Re: How they should have designed it
 

yes, and it would also ruin the design aesthetics of the n810. I 'm sure they thought about putting a dpad on the front, or whatever buttons. but they opted for a cleaner minimalist look, and in that respect I believe they are almost there. I guess this follows the whole form over function idea, there is ALOT you could change on this devise, but some people (I would assume the average person) would like to buy pretty/visually appealing gadgets.

using the n810 for a few days, like any other gadget, you will automatically get used to it. If not after a few days, shortly after.

Re: How they should have designed it
 

If you are going to have a form factor with a keyboard, then the best design and feel was and is the psion 5.

I would kill for a design based on that, with the hardware from the 810, including the gps, and the twn card slots from he n800 (bit of an own goal, not keeping that feature)

Add in version of the psion apps, especially the dairy, and you would have a winner!

BTW the is already a connction, as apparantly psion did a lot of early design work on hildon.

gaz

Re: How they should have designed it
 

Aha ! Nice to see I'm not alone (I've been ranting about this here for more than a year :-)
You mean, milk it for all it's worth ? :-)

Re: How they should have designed it
 

Yea, seriously though the psion 5 has the best set of apps of any pda / handheld device I have ever used. I just about stopped using the 2 I own as they are getting fragile now, but everytime I use it I am still impressed.

Re: How they should have designed it
 

We are agreed. That above was just a bad pun on a typo of yours, never mind :-)

Re: How they should have designed it
 

Whereas I see my thumb hitting the screen a lot, especially trying to access the right side of the dpad in futility. :p

Re: How they should have designed it
 

The average consumer seems to buy up lots of devices with d-pad like buttons on the front. For example: palm pilots, MDA-like phones, sidekicks, etc.

If the specific look of the dpad isn't appealing to you, it's not hard to come up with a new look for a dpad.

Re: How they should have designed it
 

@ johnkzin

Very true. It should be possible to hide any buttons on the face with clever usage of materials and styling, while still maintaining tactile feedback.

I would also like to keep the mic on the left side, and add a hidden speaker on the right side, so that one could use the device as a phone if one chose. Of course, this wouldn't have to be an advertised feature that confuses the Internet Tablet brand, but I think it would be a major step towards the perfect convergence device.


}:^)~
YARR!!

niatpaC tpurroC

Re: How they should have designed it
 

That, and a rotating screen (virutal rotation, like the iPhone, not physical rotation like the sidekick) would indeed be nice.

Though, for me, I think I might prefer the mic to be on the right, and the low-volume/phone speaker on the left. That would just better suit the way I hold my tablet (ie: the way the iPhone is laid out).

Re: How they should have designed it
 

Agreed, Psion way way ahead of its time. I owned Series 3's and 5's. I wouldn't have given up my 5 if it hadn't been hit by an errant basketball while sitting in my gym bag. Smashed the screen. I was soooo sad. Spent the next 10 years swapping between Palm and WM devices and never finding any of them as nice as that 5.