N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

So, I dropped my N810 today, again. This time, the slider didn't survive without a wee bit of damage. Everything works, though a bit sloppy. However, in that $#**!! moment, I've realised just how dependent I've become on the little guy.

I've been hunting around for the next thing... but nothing even comes close to the N810 in meeting my needs/desires. It just does near everything I want, the way I want it. But, it's so old, there has to be something better by now? My searches keep ending up at that "Always Innovating" site... love the idea of a pocket computer that plugs into the back of a tablet, that plugs into a keyboard and extra batteries... but vapourware is the worst kind of tease for a geek. So, I guess it's time to buy another N810.

I just know that the day after I buy another N810, there will be some great announcement for something that hits me the way the N810 did when I read the specs... An, "oh, I want that" kind of thing. I've been waiting and waiting, but nothing. Sigh. I give up.

I've posted a wanted add here:
http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=81265
for a used one

Are there any retail mail-order deals around that anyone knows about?

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Amazon has some for $200 if you're desperate.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

No, not desperate yet... but considering it. Amazon prices seem to run about $115 and up for used, $200 for new. Ebay is about the same. There's some cell site advertising new for $160 but the reviews on that company are rather alarming, to say the least.

I figure I'll take the time to see what's available used before jumping in. Who knows, maybe the next CES show (Jan 9th or so) will surprise the world with exactly what I want... or not. I can wait past then; been waiting for a while actually.

I paid $400 for my N810 only to have the price drop to $250 a month after I got it. So, knowing my luck, I'll fork out big bucks for another one, only to have the price drop because a viable replacement is suddenly available. When that happens, the asking price for the N810 will probably drop through the floor - but then I won't want one because I'll have something new. Sigh... sometimes the realities of capitalism just suck.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

i would watch ebay and find a cheap used one. that's how I got mine a couple years a go for under $150, now i see them on there under 100.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

I use my N810 every day.
As an IT it has Opera.
As a hacker device it has gcc, and a lot of tools.
And I believe it has coolest appearance ever. N900 is not as good, and N9 is too slim and glamorous.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

+1 for the ebay route. I picked up a very clean one for slightly < $100 (including shipping).

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

So... I made another attempt at finding an N810 replacement. This time, I decided to look into Android but searching for a cheap Android tablet with GPS was getting me nowhere. So, I flipped it around... looked for a GPS that was Android based. And, what do you know, this little guy popped out:
CyberNav Mini
I've found the N810 to be a great internet tablet with a mediocre GPS. This thing looks to be a great GPS with mediocre tablet capabilities. But, for the first time since getting the N810, I'm actually excited about a device. I ordered one off Ebay, slightly over $100, and I can't wait for it to arrive.

I really have no idea what it will be like when I get it. It's new and there are no reviews I can find. Every website that shows up on a search has exactly the same text - basically the sales brochure. But, it's got some decent specs. The GPS chip is highly rated, so that should be good unless they've screwed up the antenna. It's a 5" screen but only 6mm wider than the N810. No bluetooth, Android 2.2 so no USB host mode (that I can see right now), so I'll not be using it for ODB2 diagnostics (Carman on the N810 is great for that). No hw keyboard - I'll miss that. Not much in the way of any hw buttons. Power and reset seem to be it. The 2hr battery life is pathetic, but then it's designed to run plugged in to a car. I might be able to improve that by turning off the GPS. After all, the N810 only gets about 3 hours with the GPS on. But, the 800Mhz cpu, 256MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage pretty much doubles-down on the N810.

So... my plan is to see how far this thing can go towards replacing my need for the N810. If it falls flat, then it will become my Off-road bike GPS. Not too bad a use for the price. I've also been browsing the Android market place and, after living with the Maemo repositories, that can be a bit overwhelming. Then again, nearly everything there requires "internet access" privileges. Why does a flashlight app need internet access? ... ads. After a while, I got smart and searched for "opensource." That yielded about 20 pages of goodness, a little bit like home. I should be able to get apps for most everything I want. It turns out there's even Perl for Android. It's just a matter of the hardware, mostly the missing bluetooth.

