Uses for an N800
 

I have an N800 gathering dust at the moment. It has OS 2008 and 2 x 4GB SD cards.

My Asus 4GB eee does the home surfing. My BB Storm does email etc on the go. There are very few wi-fi spots in my area so the NIT is getting bored.

Any creative suggestions for how I can best utilise my gadget? I am not a newbie and can follow decent directions for installs and so on. I have a Windows Vista laptop (unfortunately lol) and a PC running the latest Ubuntu. I also have a PS3 if you can think of anything to go with that. I don't need GPS as I rarely travel outside my known area. The Storm does my mp3 and videos (16GB card inside) so that's not needed.

I know there's a use out there - just point me in the direction and I'll give it a go.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Photo frame? The N800's big, high-res screen makes it an excellent photo viewer. And it's more portable than your netbook.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Using mine as a webcam viewer at my desk now. It has collected dust since the day I got the iPhone. The N800 is a nice device but just not a nice ot use as the iPhone IMHO, so it fell of my daily use list until today for months.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

My n800 serves duty on a night stand :
- tuning internet radio (or fm radio),
- using alarms
- I can tune into my ripped dvd collection stored as xvids off a windows share
- tune into mp3 collection available via upnp.
- check weather radar if storms nearby
- That and you can always use as a flashlight if needed (power outage)

And how many times do you wake up in the middle of night and need to google something to complete your dream... well now you can use the n800!

Its tethered to some bose companion 2 speakers and without a real dock that limits its mobility a bit but it works pretty well and sounds great.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

This thread depresses me. :)

Re: Uses for an N800
 

1) Plug it into your stereo for internet radio that can be controlled remotely
2) BitTorrent baby!

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Same here. I use my n800 every day for most of my computing and communicating needs. The thought of a n800 gathering dust somewhere makes me sad. Oh well. Back to browsing on my tablet.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

really. a picture frame....a night light! man, I want to hang out at the home of someone that uses a full-scale internet tablet as a night-light.

depressing. dead-on.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

You could drill a hole into the top edge to where it meets the stylus holder slot and use it as a hash pipe.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Heh its retired... man i put that thing through some hell... i feel bad for it.

But its got 32 gigs of memory so you dont need to feel sorry for it... it was also the test 'bed' for my overnight torrent 'testing', so i guess i havent been too easy on it.

I probably use my auxillary n800 more than most use their only IT.

But in keeping with depressing, if you bought the official nokia case then you could use
the magnets to attach the n800 to your car's liscense plate and flash curse messages to people behind you via wifi.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

The N800 is the world's greatest alarm clock. Really.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

you can pack it into a box and send it to me.... I'm serious

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Well, if you did want to use it as an alarm clock, I recommend qwerty12's xscreensaver package... use it as a lava-lamp, more or less.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

If you have a big wallet in your pocket you can balance out by putting n800 in other when you sit down.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

I installed Canola, Mediabox and egg-timer on my N800, and now my wife uses it as a multimedia device in the kitchen with small external speakers. Our guests get amazed with how good the N800 is at that. We can even watch the BBC on the N800 while preparing a meal.
In one small device we have a FM radio, a media player, the weather, Internet radio, a UPnP player (video and music from me Lacie server), a kitchen timer, a clock (Cairo clock), and when needed we can do IM.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

My girlfriend stole mine so she can use it as an MPD client when she's putting on makeup... I think it's gone forever now.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

N800 used for bittorrent downloads to save power, no need leaving a bigger box on 24/7. Last week installed webserver so now able to update / test my sites while away from an open internet connection.

Also use the mplayer daily for music and surfing to sites that are blocked from work (ebay/ paypal etc.)

Re: Uses for an N800
 

If you watch Netflix Instant movies on a tv, you have to add the films you want to watch to your instant queue on the Internet. You can do that most easily by having an N800 near the tv. In my case, this saves me a trip upstairs where the computer is.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

she spends that long putting on makeup?

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Seriously, use it as an IP phone, for example with Skype ...

