Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Hey, gang. I just received my Nokia N810 about three days ago, for my wife, who uses her Palm Centro smartphone non-stop during the evenings, browsing and e-mailing away. My intent was to provide her a better and easier-to-read toy for her.

But here's the problem: we're working off our home wi-fi, and when browsing, the pages take a pretty long time to load. Is this normal? She's stopped using it and has gone back to her Palm Centro, using the Sprint wireless network, and feels like it's considerably quicker.

I have another few days before I have to return it. If it were a $50 toy, that would be one thing. I've spent the last three nights (after she's stopped using it) to learn it and see if it's indeed annoyingly slow, and I have to agree with my wife. Our laptop is considerably faster, using the same wi-fi network.

So, please talk me into keeping this!

Thanks.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

I would suggest updating the firmware. You can do it from the nokia official support website.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Thanks -- will give 'er a whirl. Can you download straight from the device?

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

google: nokia n810 update
you do it attached to a pc by usb
this info ought to be in the paperwork/guide that came with the unit

unless something goes wrong, it's the only time you'll have to do it

then install the browser called Tear
it's much faster
if you disable java and plugins, it's much much faster

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Instructions here: http://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_tablet_firmware

Also, do yourself a favor and install the tear web browser. Once she's got the firmware updated and is using tear, she won't want to go back to her centro.

And if you don't mind my going off topic, can I ask how she likes the centro. I'm just now considering getting one as my phone/pda, but I want to make sure that the battery life is OK and that there aren't any other goofy bugs. Thanks!

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

First off, I'm so impressed with the quick response. Knowing there is such great support makes me want to keep the handy little device no matter what.

I'm not sure there were any instructions on connecting to a PC, downloading updates or firmware to the PC, etc. But I'm sure I can figure it out tonight when I'm home. There is a bit of a learning curve on this end -- haven't used Linux before and the keyboard/touchscreen is making it all a bit slow right now.

Also, is this the place for great new apps to download (like the ones you guys have just suggested)?

It took my wife awhile (a few months) to start using the Centro for more than taking a picture of our little girl and e-mailing it to her sisters. She now spends an hour or more updating her social media pages, e-mailing and browsing. Which was why I purchased the Internet tablet. She really likes it, and I have to say that her Centro, with the Sprint service, is faster than my BB Curve with Verizon, for what that's worth. Her camera, even at just 1.2 MP, takes sharper pictures than my Curve (with 2.0 MP).

Also, one more question -- where do I disable java and plugins?

Thanks again for all the great input, and please keep it coming!

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Again, this link will walk you through updating the firmware: http://wiki.maemo.org/Updating_the_tablet_firmware

This link will walk you through installing tear: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=28539

Go here to browse through more apps online: http://maemo.org/downloads/OS2008/

You can also browse for apps using the tablet's on-board Application Manager.

As for disabling java and plugins, once you install tear and have it open, tap the upside-down V on the bottom right, scroll to the bottom of the list that pops up, and unselect java and plugins.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

And yes, if you have remaining questions about anything after a reasonable search, feel free to post them. You may get a snipe or two from someone who insists you gave up on your solo-search too soon. But most of us are ready and willing to help where we can.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

You guys are great. I'm thinking my instincts were good and that this tablet is going to exceed my expectations (once I figure it out).

I think y'all saved me... :)

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Thanks, Im2. Understood. I needed to make a decision whether to keep this Nokia tablet or not, in the next day, and I needed some quick advice. Asking that broad question gave me a quick answer (after all, I'm supposed to be working right now!). I'll dive thoroughly into this site this weekend.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

download tear aswell

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

For the record, I was not one of the one's sniping. :)

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

The main problem with using the N810 on the Internet is that it's only usable where wireless is available. But the N810 can easily be tethered to the Centro, so that the phone provides the connection to the Internet anywhere.

All you need is software called Usbmodem, and once you get it set up, it makes tethering just a button click away.

I'm amazed that your wife likes her Centro so much. I'm impatiently waiting for the chance to get rid of mine. The only thing that keeps me going is that am in the employee discount plan that only costs $30 a month (and which is not available for new customers).

I bought extra batteries for my Centro, which has awful battery life, which helps, once you learn the trick of opening and closing the Centro to access the battery, which is quite a tussle for the first few times.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Geneven, how's the battery life when you are NOT tethering? Still very bad?