Honesty, as a daily carry-around, I don't think it will best the N810. I mean, I'm happy with the N810 and my biggest problem is living in fear that it will die on me with nothing to replace it. Maybe this Cybernav thing will fill that backup need. Then again, I'll probably still buy another N810... though I'm going to wait for sub $100 pricing. I've made one offer but he's not got back to me...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Funny, I thought I was behind with my N900. I appreciate finding a device you like and holding onto it; ignoring the "latest and greatest".

Why were you disinterested in the N900? Is it because your prime need was GPS? Decent used N900s aren't too difficult to find.

Sincerely,

Abe

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Mostly, it was the smaller screen size but I'm also not interested in having a cell bundled.

Screen wise, I find the N810 about as small as I'm willing to go. I find panning around disorientating when trying to do remote desktop to a server and fullscreen on even 4" is bordering on unusable. On the other hand, I don't think I'd be carrying around (as much) a device with a screen much bigger than the N810... it's in a sweet spot for me.

On a choice between an N810 and the N900... I'll go with the N810. There are no N900 apps I want that can't run on the N810 (that I know of anyway), the N900 isn't supported any more than the N810 (nothin' = nothin'), I don't feel the N810 is too slow, so any extra CPU is not that meaningful, and it costs more. Besides, I really like that N810 stand thingie. I mean, I never would have thought about it when going to shop for something, but that little bar makes the thing so much easier to hold. I slide my left hand between it and the body and that makes for a very secure grip with a very light touch. I'm really going to miss that with the next device.

Wait! You know... I should be saying the N810 sucks. Everyone should dump theirs on Ebay and buy the N900. Yeah... that stupid little stand is useless, and there's no Nokia support, and it's really slow, and it can't do youtube - total piece of junk ;)

Sigh... (speaking of what I expect to be junk) my CyberNav Mini is stuck in customs right now. Ordered on the 17th, shipped (so they say) on the 18th, tracked via HK Post on the 20th, in Canada on the 22nd, and off to customs... wait, wait, wait... All this time I've been blaming Canada Post. Tracking is a bad thing for government departments.

Oh, and yes, a better GPS would be nice, though it's not a prime requirement for a daily carry-around. With the CyberNav, the GPS can be the primary use if, as I suspect, it will fail at daily use. I'm also interested in exploring Android, so that's another use. Like I said, I'll probably buy another N810, at some point, as a backup.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

I have to say that Canadian customs is by far the worst customs I have ever been forced to deal with in all my years - with a "third world" country being the exception. They will nitpick the most ridiculous things. The bureaucracy in this country stifles my will to live at times.

Best wishes on finding a system with the perfect fit. I have very poor vision and would really enjoy another 20/30% screen on my N900.

Abe

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Nowt wrong with an N810 - dropped back to using mine as my N900 is back at Nokia for repair/replacement.

Plenty right with it. Opera works as well as the browser on the N900, and better in some cases. Transmission web client works better on the N810 for a start, even in the stock browser. Screen and overall design is very nice and with the metal finish feels a lot better than the N900.

The fact that you can browse Windows fileshares out of the box is a big plus for me as well - cant do that on a N900.

I do wish it had better navigation, but then that's true of the N900, and Maemo Mapper works great with a 3G data connection.

I would also like a working twitter client, and album art in the stock media player. Canola's nice but later versions are buggy.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Yup, on both counts... Have you tried MediaBox?

That's the thing... I've had my N810 for years now, and I'm still tweaking it, getting it to work even better, finding some new app, or new way to use an old one. Nothing has come along to for me to say "Wow, I want something that will run THAT." I mean, the closest thing to that is YouTube videos... but I don't really care.

