maemo.org - Talk - ITTs not yet ready for mass markets

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtad (Post 140581)

@gnook: I said what things are really killing the NIT for me... I'm don't want to carry 3 devices around... I've always used my palm to be something close to a laptop replacement (Docs To Go + Keyboard) and it works fine... I thought the NIT would replace my palm for those "laptop" tasks... but it's not up to the task. It's true that Nokia doesn't advertise PIM functionality nor MSOffice compatibility... but that's the least you'd expect from a device like the N800 (at least, it's what I expect). I hoped I could use the larger screen for easier text input/editing... but no MSOffice compatibility kills it for me.
My cell phone is not a blackberry nor anything close to "advanced". It is a phone with bluetooth... nothing special (Sagem my301)... I know that this may be my particular situation but I've read just too many comments of people that would like to have their contacts sync'd in their tablets... you just DON'T WANT to take more than one device at a time to check a contact to send an e-mail or to give his number to someone else... Also, you are lucky because you live in a very safe country... you can just take several devices while you are taking public transportation and you know that you won't be robbed... that's not my case. I really don't want to carry around too many electronic devices. Yeah, you may have heard that Chile is the safest country in south America... but it's still south America (and our current president is the worst one we've had in so many years, forcing many of us to take public locomotion... Pinochet, we really miss you).
C'mon, my dad's N95, a cellphone has better office compatibility than my NIT! That can't be normal!.

But again, it's true that it's not advertised as a Palm replacement (although I wanted it to be one)... but I have a question left... if you have a good cell-phone, a goop PDA and a laptop around you (as you are suggesting I should), then... what's a NIT for? If you wan't to check e-mail, take out the PDA or cell phone, for contacts, PDA or Cell phone... if you want some light web browsing, the cell phone... if it's a little heavier, then the PDA... and if it's strong, then the Laptop (Why would you use a NIT for strong web browsing??). If a NIT can't replace a laptop nor a PDA then -at least for me- it's useless. Office is critical to a Laptop; PIM is critical to a PDA... a NIT can't do neither of them well... then, what is it for? (sure it's not for me... but... has anyone found something useful to do with it?).

-Again, I don't want to start a flamewar... I don't want to sound to harsh... but I'm really dissapointed.

It's not a perfect device, but once you figure out how Nokia intended for it to work with existing devices/infrastructure, you'll come to realise that your original post doesn't make sense.

The NIT was and still is meant to be an internet tablet. As an internet tablet and not a PDA, the product developers/managers set about defining a set of features, the same set that you find on the box and in the marketing collateral. This is as far as Nokia is committed to support a specific set of applications on the tablet. Such applications include the typical things users would do if they were on the internet, i.e.

web browsing
email
youtube (which practically seems to be an activity on its own these days)
listening to internet radio
watching internet videos
making VoIP calls
audio playback (see Wiki for a list of supported formats)
video playback (see Wiki for a list of supported formats)

It was never ever meant to be a notebook replacement the way an eePC is, or a PDA in the way that a Windows Mobile or Palm OS device is. Granted, each device has its own strengths, much like comparing a Prius (eco-friendly green car) vs Hummer (offroad 4x4) vs Evo (rally car) vs Civic (Japanese family sedan) vs Audi A6 (Continential family saloon) vs Ford Mustang (American muscle car), etc etc

One has to understand that each of the above is first anf foremost a car, but the intrinsic details and target audiences are what separate them from each other. One does not buy a Z06 and bemoan the absence of a tailgate ('Oh, Chevy could have fitted one on!' - technically possible) or poor mpg, or poor off-road capabilities ('How about a lift-kit option?').

The Nokia iT is meant to be a companion device to a mobile phone or acting as a standalone internet connectivity device for someone who wants to have an improved mobile internet experience.

Most of Nokia's smartphones today already support document viewing (to some extent), have a decent web browser, messaging client (POP/IMAP/pushmail), and have a semi-decent PIM (calendar, contacts and tasks) built into them.

Again, since I am rarely without my cellphone (save for when I am at home), all my contact details are stored in my Nokia E51, and as is my schedule and to-do list, and as an added bonus, this is synced with my MS Exchange server. When I need to do a quick lookup on the Internet, the built-in web browser provides me with a quick and dirty, no-frills alternative

So where does the iT come in?

When I want an enhanced Internet experience, one with Flash and proper Javascript presentation, or if I am on the road and do not wish to add unnecessary strain to the battery life of my mobile phone from online activities, or as a personal media player, the NIT is the ideal companion device.

Can it do more than that? I agree, but as someone posted earlier, perhaps that may be Nokia's experiment, much in the same way that Asus introduced the eePC with Linux, knowing fully well that the Linux community would provide 3rd party software support to make the eePC more than what it can be out o the box. Yet, on this same argument, users cannot expect or demand that Asus support these 3rd party software (if you knew that what it costs these days to run a support team, you'd faint), only the features that are provided out of the box. This is standard in any IT device, e.g. notebook -- the LG notebook that I am using is supported by LG itself on hardware and LG bundled applications, with the OS being supported by MS directly. If I attached a 3rd party peripheral or install a 3rd party software, then the onus is on me to work out kinks with the manufacturer/developer, and not LG/MS.