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Genevan (or Im2),

Sorry for another newbie question, but how does the tethering work? Do I need to order a tether-cord? I was bummed to find out we couldn't connect via Bluetooth for Internet purposes. Also, is the usbmodem software for the centro or for the tablet?

As for battery comsumption, she has a car-charger which she uses going to/from work, and so when she's home, it's pretty much fully charged. Not sure she's ever had a battery issue, but she does charge it at night on on her commutes. She likes the device because it's an "all in one." She can take a pic or video of our child and forward it immediately to family members.

We keep the Sprint service (and hence, the Centro) because I, too, get a service discount. Plus, I know she probably would prefer an iPhone and I'd rather not go that route. Was hoping the Nokia Internet Tablet would be the least expensive solution. Sounds like it definitely is, if I can work out a tethering connection between the Centro and the N810.

Again, very impressed with the responses.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Battery life is 2-3 hours, I would say. It improved after I got something called Power Hero, a little program that makes it easy to monitor power usage and turn off features you aren't using.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

I don't know much about the centro, but I know that by "tethering" we're talking about having the tablet access the centro's internet connection via bluetooth. Apparently this is possible when you load USBmodem program on the centro.

Beware that most carriers charge you to tether, so you have to pay an additional fee ontop of your mobile web charges. Some people claim to have ways to get around this, but I don't know about that.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

You don't need a tether-cord, that would be ungainly and generally suck! It uses Bluetooth to tether. The Centro just sits in your pocket and provides Internet connectivity invisibly, while you hold your N810 and are on the net to your heart's content. I've used it many times on the train from L.A. to San Diego, for example.

Usbmodem is a Centro program, you should be able to find it easily with Google, I think. It costs, but not much.

One caution: Sprint doesn't officially support tethering this way. However, you aren't doing anything that you wouldn't do with the Centro, just better, so I think it is perfectly legitimate and is not ripping off Sprint, and Sprint can't detect it.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

This post should get you started on tethering

http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=96873&postcount=32

To install tear follow these instructions

Open up the Application manager add a new Catalogue using these settings:

Name : Qole's repository:
Web address: http://qole.org/repository
Distribution: maemo
Components: main

Then go to installable applications look for libwebkit and install that first, once that is complete find Tear and install that.

Tear is the quickest browser on the N810 and will make your wife put down the Centro for browsing for good.
If your wife is looking for an all in one device, it looks like the Palm Pre might be a nice device for her when it ships and you guys are already on Sprint.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

No. Sell it to me, cheap, instead. :p

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

i taught you had the N810Wimax

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

It's funny, I thought I would skip the n810 and go from n800 to n900. But given what my needs are, and given that I work and live in wifi friendly areas, I think I may get myself an n810 and call it good. The slight size difference (as I understand it) and lack of bump on n810 makes it a more appealing upgrade right now than anything I'm reading about n900-wise.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Nope. I was just testing it, and had to return it when my job was eliminated.

I have one N810, but why not another?

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Re the instructions below, I believe I followed the instructions correctly to create a new catalog but I can't find "libwebkit" as an installable application, even when I search for it in the app manager.

Any suggestions? I was able to load the new firmware, but am stuck while trying to find/install the new 'tear' browser ...



To install tear follow these instructions

Open up the Application manager add a new Catalogue using these settings:

Name : Qole's repository:
Web address: http://qole.org/repository
Distribution: maemo
Components: main

Then go to installable applications look for libwebkit and install that first, once that is complete find Tear and install that.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

I don't recall for sure, but it's possible that nowadays you can just install tear and the rest will happen automatically. If you see tear as installable, install it and see if you can launch it.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

... and don't forget to disable javascript and plugins (from the rightmost inverted-v icon in the toolbar) for maximum speed - if you don't need them!

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Sean-o: Just install Tear, libwebkit will automatically install too!

Another important note about the N810 and Internet speed: a cheap wireless router (like the ones your ISP gives customers 'for free') can really cause all sorts of problems. If the speed issues seem to be related to the browser taking forever to just connect to a page, it's probably your router.

I always recommend the Linksys / Cisco WRT54GL as a rock-solid wireless router.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

And running linux too :) Also quite customizable with DD-WRT and Tomato. I mean I have one too... :D

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

All,

After some late hours and a bit of determination, this Nokia/Linux newbie finally got the Tear browser installed, and it is CLEARLY faster than the pre-installed browser.

Thanks to all for all of your help -- I eventually figured out how to set up a new catalog for Qole's Repository, and once that happened, everything else went smoothly.

