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

Just curious but if you knew then what you do now which would you have purchased ?

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

I still bought a nit. I bought one a long time after and I knew the restrictions.

Saying that, I do want to buy a smartphone to compliment the N800 (S60/WinMO)

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

I'm assuming that "nobody has yet to make MY ideal device" in fact means "somebody has yet to make MY ideal device"?

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

Yeh, sorry that is what I meant, is there a way to edit the poll or would I have to totally remake it ?

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

I'll say YES to the ideal device. The N800 has been a great "fit" for me. Thanks to this forum, I knew what it would and would not do going in. It's been the best $225 I've ever spent just for the mobility it has allowed. Plus, it plays my tunes, does Rhapsody and Skype. I work from home and could always carry the laptop out with me. But now, the NIT has very much lightened my load.

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

I think you ought to get rid of the Ideal Device choice altogether. I'm *very* glad I got the NIT, but nonetheless nobody has made my *ideal* device. Including that choice is like including a choice as to whether you like chocolate -- you can be glad you got a NIT or wish you got an iPhone instead *and* still like chocolate (and still believe nobody has made your ideal device).

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

The n800 has probably been the closest to what I was looking for in a portable device. My other considering was the iPhone/iTouch but the idea of having to keep jailbreaking it with every firmware update wasn't appealing. (But the iStuff did win on media [well they lost points for iTunes for me since I hate iTunes]). Plus for what I wanted it to do, the n800 already had most of it to begin with (and the plus of using SD cards which when I buy bigger ones I can always transfer to other devices).

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

{/lurk}

The NIT is SOOoooo close to my ideal device. The closest would be the HTC advantage, and if Nokia made something close to that (running Maemo, of course), I'd be there in an instant.

I've come close to getting an N800 or N810 so many times, but I just can't pull the trigger on another device that doesn't have a SIM slot. An IT or pmp that isn't also a phone just ain't an option. I don't care for cellular data enough to pay for it, but I need to have a cellphone far more than I need a tablet or pmp.

An unlocked iPhone would be close enough to my ideal device that I could readily settle for that, but I'm secretly hoping Nokia will drop some form of Eseries phone that blends the features & form factor of the N8xx series with, say, the E90. I suspect that such a device would be more than ideal for most folks here, as well as most folks in the S60 demographic.

{lurk}

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

My N800 is very close to being what I want it to be.

Negatives: Not quite a pure enough Linux environment. I would be happier with less hacks against the libraries so that running my own stuff would be easier while still allowing Hildon apps to run.

Ideally, I would put fvwm back on but because of changes to gtk2 make this a frustrating experience. If I put a pure gtk2 on, I'm guessing the Hildonized apps will not run (haven't tried it). If I just change the window manager I can still run Hildon stuff and regular X stuff, but there are some strange behaviors that make it impossible to use smoothly.

OS 2008 is miles ahead of 2007 so I look forward to the next version. Perhaps some more interface work to allow more consistency and finger use.

My N800 is always on and used regularly throughout the day but not in all the ways I would like to use it. It is close but not quite what I was expecting from a Linux device.

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

Nobody has made my device either, but when I finally sat down and looked at the options the NIT was the best of all of the alternatives at this time.

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

For me, price is critical. I'm not interested in a phone that forces me into an expensive plan. The NIT gets me lots of free and cheap stuff and lots of fun, and I use it for serious things too.

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

I bought my N800 the day after the presentation last year, and I got exactly what I expected.. since then I only see new possibilities as new software comes along. The only slightly sad fact that came up after I bought it was the bandwidth issue for the LCD screen (caused by the larger display combined with chipsets not really designed for such high-resolution screens yet). No big deal, as in practice I don't have any real 3D needs.

(EDIT: Oh, and for the, as stupid reviewers are so keen to point out, "missing" SIM slot - I'm just about to get my phone upgraded _again_, this time getting even higher data transfer speed. It would have been insane to be locked into whatever old tech was built into a hypothetical N800SIM model at the time I bought it. At work we get new phones all the time, keeping up with the times. Can't get them to give me a new NIT instead, that's for sure!)

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

My N800 is close to ideal for me, and for the money it can't be beat. The only thing missing are good PIM suite that can share contacts with e-mail and mapping software that can create directions while off line and is not overpiced for a limited time licence. I found a GPS unit that does everyting I need for $115.

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

I lean towards 'It's pretty close to my ideal device.'

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

pretty close for me, imo to be perfect it would be the n810 with newer processor omap3 without that lcd bandwidth limitation and full size sd in place of mini then perfect

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

It wasn't easy choice. There is *no* device which fullfill all my dreams but IT is the best of the pack.

