Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

The whole reason I purchased the N800 was to do away with carrying around a laptop. It has largely been a success, but there are areas for improvement.

Personally, I use a laptop for document editing, email and keeping track of my appointments, etc. Typical office type stuff. And the tablet can handle these tasks, although the apps need updating. Media playing we've got sorted out. Browsing we've got sorted out. Microb is actually a fine browser. But for office applications, the tablet is average, at best. Yes, we have Abiword - an ancient version - working. Yes we have GPE. But they could be so much more. I really think that Nokia would do well to actually pay opensource developers to concentrate on office apps and get current, polished versions out there. Once they're out there and advertised as stable, current working apps, I think more people would consider the tablet instead of the much more expensive UMPCs.

R.
==

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

What tickles me is the apposite categorisation of the N800 as a ‘hobbyist device’ which I think is intended to refer to the users.

Ironically the reviewer seems oblivious to the fact that the real hobbyist involved is the Nokia division in charge of N800 development – which seems to be totally distracted by its demanding day job.

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

I would take BBC News reviews of Apple products with a pinch of salt, they tend to give prominence to Apple stories which aren't really deserved. For example iPods and iPhones regularly feature on their main 3 large items on the front page of the international edition, something they rarely do for other consumer products. Those items are normally about revolutions or natural disasters or Prime Ministers being assassinated, world-changing stuff. I just can't see how firmware problems on the iPhone really rank up there with governments being toppled, yet there they are side by side.

BBC News are similarly in love with Blackberries, and regularly claim that Blackberries were the first devices to offer mobile email (which just isn't true, they were the first to offer PUSH email, but there were phones and PDAs with mobile POP email for many years before the Blackberry). When there was the possibility of Blackberry services being switched off in the US, the BBC News site treated it with the same gravity as that major power cut in New York. When there was that Russian assassinated in London using Polonium 210, the live on-the-scene reporter started demonstrating how to buy Polonium 210 using her Blackberry. The camera couldn't really see a thing, but there you are...


I would be more worried if it did remain unique, it would simply confirm all that initial scepticism that much of the tech world had about how the 770 and N800 were pointless devices without a clear audience.

The iPod Touch and iPhone show that there IS a clear audience for a small, relatively low-powered portable internet tablet. The actual size of the audience is unclear, and it may be that it's largely confined to the USA (which has generally been the case with PDAs), but it does exist. It shows that Nokia wasn't crazy to start developing a gadget like this.

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

IMO problem with NIT's direction lies elsewhere. Today Internet is something obvious. It is part of everything. But only part of it. You are listening to music, go to WP check facts on artist; you are preparing meeting, make reservation through WWW, etc., etc. Making device which only - or even primary function - is browsing of Internet is dead-end. Nokia has to evolve.

Going into media is suicide - iPod is entrenched very solidly there. The only direction which offers no road block in form of competition is general computing thing. Not because there are no competitors but area to cover is so big that no one player can conquer it.

Opensourceness of Nokia's tablets can be big asset here in long term.

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

@Krisse

I would agree to a point, but I believe the BBC knows it's readership reasonably well, and spatters it's front pages (UK or World news) with a mixture of articles both serious and less so in order to maintain a healthy balance.

The obsession with Apple is a little disturbing, as is their obsession with Microsoft but then these are two of the largest and most often discussed tech companies on the planet, and Blackberries are carried by a significant percentage of the BBC's target audience. Any wildly popular consumer item - think Xbox 360 or PS3 - will receive coverage on the BBC precisely because it's popular, the BBC knows what "normal" people want to read about while you and I would prefer to get more detailed analysis (and even accurate reporting!) from our favourite tech news site, and not the BBC! :)

On the whole though, I think the N800 got a reasonably fair shake from the BBC - and the Apple iPod wasn't the clear winner! :D

I agree 110% that Nokia were right to show the world that there is a market for portable internet browsing, however I now feel that the world+dog has caught up with Nokia and will soon surpass Nokia unless Nokia broaden the horizons for the tablets. I don't mean that Nokia should now ignore the internet (there's still more to be done there), or limit the tablets connectivity options (plenty more there too!) but I do believe there is a wealth of "local" and non-internet related functionality (apps) that are missing from the tablets which will be provided by the competition, leaving Nokia for dead.

I must be patient though, the secrecy of Nokia leaves me speculating about their demise (as far as tablets are concerned!) rather than marvelling at what is coming! :)

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

Maybe a hobbyist device meant in the same way as a certain hobbyist operating system: "Once regarded as a hobbyist operating system, Linux now has a place at most enterprises, and its adoption is increasing."

Anyway, I have to agree that first impression counts. Nokia really should either fix the default apps, or replace them with better community-built ones.

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

BINGO! My point exactly.

Also agreed.

Also also agreed. :D

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

No, it's a way of saying that users can muck around with the software guts of the machine -- maybe even that they have to in order to accomplish a lot of stuff. Short of hacks, third-party software can't be installed on the iPod, and I would assume is at least discouraged on the PSP and probably the Archos, but it's clearly encouraged on the N800.

The penultimate section of the article is pretty clear on what they mean:
The N800 is an open platform - which means many third-party developers have built applications, such as instant messaging, internet telephony, productivity and blog editors.

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

Actually, if I remember correctly, many press reviews of the Archos indicated that most of the Qtopia stuff available or the zaurus was easily installable. Whether of not Archos agreed, the press sure talked that aspect up.

R.
==

Re: BBC News compares the N800, iPod Touch, Archos and PSP
 

Let's see, a few minutes ago I just used my N800 to VPN into my network at work and hit up my Nagios monitor to acknowledge a service failure.
Yeah...ummm...let me know when the Archos or iPhone/Touch can do that.