Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

I guess I must be the unusual one looking for the 'all of the above' catagory.
I have the 770, I have an iPod, I have an eee, I have a laptop and I have a smartphone.
I don't know what pmp means.
Having said that, given the choice I would probably get them all again!

Nothing touches the iPod as a music player (which is what I bought it as), and now it has the bbc iPlayer stuff, even better. The iPhone is no good to me as it isn't 3g and the contract is too expensive for what it is. The 770 was great going around the states on holiday, where there is more wifi and it connects to my nokia n73 pretty well. It is also handy for looking up the odd webpage, and it works connecting to the car well. I don't really see much of a compelling need to update it though, or I don't see that an update would give me much. The eee is a great device for controlling usb devices, and I have a usb 3G modem. It is a good one to carry round to hotels and the like, small and robust with a nice clear screen. Keyboard could be better. The phone is just the phone. it works fine, it has 750 minutes of talktime a month for not much money, and does the job.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

The N810 was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be, I always try to do my research carefully before I buy so I will know just what to expect. First off, I knew I did NOT want a phone at all, not that I mind having "phone" capabilities, but just as the iPhone shows, usually when you get smartphones, you must buy a contact to actually be able to get half the functionality of it.

I also seriously considered the iPod touch but it really wasn't what I was looking for, the Apple's closed nature with software is a total deal-breaker for me. I also checked out the PepperPad 3, it's much more expensive, but it has a big screen. The major problems are it's too big for a pocket, and it seems to have issues with overheating and needing frequent repairs. It looks like the company the makes them is going out of business or something. (check out their forums, seems nobody can contact them anymore) Another product I considered very seriously was the Palm TX. It's the perfect form factor but it lacked capacity and at least half-decent multimedia capabilities, the main drawback was lack of keyboard.

One of the very first devices I seriously considered was actually the aged Jornada 728, it has a very nice form factor, like a mini eee pc and a very nice larger keyboard. The real drawbacks came from it's age, lack of built-in wifi (while it has a PC card slot, using a wifi PC card in a device this small is a big pain) only about a 200MHz CPU, not teriffic battery life, or easy to replace batteries, and worst of all, Windows CE.

Pretty much my "ideal" device would basically look just like the N810, only it would be a full-power computer system, the OQO 02 is VERY close to what I want, but it's just a little too big, and I really didn't want to spend over $850 on my device, the cheapest model they have is around $2000, as great as I'm sure it is, that's really more than I'm able to pay, unfortunately.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

I mostly agree with you cybercat. Did similar amounts of research (only on the N800, not the N810; the N810 I just bought when it came out, cuz when I bought the N800 I had "just wish[ed] it has a keyboard!"). Same conclusions about Apple and PepperPad. But I didn't look at Palm nor a Journada (I specifically wanted a Unix based device).

I do think the N810 form factor could be a little better. I've posted mock-ups in another thread of what I think that should be. But, otherwise, the N810 is pretty close to my ideal (for a pocketable; as I said, I wouldn't mind an 8" diagonal device, if it had certain characteristics). Certainly closer than anything on the market thus far.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

Small correction: The company that produces the Pepper Pad 3 is Hanbit, and it's not going out of business at all. In fact, they've announced a "new and improved" Pepper Pad 3 (allthough, as it'll most likely be running Windows, where they get the "improved" is beyond me). The company that made the software for the Pad however, Pepper, is indeed as dead as a roadkill dodo, and good riddance too, if you ask me.

As a media player, I find the Pepper Pad 3 amazing. As a Linux computer, it kinda struggles, but the community is hard at work to get rid of the sh*tty Pepper software.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

I wanted to love the n800. I tried. I really did.

But it just isn't working for me. If I'd known how my experience with the n800 would play out over the last year, I wouldn't have bought it.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

Get WiMax on it and...