Sure, for your typical iPhone user, I've spent a ridiculous amount of time getting that piece of junk N810 to actually work... but I'm a geek and, well, that's called 'fun.' It certainly didn't do much of anything useful out of the box. Now, I'm at the other end. I guess my life has co-evolved with that thing to the point where it is doing near-exactly what I want. Now, every time I think about trying something new... I hesitate because I need it to be working right, all the time, all day. It's so useful it's actually annoying. That's why I want a replacement... not necessarily to replace it, but to be a replacement if necessary, so I can play again.

My daily routine is now dependent on an old piece of underpowered technology that has no corporate support and no obvious replacement. At least it still has a great community :)

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Yea, Mediabox has great features, but I never could get used to the interface. What I have always loved about Canola is the quick way you can play randomly from the whole library.

There is not really still a decent replacement for the N810, or at least I have not found one, and yea although it's a bit old it still rocks, and at current prices presents a massive bargain. I love having a tablet I can shove in a pocket, but still has a hardware keyboard.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

One trick i found when I got the 810 was that you could put a wriststrap though the frame where the stylus fits.
Really useful for when you are walking around with the device.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

@op: I have a good condition 810 sitting around doing nothing. You can have it if your new device doesn't suit. Original box and accessories, also have a car mount knocking about somewhere I think. Since your loyalty to the N8x0 series touched me, you can have it free. Email me. As you are in Canada and I'm in the UK, I would appreciate you paying for postage. I would trust you to do this after you receive the device. Your call. :)

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

^^ You're not wrong there. :)

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

:eek: >>>>> :)

For those curious, I have, of course, lept (near fell off my chair) at Phil's most generous offer. Stay tuned and I'll let everyone know how it works out.

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Ever since my N810 broke few years ago I've been searching for a device to replace it. I've been disappointed by Alwaysinnovating, Android and Apple.

My search will end the next weekend when I trade my iTouch 3g for a used Nokia N810.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

I have 2 N810s with broken screens sitting in my nightstand. Everything else works just fine, they just need screens. I'm willing to give them away as well.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

I'd be more than happy to pay for shipping to get them. However, to be honest, I'm already feeling very fortunate so other's are welcome to jump on this if they'd like. If not, well, even having them to practice taking apart before I have a go at seeing what's bent out of shape on my slider would be more than worth the shipping. Spare parts, oh yeah!

I 'gotta ask though... 2 of them, both with broken screens? What exactly are you doing with them?... twice? ;)

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

I put them in my back pocket like an idiot and sat on hard surfaces. But i just got a brand new one off e-bay for $100 and I just won a Wi-Max as well which will be here next week.

And now I have a hip holster, so no more accidently cracked screens for me.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

The original Urban Tool slyFox (not the new 7" version) is perfect for the n810. It attaches to your belt or belt loops and the n810's leather case fits snug allowing you to easily slide the n810 in and out and it won't fall out even if the flap is left open, unless you are doing something that could knock it out.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

For those following this thread, my CyberNav Mini finally cleared customs and was delivered yesterday. Absolute first impression: Android sucks compared to Maemo. I expect I'll warm to it over time, as I figure out how to make it do things, but overall it just seems very clunky. I suppose that's what you have to do to make an OS fit on a tiny phone screen. Seems like a waste for even a 5" screen though.

I've written up a review for others looking at this device:
http://fixerdave.blogspot.com/2012/0...ni-review.html

David....

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

The Java behind Android is keeping me from using it. You should try to install Meego or a Linux distro plus KDE Plasma/Active on it.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Yup... I expect I'll wind up dual-booting it eventually, but part of the reason I picked it up is to get a decent understanding of Android. Thus, I intend to give it some time - even if my first impressions are low.

The N810 is my daily carry-around and this CyberNav thing isn't going to change that. One day with it is enough to know that for sure. It's just a toy and I have plenty of time to play,

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

@op Have you received the N810 yet?

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Not yet... but I'm out in the colonies don't you know :) The steam ship is probably still trying to bust through the ice on the east coast.