This voice was decided by handful hints of possibility of including xrandr into core official kernel. I am left handed and possibility of 180 rotation is really encouraging.

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

The N800 is pretty close to my ideal device. Combining this with the really low price for what you get I would buy a NIT again today if I would have to choose from the currently aviable devices.

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

I landed at the N800 after a thorough journey. I am essentially pleased. Not only good apps but FREE as well, how great is that. :)

I did find the Palm Tx size and size and shape and case quality more suitable for quick handling and everyday use, but the Palm Os is just not up to it anymore.

I read this today: iPhone Apps Will Not Offer Multitasking
http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=13866

And that is worth $500+ ?? including a little hand full of memory? I am a Mac man, but I am not impressed with that option. (Oh look a new IPhone coming soon with 8gig...Wow, buy now ;) ..oh well back to my 32gig N800) :D

Thus I am content with my N800 and enjoy the multiple media possibilities every day. No good PIM yet but hey my ol Treo650 is sufficient for now.

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

Yeah, I'm excited about the SDK, but hearing about some of the restrictions on the iPhone and iTouch, it really make me glad I went with the n800 instead of the iTouch. Sure the more apps you open the more resources it takes (and consequently it goes slower). But it's nice to not have to keep closing and opening apps (especially the ones I use). It'd be a real pain for me if I had to keep refinding my place in my manga (I use the default picture viewer since Comix is slow) whenever I wanted to use..say the internet.

Though I need to ask somebody (or someone hear if they own one) is it possible to listen to music and browse the web at the same time?

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

I put "I'd still buy a NIT", but I also mean that no one has yet made my ideal device. The NIT is lacking in some key UI and software things, as well as some hardware layout things.

In some ways, my ideal would be an 8" screen iPod Touch, with bluetooth HID, DUN, PAN, FTP, and Hands-free (to control any given phone, including an iPhone), as well as an express card slot (for WWAN cards). And, in portrait mode, it'd have a split-thumb translucent keyboard (like what the keyboard-less Samsung Q1 has). Oh, and, with a 100% truly open SDK that includes actual background tasks (apparently the iPhone SDK wont support that).

In some ways, it'd be a NIT with adding bluetooth PAN, and hands-free, as well as a fully finger friendly UI (so that you don't need a dpad). And slightly different physical layout (as I've harped on elsewhere), a better xterm client included, vnc viewer included, a fully finished and revamped modest mail client, and the fully finished and polished IM client (including invisible mode for those chat servers that support it).


Along with a companion device for the NIT that's like a cradlepoint personal hotspot, but with more battery, built in world compatible GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA, 2 SDHC card slots, USB-OTG, USB-client for config and charging, and the ability to do at least SMS/MMS if not also having a built-in light weight SIP server for voice. MAYBE have some ability to support a 1.8" drive (HDD or SDD). It'd be ok if it was bigger than a NIT :-) (but it should definitely be no bigger than a EeePC). Separate companion device products for WiMAX, CDMA/1xRTT/EVDO would be good too. Perhaps also one that has no WWAN radio, and an express card slot, as well. That way you can pick your WWAN options (or use none, and just leverage the express card slots for storage).



(EDIT)

Oh, and, PIM software, sync software that works with Google apps (mail contacts, bookmarks, calendar data, etc.), Apple apps (Mail, AddressBook, iCal, etc.), MS apps, and Mozilla apps (Thunderbird contacts, Firefox bookmarks, Sunbird calendar data, etc.; on Linux, Mac, and Windows), (and, then, just cuz I use it, and it's my ideal, netvouz as well).

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.

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

Never underestimate the ones who just show up to troll. ;)

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

There's someone called Macboy who keeps posting on All About Symbian about how superior the iPhone is. Their posts are so full of unprovoked attacks on other brands, I'm never sure if it's a genuine Apple fan or someone trying to give Apple fans a bad name.

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

I like the guy on Cnet who believes you need XP to start Linux and with Vista it may not be possible to use Linux anymore :D

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

Before they add anything to a (hypothetical) future Pad, they might first solve the battery issue. With WiFi off I can barely get three hours of video out of my '3; WiFi surfing is limited to two hours on battery.

I'm working on adapting an external battery to output 12 volts, but having more gogo juice inside would definitely sell more Pads. Still, it's all stop-gap for me untile the Pandora hits the streets.

PS: There is a company that sells 1.8" ZIF-to-CF adapters, so getting a SSD in your Pad is apparently a "simple" matter of coughing up the dough, opening your Pad and reinstalling your software. How much are 32GB CF cards these days?