Nokia N800 Review
The Good:
- WiFi (802.11g) w/ WPA support
- Nice web browser and RSS reader I’m addicted
- Form factor, the size is nearly perfect.
- Screen resolution – double what the Apple iTouch has
- CLAW IMAPS/SMTPS email (SSL/TLS encryption)
- Standby battery time over a week with minimal use
- Swappable Disk memory – SD, MiniSD, MicroSD supported (really just SD)
- Maemo-Mapper Rocks even without a GPS connected if you plan ahead a little; I’ll never need a paper map again
- MP3 and Video playback via mplayer; there are other solutions too.
- Linux computer for all that means
- PBReader for ebooks
- PDF Reader
- OM-Weather on the desktop
- Maemo-Recorder for sound recordings on the go
- Skype and Gizmo included. 3 months of free SkypeOut. Skype works as well for this thing as it does on PCs. Sound quality is comparable.
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The Bad: - Text entry sucks without an add-on or remote keyboard
- No PIM – I hear GPE or a PalmOS emulator cover this nicely.
- Package Manager Hell – dependencies get out of whack quickly
- MP3 playback battery life
- Nokia Charger – NOT USB.
- No screen protective case
- No RJ45 Ethernet – must use WiFi or blue tooth.
- Scroll wheel would be nice, but using your finger on the screen works well too.
Text entry is the main problem with this device. There are 5 ways to enter text.
a) finger touch keyboard that you have to toggle between numbers, letters and symbols – not an ALT key.
b) stylist touch keyboard that also requires toggling
c) handwriting recognition
d) remote in from another computer or
e) blue tooth keyboard
Yes, this system is a nearly complete Linux computer with most of the great things that means except full X/Windows. I’ve been using Linux since 1993 and found the lack of quick, accurate text entry troublesome. UNIX systems need typing. A portable USB keyboard would really help. That isn’t supported at this point, but because it is Linux, someone is working on it.
A little background … I bought the N800 after researching options for months. I looked at the iTouch, Windows Mobile, Blackberry, and tiny PCs. I needed a laptop replacement with WiFi to keep me connected as I travel the world for leisure. Long battery life, lite web browsing, and IMAPS email were at the top list after wifi. VoIP/Skype is a bonus. The Nokia does that and more. The web browser isn’t the normal "portable" limited version. It shows most websites correctly. I have more viewing problems using my desktop browsers when locked down. I haven’t found the settings to control cookies or javascript in the browser, nor have I found a TOR client yet. For my purpose, it has been a reasonable choice and certainly was the most cost effective solution.
After seeing the Asus Eee form factor, I may recommend that PC instead. You get a full PC in a fairly small package, Linux/WinXP and no specialized software to relearn. Things that you are used to will simply work. By the time I have my N800, blue tooth keyboard, and charger, I have almost as much stuff as the Asus Eee brings self contained. AND the N800 IMAP doesn’t quite work the way I like yet. Also, the Eee price is almost the same as I spent for all the N800 + accessories + SD memory.
For day trips, the N800 is clearly the better form factor for mapping and longer battery life.
Memory expansion/swapping it key. There’s 2 SD slots available. 1 internal near the battery, the other swappable from outside.
Getting IMAPS working took a little hacking and a few days. Seems the built-in email program didn’t support entry of my complete password. A few special characters were stripped. I had the same problem with WPA key. Also, the IMAP password is stored in a plain text file. Unacceptable. I switched to CLAW email and was able to connect, but still don’t have other subscribed IMAP folders working. The good news is my password is encrypted in some manner.
There’s no PIM included. The included contact manager is worthless – like Motorola’s phone contacts. It seems to have been written by a college kid over a weekend. VCARD? What is that? LDIF import/export is what we all need. This is Linux.
There’s a whole list of applications available for it. You add "repositories" and can select what you want to load. I’ll bet some packages will conflict with others and I’ll be in package manager hell in no time. I’ve already run in to "incompatible package" errors trying to load some applications – like GPE the most talked about PIM for the N800. This is common in the Linux world since any developer can create a completely custom development system that will almost never match your system. You can also load .DEB files provided they don’t conflict.
Free applications are the rule here, not the exception. You’ve entered the Linux hacker world which is a good thing. Updates will be nearly constant which may or may not be good.
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some of the other capabilities. Maemo-Mapper is fantastic has a map replacement, but you’ll need much more disk memory than the 128M included. I ordered 8G and 2G upgrades since I planned to replace my 60G Zen media player. After a few hours of listening to music, the battery was nearly spent. I’m used to 11 hours of playback time. Standby time is what this device is designed for, not MP3 playback. The amount of battery on standby is impressive, but not endless. After just a few days, the device needs to be recharged. I did use the mapper for 45 minutes while driving. It has already replaced my Atlanta area key map. I’m in another test now. Turning the device off between use with morning and evening use for email and news web browsing. After 3 days the battery charge doesn’t appear to have dropped. Nice. This will help as I track through South America later this year.
Speaking of charging. Leave it to Nokia to require a specialized charger – NOT USB. That simply sucks. Now I get to carry a USB charger, Nokia charger and Sony charger AND a wifi router around the world. Perfect.
A belt clip would be nice too. As a nerd, I really miss my status symbol on my belt.