Re: Uses for an N800
 

I agree, once you get an iPhone or an Ipod Touch the N800 is going to be sitting on a shelf. In comparison it is very slow. Not even close when it comes to apps.
I still use it to watch GBTV and when I'm out of the country it is my Skype phone.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

World's greatest FM / Internet Radio alarm clock. Really.

Also, it is a super video player. Encode the video with tablet-encode (or VirtualDub / AVIDemux) to full-screen 400x240 xvid and it totally rocks. You can't tell me that the Storm can compare for video.

If you have (a) kid(s), the tablet's utility as a on-hand video player rises dramatically. Velcro on the back, stick it on the back of the front seat's headrest in the car.

If you can get a Grandcentral number, Dialcentral really is useful. Keep a tablet by the phone for making quick and easy free long distance calls.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Hm, yeah, to an extent I'm feeling sort of the same way.

I love the tablets but found that most of the things I use them for daily are things I could actually do with a smartphone and dispense with the extra device in my pocket; as such, I recently acquired a G1. It definitely does lots of things less well than the tablets -- but not the things I do multiple times a day, necessarily. Until I get service for it in a week or so I'm still doing the two-device routine, though.

At any rate I've pretty much resolved to sell my n810 -- I love it, but since it has more resale value I should part with it, and then retain my N800 for all of the cool stuff these devices can do. Its text entry isn't as good, of course, and it's a little bulkier, but if I'm using either my phone or my computer for text-heavy stuff like email and using it mainly at home, it seems handy to keep around.

Plus they're just fun. It's a cool platform.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

can you please tell how u use to watch gbtv and skype !!!!! i can not use skype while using my gsm phone as internet modem for browsing, any idea ?????????

Re: Uses for an N800
 

I use skype , gizmo, internal sip client , canola for video podcast, maemo mapper , and has nothing to do , it is my digital picture frame

Re: Uses for an N800
 

I dunno about that. I've toyed with the idea of getting one, but from playing around with my cousin's one there's alot of things that irritate me about it. It's faster but at the sacrifice of things I can already do on the n800. Which would then mean hacking around with it (which I already do with the n800 anyway). Not to mention the storage on the tablet far outweighs the storage on those devices (8, 16, 32) but if I wanted a 32 GB touch or iPhone it would be expensive! Shame it doesn't support SD(HC) cards.

Perhaps when someone hacks full bluetooth support and manages to let me run more then one application at once.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

I love my N800, and use it everyday. the only time I put it down is when it needs charging, and when I'm asleep.
Sure it may do things less well than specialist devices with a limited function set, but it does a lot more. It is the IT equivilent of a swiss army knife
http://www.swiss-army-knife-wenger.c...my_knife_2.jpg.

I have a standalone satnav, mp3 player, mp4 player, but the Nokia does that, and does vnc, xterm, video podcast, rss, office apps, internet, video etc., and in one fairly small pocketable box, I cannot fit my garmin, and my Archos in one pocket together, and that is only 2 apps.

A laptop, or netbook, will do the others, but again will not fit in a pocket. If I could get a data-only bluetooth-accessible 3G modem and mobile deal, I could scrap my mobile phone.

IPods and Iphones are nicely designed etc, but you cannot upgrade or swap out the storage. You cannot just drag and drop videos and mp3s to the device, you need to have an application installed on the PC ( or you did until recently)

I have an S60 phone, and the only app I really use on it is sports tracker, just about the rest of the time, my tablet is also there, and does it better on a bigger easier to use screen.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

my 22 months daughter want keep on her hands all the time. The speaker is so good that you can you it at different place like on the subway.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Also, it is a super video player. Encode the video with tablet-encode (or VirtualDub / AVIDemux) to full-screen 400x240 xvid and it totally rocks. You can't tell me that the Storm can compare for video.

how do you do this-any link to instructions

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Tablet-encode is http://mediautils.garage.maemo.org/tablet-encode.html but you'll need a Linux OS to do that. If you want to use Windows you can try handbrake (http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...2&postcount=34)

I forget how to do the VirtualDub / AVI Demux method.. there's also the n800 video converter.. but the guy who use to publish it changed the name of the program and I forget it's name.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

mytube is a godsent - especially when sonny wants to watch thomas the tank engine "reenactments" 24/7

Re: Uses for an N800
 

Haha, except the recent Mytube changes are kinda funky (with the whole lack of lines and the finger movements).