More seriously, if the CyberNav from China is any indication (it included tracking), the package will take a day to process at your end, then a couple of days to puddle-jump warehouse to warehouse, then get shipped off to customs for some gawd-awful period of time (about a week last time) then spend another two days getting into the local Postie's hands such that he can secretly observe me, waiting around until I leave for 10 minutes and then deliver the notification that tells me I have to wait another day and then go pick it up at the local outlet. I mean, this IS Canada we're talking about.

Okay, it's not really that bad. I did get the CyberNav delivered to my hand without any tax or duty, so I shouldn't complain. And, considering the distance, it's actually quite amazing in any historical context.

So, yeah, still eagerly waiting.

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Yay! Phil's N810 arrived today. Happy :) happy :) happy :)

I had to run off to work before I could play with it but it seems in much better condition than mine. Then again, I haven't had a chance to drop Phil's yet ;)

That pretty much solves my backup issues... and "you can have it for free" is about the best deal possible. I am in Phil's debt, payback or pay-forward... it's his call.

So, now the work begins: Re-flash, community SSU, and then all the tweaks and application installs. I'll fully document the process and post it here. Maybe it will be useful to someone, someday.

I'm also expecting a broken N810 from Johnnie Price. How lucky can one guy get? :):):) When that comes in, I'll document the disassembly process as well, once I figure out how to do it that is. From there, I'll figure out how to repair the keyboard slider on my original unit. Then I'll have one to use and one perfect spare as a backup. I should be good for years to come. Maybe they'll make the perfect N810 replacement by then.

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Enjoy! Glad it arrived safely. :)

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

I'll be sending mine out as soon as I can make it to the Post Office. FedEx turned out to be out of my price range, so as soon as I can get a free hour in the middle of the day it will be shipped. Sorry for the delay. I'll let you know as soon as it gets under way.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

No rush, and please don't send anything by courier - anything but that. They charge a customs brokerage fee at the receiving end to bring it across the border - $28 to $35 and that's on top of what the shipping costs. Ouch! Unless it's something big, like tires, USPS is much better.

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

I can't resist posting this... sorry :)

Phil sent his N810 in the original box and, well, after using an N810 for years, I just couldn't help but laugh...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...0/DSCF9099.JPG

See that guy? You know why he looks like that?


It's because he's been wandering around for the last 20 minutes, totally lost, because the N810 STILL hasn't got a GPS fix ;)

I mean, I love that thing, but it does have it's failings,

David...

P.S. You know why it hasn't got a fix? Yeah, when the keyboard is extended the GPS antenna is shielded by the screen... never get a decent lock that way :cool: newbies...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

The unit was shipped yesterday by the US Post. Hopefully you'll get it in a couple of weeks.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Thanks again for sending this. I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of it, even if it is broken. I've always liked taking things apart; once in a while I get them back together again too :)

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Arrive yesterday afternoon... Yay! At first I though... the screens not cracked... looks good, did he ship the wrong one? Then I tossed a battery in it and fired it up. Very pretty effect :eek: streaks of light when twisted or poked. Could almost make a video game out it by itself :D

Anyway, thank you very much for sending it. I still haven't figured out what to send you and Phil back, but I'm thinking. I'll come up with something weird.

As soon as I get my bike back together, yet another project, I'll start in on the disassembly. I promise lots of pictures. Should be fun.

Thanks again,

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Glad it arrived safely. Hope you can get it back in working order.

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

how much would you guys say a brand new n810 sealed is worth? as new

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

resurecting my old thread here...

So, I tried Android. Cybernav, 10" SuperTab, A knock-off of a knock-off YinLips Android gameboy emulator thing (for my kid), and an Android smartphone for the wife. They all suck.

Okay, the Cybernav does gps really well, and it works great for what I wanted it for... mounting on the handlebars of my on/off road motorcycle. Custom maps, it's amazing really - and it still works after a couple of riding seasons. My 3 year old kid loves the YinLips, but he'd use anything with a touch screen that plays Angry Birds, or anything for that matter. My wife doesn't use her smartphone much, but doesn't want to give it up either. And my 10" SuperTab is kinda/sorta useful, but not really. Too big to carry; needs a keyboard to be useful, and then I'd rather be using a laptop.

