Update: Nokia N810

A while back I wrote up some thoughts on the Nokia N-810 internet tablet right after I bought it. I wanted to take some time to revisit it now that I have owned it for several months (Jan - Sept '08).

So I guess the single biggest question I had prior to owning this thing was how much I would actually use it. The answer has been mixed. At first I toyed with it all the time. I read a few books with FBReader and think it does well enough that I have considered using it as a E-book reader. Battery life is the limiter there. Once the newness wore off itgot relegated to my backpack for 2-3 months and rarely came out. The UI was painfully slow way to often. Anyway, one of the largest reasons I got it was for long trips. I finally went on one, a road trip from Alabama to Boston and back covering just over a week. And it came ito it's own. E-mail and web access along with periodic GPS information on the road made this a very valuable trip companion. Its easy to use sizeover my laptop largely negated any problems with the sometimes slow UI that had been responsible for its long naps in my rucksack. Anyway after I got back I became determined to tinker with it again and see if I could not begin using it more consistently. But after I got back I once again was generally to annoyed with the user interface to break it out rather than wait for time on a laptop etc... A huge factor in all this was the lack of stability in the RSS reader and the E-mail application. These represented the bulk of what i wanted to access with the device and they were some of the buggiest pieces of software I had ever used. I initially thought my ability to take notes with my bluetooth keyboard would keep it employed but even that prooved problematic. The keyboard connection had serious problems with duplicating keystrokes or failing to register all together. I tried using it for a couple of weeks but eventually found myself reaching more and more for my legal pad when I knew I had to take serious notes on something.

Enter Diablo. The Diablo update is annoying for folks on earlier versions of 2008 because it requires a full re-flash of the device. This means an awful lot of tweaks and such are lost and backing up this device can be frustrating pain. However I finally decided that since I just was not using it all that often I didn't have anything to lose so I just flashed it and dealt with whatever I lost along the way. Diablo, or the lack of crap loaded thanks to the re-flash or some combination led to a much more responsive device. Apps loaded faster, web updated quicker and youtube capability was back on the web browser (had to use a standalone application shortly after getting the device originally due to a flash update issue). Most importantly the RSS reader and E-mail applications gained some much needed stability. Once I got my feeds all in order and IMAP access to G-mail up and running it quickly became my default device around the house. So I have been using it now for the better part of 2 months on a daily basis and my laptop at home only gets used when I really need a keyboard or larger screen. It is also experience a revival at work as the connection with my igo keyboard is now much more consistent and I am able to use it as my primary note taking device.

Overall:

I have had my ups and downs with this device, and for a little while I thought I was going to have to reverse many of my previous thoughts on this device. The Diablo update saved it in my eyes and now it is largely upholding my early impressions. Still once I get down to it I think this is superb hardware hampered by half assed software. I somewhat over estimated the ability of the maemo community to plug some gaps. I really thought Nokia or the community would gin up some sort of serious PIM application and office document capacity. I came to the understanding that Maemo was also severely flawed which led to the device spending 3-4 months of the 10 I have owned it largely unused. The Diablo update has not removed all the problems but it has made the device useable in several key areas for me. It is good enough now that the device has become genuinely useful.

Currently its biggest problem in my eyes is that it just does not integrate well with my other toys. By contrast my HTC TynTyn is an extension of my work and personal computing in ways I can only dream about the N-810 being... largely thanks to tightly integrated Office and Outlook clients. The one boon of suffering through Microsoft's mobile OS.

I make no retraction on my words regarding the GPS. It is horrible and the new update and AGPS beta do not seem to really improove anything.

Song/picture/movie handling (PMP duties) are not good compared to I-pod but capable. The biggest problem being that the fancy management programs like Canola over taxes the hardware and video codec support is spotty (and that is putting it nicely). A lot of the warts could be overlooked if it just plain responded faster... but pictures are not fast to load, and video's are just a joke. Music management is good for small collections but large collections get unwieldy in a hurry.

For the future:

I am seriously looking at the 3g I-Phone in part because this device HAS become so useful. The more time I have spent with the apple golden child the more I am swayed by its one crowning glory. Immediate touch screen response. The on screen keyboard while annoying is 'good enough'. The two things holding me back are the keyboard and the lack of tethering. But the bulk of my tethering these days is to the tablet... not my laptop. So I likely would not feel the need for tethering. The more I have used it the more impressed I have become with I-phones ability to get the most out of its screen. The more I experience the responsiveness the more annoyed I get with the relative un-responsiveness of my HTC Tyn Tyn and the tablet... not to mention the two devices vrs one I could have in the I-phone.

When I made my initial decision to buy the Nokia the apple toys were not in the running for three reasons. I-Phone lack of 3g, Touch lack of bluetooth tethering and both lacking Exchange support. The I-Phone now has 3g and Exchange sync. While it is still lacking on the bluetooth front much of that can be gotten via jail breaking.

If I were buying new tech right now the 3g I-Phone is what I would get especially if they go to a 32gb version. The wimax tablet is a non-starter for me and the new hardware has yet to show its face... and in the end I am not sure I will sink money into a device like this again without Exchange/Office document capability. Also in the running is the HTC Touch Pro and Touch HD. Both have screens rivaling the Tablet with cellular capability AND full exchange integration. However I am keeping a close eye on Android. They have already loaded early versions on the tablet and I imagine that work will continue especially now that devices with it are finally starting to hit shelves. If Google nails exchange capability (something they are committed to doing they say) then the tablet will re-enter my thoughts. Maemo is tragically flawed at this time and barring a more dedicated support it will drag this nice piece of hardware down with it.

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Posted By Tmortn to TANSTAAFL at 9/30/2008 01:21:00 PM