient than sticking something in your pocket and being done with it? <_<

Er, my point didn't really have anything to do with Office support specifically . . . simply that adding PIM/Office/business applications isn't a cost-free endeavor, and that other core features will suffer from the loss of resources. Nice points, though, I guess. :\

Texrat | # 38 | 2008-02-25, 16:44 | Report

Yeah, I don't get most of Sebring's comments, either.

My N800 (and/or N810) come into the car with me for a variety of reasons, a big one being web browsing on the go (no, not while driving ). A laptop is just too bulky IMO to be even considered now that the tablets are available. Often I just need a movie showtime, business address or something similar and the tablets blow laptops away in that regard.

Texrat | # 39 | 2008-02-25, 16:47 | Report

It shouldn't be that way though, walrus. Reviewers, of all people, should do their homework. Period. Complaining by supposed professionals about the lack of nonadvertised (and especially unintended) features is irresponsible. Those folks have an obligation to their readers to get details correct, and when they don't, they are failing.

Nokia certainly shares responsibility for misunderstandings, but at the end of the day it is up to the reviewers to be accurate.

rcadden | # 40 | 2008-02-25, 17:31 | Report

I agree 100%. As someone who reviews handsets (and tablets) for a living, it's my job to focus on THAT device, apart from other handsets. I carry an N95 as my personal phone. If I reviewed every handset in context/comparison to that, you'd be hard pressed to find a good one.

I also agree with someone on the idea of the 2nd device. The Tablet, imo, is a perfect balance.

I don't want my phone integrated, because sometimes I don't want to carry such a large device, I just need the phone. However, I also don't want to have to lug a laptop around with me for menial tasks, such as blog posting and cropping pics and streaming media and whatnot.

That's why I can't say I compare the N810 to the EeePC, for instance. The N810 fits in a pocket, the EeePC requires a bag. The story ends right there.