So, now that I have the Tear browser installed, I've got a slew of questions about its menu, how to add bookmarks, possibly zoom the page or increase the font, erase history, maybe add a Tear shortcut to the desktop, etc. Is there a thread here or a site that provides this handy info?

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

This is quick 'cause I'm about to head out the door.

Install extras-devel respository by click here and then clicking on the install link. This will automatically do what for extras-devel what you did manually to activate qole's repository.

Now check to make sure that extras-devel is enabled, refresh installable apps, and then install tear task navigator (not sure of the exact name). Once that is intalled, DISABLE EXTRAS-DEVEL. You don't want that enabled, because most apps in there are still in development, and you can bust your tablet if you install anything that's unsafe.

Once task navigator is installed, go to your tablet's control panel, and open "panels". Once in there, uncheck the default Web task navigator, and check the tear navigator. Close panels, and the world icon on the left of your tablet's desktop should be replaced with the tear icon. Click on that and you can launch tear from desktop.

Now, once tear is launched, navigate to a page you want to bookmark, and then once that page is loaded, click the white star on the bottom left of the screen. The star will turn yellow, and you now have that page bookmarked. Tap the tear icon on your desktop again, and you'll see the bookmark there. Also, tap the bottom right of an open tear page, and your bookmarks will be listed there, too.

Remember: ONCE EXTRAS-DEVEL IS ENABLED, INSTALL ONLY THE TEAR TASK NAVIGATOR, AND THEN DISABLE EXTRAS-DEVEL FORTHWITH.

Let us know if you have any problems.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

If you think you may also have need of the default browser (I occasionally do) and you/your wife want to do more than just browse the web (like edit pdfs with handwriting! read ebooks, etc.), then better than just having a desktop icon, you may want to install Personal Menu. Nothing else has impacted my NIT use so much.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Thanks, Im2 and GeraldKo -- got the Tear browser on the desktop and the Personal Menu, too. Good stuff.

Another newbie quick question on the N810. I have a micro SD card with adapter, but it doesn't seem to fit into the external media card slot. Thought I'd read that this card would work, with the adapter. The micro SD card is way too small, and when using the adapter, it's a hair too big? Do I have the wrong card?

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

You need the mini-SD adapter. That should work.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

can't help you there: i've got n800. but we can get you going with screen rotation support (i.e., portrait mode) tomorrow. :)

start here if you're up for it tonight: http://sse2.net/rotate/

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Qole - thanks. Looks like i have the wrong media card. Ugh.

Im2 - thanks. Started the process for the screen rotation but got stuck at using the rootsh tool. The app manager says I have it installed, but I can't locate it. Also, I'm not totally clear how I'd copy that long command(s) once I have root access. Sounds like I need to be fairly careful once I'm in ...

Thanks in advance.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Qole - thanks. Looks like i have the wrong media card. Ugh.

Im2 - thanks. Started the process for the screen rotation but got stuck at using the rootsh tool. The app manager says I have it installed, but I can't locate it. Also, I'm not totally clear how I'd copy that long command(s) once I have root access. Sounds like I need to be fairly careful once I'm in ...

My brain is dead at this point, so I'll try to pick this up tomorrow.

Thanks in advance.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

open the xterm program under utilities on tablet. at first prompt, type "root", then hit the retun key. you are then root.

then copy and paste commands from that web page--if you're using standard browser, double tap fast at start of long command and drag stylus to its end. then copy (tap top left of window, go to edit, select copy). if you're using tear, press and hold menu button, and then drag stylus from beginng to end.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

Reading through this thread has put a smile on my face. It should be made into a storybook, something like "How the tablet and the owner became best of friends".

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

This is definitely a fun experience. It's a story with lots of successes, followed by many, many failures. It's a drama that I know will have a happy ending.

Right now, I'm being a bit tested, however. I just spent 30 minutes trying every which way to copy this command into the X terminal, at the $ prompt:
http://outpo.st/rotate/kernel-diablo...onfast_all.deb http://outpo.st/rotate/osso-software...8.43-7_all.deb http://outpo.st/rotate/xserver-xomap...tion_armel.deb

Each time, I get the readout: -sh: wget: not found

I've tried this about a dozen times, ensuring that I'm copying just those characters, but something's amiss. I'm assuming if entering that command correctly, I'd get just the next $ prompt, and then move onto the next (install advanced-backlight).

Any suggestions? I appreciate your help.

Re: Please talk me into keeping my N810 ...
 

sorry!

try in xterm:

apt-get install wget

then set about installing rotation.