Friday, November 21, 2008

ENTER THE NOKIA N800

The N800 Internet tablet arrived the other day. It is a really elegant device. The form factor is really small--not much bigger than my Palm T|X. Its OS is Gnu Debian Linux-based and is supported by the open-source maemo.org project. What attracted me to it was its wi-fi and Bluetooth capabilities. I can use it at any hotspot and I can also tether it to my Motorola Razr for web access anywhere. It offers Opera as its browser, so you get the full-web experience, not just wap pages like on my Palm T|X.

It can also play videos and mp3s as well as Internet radio streams. I also found out that it was designed with an FM chip and an app was created to allow it to function as an FM radio. Enter your city and it automatically finds all of the FM stations in your area. Other apps include a RSS reader, clock, Skype (using the N800s built-in camera, mic and speakers for webcam apps), contact manager, IM, e-mail, calculator, clock, notepad, games, PDF reader and sketchpad. Data entry is via a styus and onscreen keyboard, handwriting recognition, a larger finger keyboard or an optional Bluetooth keyboard like (I am seriously considering getting one).

As far as storage capabilities, it has 128MB of RAM, 256MB of flash memory and 2 SD slots for up to 8GB of additional storage. A USB port is included for enabling you to hook up to a PC for data transfer (its 2 SD slots appear as drives). Unfortunately, no host mode for the USB as of now. (Update: Host mode is now available using OS 2008.) Battery life is decent--4-5 hours or so with the radios on and more with them off. While this may not be a replacement for the Alphasmart Neo, it would be a great companion for surfing the web, watching videos, listening to tunes and checking e-mail on the go. And at its current price point, it is a steal.

http://www.nseries.com/index.html


10/07