All the while I've been playing with the above, I've been a daily user of my N810... It's just there, doing what I want, still. The more I've learned about Android, the more I like my N810.

But, in the interest of sharing my oddysey through the world of Android, here's what I've learned:

Android, as a operating system, is... not good. Weird things just keep getting in the way. I kept at it, thinking it was a Windows user trying to deal with OSX kind of thing, just not seeing the big button that will do what you need, though maybe not the way you want it. But, no, Android is just not very good.

I'm a "the OS is there to let you run applications" kind of guy, so the above isn't that big a deal. I'll deal with a clunky OS to get the app I want running. And, yes, there's a certain amount of App-Envy coming from Maemo, but not as much as you'd think, and it goes both ways.

In Android, the wealth of mapping apps is amazing (I settled on Orux) and there are other things like WiFi Analyzer, and Google Calendar is enough to make an N810 user cry. But, no Xournal. That one caught me by surprise. No Xournal? Yes, there are PDF annotators (not as good) that take what you write and put it somewhere I've not found, in some special format only they know about, and it stays there, unless you pay. Then, there are the advertisements - even with some of the GPL'd stuff. Oddly enough, a lot of what I found lacking in the N810 (something like Abiword for example) is also lacking in Android.

I had an issue with my Cybernav... it didn't like being reformatted to a Linux USB startup disk (don't ask... very dumb day). It took me about 2 weeks of research to get it back to factory trim (no, a reflash didn't fix it, not at all). Mostly, it was just a learning curve... didn't mind that, but what I learned about Android fragmentation makes all the Linux distros look positively cohesive. "Android" is a mess, and a closed mess to boot.

Hardware wise... the N810 has a lousy GPS, a pathetic camera that's so bad the lack of an app to work it is irrelevant, a decent screen, and a great keyboard. I hate on-screen keyboards. It also has a decent OS and quite a few decent apps.

Overall, I can't believe another year has gone by and I'm still in exactly the same place I was. I'm using an even more obsolete, underpowered, and unsupported N810... and I still can't find anything I'd rather use.

So, I've dug Phil's N810 out of the drawer, figured out how to boot off the external SD card, got the built-in SIP client to work with CallCentric, figured out I can use pop instead of IMAP to read Google mail via the built-in email client, and am re-evaluating all the available apps. I'll keep posting the steps I go through, and the fixes I find, until I happen along a pocket-sized linux computer with a hardware keyboard that makes me want to switch.

David...

Booting from external SD card:
 

Booting from external SD card:

Why, because you can set the system partition to 1GB instead of the stock size and install, and install, and install without issue :D No more fighting for space. Also, and the primary reason for me doing this, is that once I get said SD card set up exactly the way I want, I can make a bit-for-bit copy of it and get my 100% backup file. Never have to worry about it again. I can also move said SD card between N810s and everything will go with it.

Lots of good reason, actually.

This worked for me:
(from: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=25714)

But I had to do the manual swap thing as specified here:
(from: http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p...&postcount=168)

Worked well, running of an 8GB SD card and seems very stable. No issues noted so far. For now, I've put the swap and OS on the same card, which is not ideal, but I'm just experimenting at this point.

David...

Re: N810 still best for me? Best deal?
 

Ah...from Victoria...I'm Up-Island ....Nanaimo area....ya man I've been consistently using my n810's for a looong while too..5 yrs now?..time flies....actually I have been using my n800's more and more the last year or so now....tinkering away.....I do like my n900...for what it does....figured earlier this year I should finally sign up instead of continuing my practice of lurk-'n-learn...actually there are a few of us that use the n8x0 device line up here...ach ....what's not to love about the old beasties eh?
Not sure how long you've been away from the forums....but have you checked out the neo900 thread? I'm savin' my sheckels...got about 3/4 so far of what the target cost projection is ...and am determined to get one.