Re: Uses for an N800
 

I use my N800 as a browsing device when I'm in the bathtub. I haven't got any other use for it as I own a BlackBerry Bold (3G) and an Asus Eee. Because of the slow development of the IT os I won't buy another one ever again. Besides, the Blackberry is so much better.
Browsing in the bathtub is nice with the IT, and when I accidentally drop it in the water it won't matter. The battery is not that good anymore, and I won't invest in a new one.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

All trolling aside... It's true, actually...

The N800 is remarkably water-resistant. I know this from personal experience and anecdotal evidence posted elsewhere on these forums.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

or one can stuff it in a pda bag from aquapac to be on the safe side ;)

Re: Uses for an N800
 

that's true , but i expect more , i didn't find blackBerry that supperior just few key here and there or might say easy to use nothing more .........:(

Re: Uses for an N800
 

I used mine quite a bit in grad school, since I could surf the internet and check emails via campus wifi without lugging around a laptop. Sometimes, I packed a USB mini-keyboard in my bag and used it to type up notes and assignments using Open Office through qole's awesome Debian application.

However, since I've picked up a Blackberry Curve, I use it a lot less. The Curve (with the T-Mobile EDGE data plan) doesn't require me to be tethered to a wifi hotspot when I'm out, and the Curve will access the internet through my home wifi network when I'm in front of the TV and want to Google something random.

I still use the N800 to browse the internet while I'm in bed...the screen really is better than the Blackberry. I also use it to stream BBC World Service radio at home. Surprisingly, I use it a lot as my mp3 player...Canola blows away the Blackberry in this regard, and the Blackberry doesn't have an FM radio either.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

The convenient failure of my connection just as I was submitting my relatively long reply resulted in its loss...damn.

Anyway, I was, first, (offtopic, sorry, I know) going to ask - darshan_ucb - do you by any chance go to Berkeley?

Back to the discussion (if not the topic, exactly) I'm not a fan of Blackberries. The absence of touchscreens doesn't do anything for me, and neither does the Storm. Plus that serif font they seem to use so much...not easy on the eyes on a small screen, IMHO.

(Back more clearly to the topic...)
I love the NIT's for their large screens and fairly full window managers. Their interface suggests they think they're more like computers than mobiles, and they've got the screens to back it up.

Still, for convenience (convergence) and, I hate to say it, but snappiness, my G1's become my main device for most purposes, and for the moment, while I'm super busy with school, my N800 and 810 have been spending a lot of time on my desk. Nevertheless, while I think I'll sell my 810 while it still has some resale value, I'm still excited to use my N800 as an ebook reader, video player, and overall convenient internet device around the house.

The G1 definitely has more of the full-screen, mobile interface style (as found on lots of related machines - BlackBerries, iDevices, Palms, etc) which isn't ideal but is better suited to smaller screens. At least it switches tasks quickly.

But as a wearer of jeans that (ahem) the G1 doesn't even always fit comfortably in, it is nice to consolidate into a single device. Though this has also called attention to the problems of having a valuable phone: now I can't leave the internet device at home when I go someplace I don't feel as safe. At least now that I'm on a GSM provider I can drop my SIM into a cheapo phone for more or less the same effect. But I digress.

Re: Uses for an N800
 

My n800 has 16GB and 4GB flash cards, and is my device of choice when out and about, I can tether it to my Nokia E65 for data. Because it runs flash, I can use it to check traffic report websites which the iphone can't do. It's a

* good RSS reader,
* audio file and stream player,
* terminal with a super-tiny keyboard,
* adequate mail reader with a separate account used solely for mobile email (only very important people know the address),
* video file player and occasionally useful video stream player

Whilst I do wish it was faster, it's "good enough" for everything I need, and small enough to be genuinely pocketable. The SIP and Skype apps have probably saved me the purchase price of the tablet (US$130) by allowing me to make free or cheap phone calls instead of paying international mobile phone roaming charges!

I shall definitely upgrade to the N900 or an equivalent MID.