OSX (I guess the iPhone version) *Runs for cover* alongside Maemo (which I'm learning to love) and I would literally marry this thing.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

Yeah, you're right, I knew that too I was just trying to simplify my post (and was tired :rolleyes:). Since Habit doesn't have a user forum, and Pepper does, most of what I know about the product is from their forums. The way I understand it is that the hardware has an issue with being recharged which causes the screen to stop working normally. A pretty serious issue, in my opinion. Apparently Pepper has been working on a version 4 of their software which has been "in the works" for years I guess, and much of the touted and promised functionality such as Skype still isn't available on the Pads... I'm not at all saying that it isn't a great little multimedia device though, and I'm sure there's lots of potential for third party software as well. Pretty much I realized that since I hadn't actually BOUGHT a product yet, that I wanted to get a product that was actually NEW not a 4 year old computer that's barely supported anymore. The lack of community involvement on their forums really worries me.

Like I had mentioned, I think the PP3 has a really innovative form factor and looks like it would be much more comfortable to use, although I don't like not being able to put it in my pocket. I actually read on a post somewhere (on this very forum I believe) where somebody basically said "what's the difference between a 7" device (i.e. eeepc/pp3) and a 20" device? as far as I'm concerned nothing because they all with end up riding in my backpack rather than my pocket." (about the jist of it anyway) I think it's pretty insight full because it's true, any device that I can keep in my pocket is bound to get a lot more use because I have it with me all the time. Yeah I can say, "oh I'm going to school, I better take my eeepc with me", but the truth is, it's really a pain in comparison to have a device with you all the time that you have to carry in your hand or pack. And the device will get a lot less use, even if you don't mean to. I will also say that always having a minicomputer with you is very convent and I end up using it in a lot of places that I wouldn't have even thought about using it before. It's a lot easier/convent (and more descreet) to pull out a device the Nxxx's size if you only want to check your email or the latest weather report. (and yet oh-so-much-better than having to use the 2-3" screen on your phone)

I judge potential future products like this very seriously by how active their user communities are. This obviously was a significant factor in my eventually choosing the Nokia Internet tablet.

Oh, Also forgot to mention another product I considered briefly as well, which was the Archos 705 wifi (this is their top-of-the-line media player). It has a ton of cool functionality, a huge 160GB hard drive (lack of disk space is actually my number-one complaint with the Tablets) wifi, browser, media playback capabilities among other things. My first real problem with the Archos was I was only able to find TWO reviews about it, that's a very bad sign (also they were not very good reviews which didn't help things) next there's no product forums, another horrible issue. The device is too big to fit in your pocket, still not a deal-breaker, but it's starting to add up. Finally, I realized how expensive it is, it's awful. First the device isn't that bad around $600 if I remember correctly, that wouldn't be so bad except that they seriously nickel and dime you for every. single. little. feature. It's like, if you want to play H264 video that's a $20 plugin. Want to watch MPEG2 dvds? $20 plug. Want to surf the web? $50 plugin. Sure it has cool digital recording capabilities, but only if you buy the $150 recorder. WTF? Ok, so this is where I draw the line, they are hostile to third party software (i.e. 0 third-party programs) and they charge way too much for basic functionality that I would expect would already be in the $600 device. No thanks.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

If you're speaking generically about "split thumb keyboards", there's 3 or 4 products on the market with that same form factor, but the others are all windows based (Samsung Q1 family, WiBrain, and one or two I'm forgetting).


Personally, if Hanbit is going to drop Pepper's linux distro, I think they should go to Ubuntu Mobile. Or at least make sure the hardware is all Ubuntu compatible.

And, if they're updating the hardware, I hope they add a top mounted express card slot, and make sure their bluetooth supports DUN, PAN, and FTP. An SSD option would be nice too.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

Haha my friend carries the EEEPC in his jacket. Then again he's a pretty big guy, and it won't work once spring/summer comes around. But yeah, it's not that portable for on the fly use. For me I just take the tablet out of my pocket (well out of it's case first usually). He has to take it out (out of his case) then open up the lid (balance it on his hand then type with his hand).

Which isn't that big of a problem since he can only type one handed with a keyboard that small.

Re: If you knew then what you do now which would you have got?
 

Uhm...if people are on this forum chances are they like the IT, so your poll is going to be dramatically skewed.