N800 is Going Home…
Today is the day I knew would be coming but I’m sad that it’s here all the same. The N800 is all packed up and waiting to be picked up and brought back to the great folks over at WOM World (thanks again guys!). As I mentioned in my earlier post, before I was able to trial this device I was very skeptical to say the least. I had played with it briefly and read about it plenty and to be honest I just couldn’t understand why anyone would want one. After about two weeks with the device, and can most definitely understand why someone would want one (I definitely want one!) but I’m still trying to figure out why anyone would need one.
As I mentioned in my post when I first received the N800, I’ve put the tablet in the hands of several different people and it seemed that their reactions were all the same. Everyone thinks that it looks great, is easy to use and can really come in handy but no one made the definitive statement that they would shell out $400 for one.
My gadget-geek friend took it from me and was surfing the web in seconds. He was very impressed at how well it handled the various full web pages that he was navigating to and even more impressed when I showed him that the N800 played YouTube videos in the browser. He glanced through the apps that I had installed briefly and had a play with Canola and Gizmo but ended up back in the browser pretty quickly. Once I took it away from him and asked if he would consider purchasing one he responded that he probably would favor a full-blown UMPC to the N800.
My fiancee is not into technology or gadgets at all but out of everyone I showed the N800 to, she enjoyed it the most. When we’re at home she typically only uses a PC only for browsing and as such the N800 was right up her alley. She replaced 100% of her home PC usage with the N800 while we’ve had it. Beyond that, she really loves the mahjong game (and has her times on every board under 3:00!). She did bring the tablet to work with her as I had asked her to do, but had trouble connecting to her office’s secure WiFi connection or her N76. I will say that once you’ve tethered the N800 to a phone for the first time it’s quite easy to connect but the initial pairing process is a bit confusing.
As for me, while I haven’t even picked it up in the past few days (the fiancee had abducted it) I really did enjoy my time with it. What exactly did I do with it? Well since you all know I’m an apps guy the first thing I did was dig for apps. I found a whole stockpile on maemo.org and also followed recommendations from Jonathan Greene’s Featured Maemo Apps blog and this thread on the Internet Tablet Talk forum. There are a good amount of apps available out there and I certainly tried many of them but in the end I basically used it just like the other people I showed it to - to browse the web. Sure I listened to internet radio while I browsed and made a few Skype calls but I didn’t find myself consistently using anything other than the browser.
While I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Nokia N800, I still don’t think that I’ve found it a proper home. Basically I view it as a luxury; a lifestyle toy if you will. By that I mean in my eyes it’s geared toward the younger professional who just has to have all of the cool toys. You know who I’m talking about - that guy with the $1,200 universal touch-screen remote that controls his entertainment center, lighting scheme, front gate, dish washer, digital shower, garage doors, and everything else in his house that uses electricity. The “cool” factor is high with the N800 and the OS is sharp. The average user is going to want one because of its form and basic functionality. The “tech geek” is going to want one because of it’s versatile Linux OS and flexibility. The business person is going to want one (until he/she finds out that it can’t perform several essential tasks out of the box) because it’s lighter and more portable than a laptop and even many UMPCs. Will any of the aforementioned groups actually fork up the cash and buy one? Well since word is spreading quickly about the next-generation tablet that Nokia has in the works I suppose the answer is yes.
I don’t think that I can wait for the N800’s successor to come around so I’ll likely be picking up an N800 of my own over the weekend. The simple fact of the matter is that I have some more plans for this sweet little tablet and I just didn’t have time to get everything done in the two weeks that I had it. The N800 is a great companion to any Nseries device (especially when the device is sporting HSDPA) and really picks up the slack in the areas that S60 is lacking. More to come…
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Did I mention I'm looking for a new phone?
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As for the size of the N800, have a play with it. It actually fits very comfortably in the back pocket of my jeans and when you see the screen you'll know that the size is TOTALLY worth it! I should also mention that it's probably one of the most solid-feeling portable devices I've ever held.
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Believe it or not, there are many ways to market a device like this that Nokia doesn't seem to be attempting but I'll leave it at that.
I think the bottom line is that this is a device that really grabs your attention in the beginning but just doesn't have what it takes to hold it...
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But as you said, I want one, don't think I necessarily need one.
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Yeah after seeing the N810, I'm glad that I purchased the N800. MUCH cheaper and the N810 doesn't really add anything I'd want - I think. The OS will be available of the N800 so nothin gnew there. The keyboard is a very good addition but from the pics it looks like it would be awkward to use. Looking forward to Jonathan Greene's comments on that.
Well enjoy buddy!
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