Confused....
 

I'm thinking of getting a N800 but I am confused about the different sevices I will need to use it. I tried to all at&t and they didn't know anything about the N800 tablet. Do I need a dialup or highspeed Ip service? What kind of service do I need to be able to use WiFi hot spots and I don't understand bluetooth. Also VIOP. Can someone help me by explainng.

Re: Confused....
 

Just stick with a cell phone.

Omega

Re: Confused....
 

seconded.

also: try wikipedia.

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Thirded.
Not trying to be an ***** or anything, but this device does require some intermediate computing skills to go beyond the basics on it.

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I have At+T, 3G service with a samsung sync. I connect via bluetooth and get about 384kbps download with an HSDPA connection. If you don't have 3G/HSDPA in your area you will be on an EDGE connection at about 128kbps. I have the unlimited data connect plan which is $60.00 additional to any phone plan. I also use the Sync to get my laptop on line. I use the USB cable most of the time as the download speed is much better then Bluetooth, about 768kbps. Right now the sync seems to be the best 3G data phone they have. The black jack is nice but I had problems connecting with one when I first got my plan, but they say it's fixed now. The Nokia N75 is a really nice phone, but connects at slower UMTS speed only (384+/-kbps), no HSDPA.

I don't work for AT+T, by the way, I just have researched this alot recently.

BTW. pairing by bluetooth is really easy and the N800 practically connects itself. Also you get some great options for hands free head sets

Good luck!

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Ok, lemme answer it really simply...

The N800 is NOT a phone. It does not connect to any phone network, to make calls or anything else.

The N800 can access WiFi hotspots, which are little tiny areas around a wireless router (like in your local Starbucks) that allow for internet access. You do not need to buy any "service plan" to use WiFi. (WiFi is not a company, btw, just a standard for communication, it means "Wireless Fidelity")

You cannot use the N800 for dial-up internet, or with any wired internet at all (anything that you have to use wires to plug into the wall)

Bluetooth on the N800 is used mainly to communicate with phones that also have bluetooth. Bluetooth can be used to mean hardware or a non-specific software that controls that hardware. This means you can send pictures and music from you phone to you internet tablet (The N800 is called an "Internet Tablet" or "IT" for short).

The N800 is not associated with any phone company. You never need to purchase any kind of plan for any kind of feature on the N800.

Hope it helps!

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jeep99, do you honestly expect any of that to be comprehensible to the original poster? You might as well be speaking greek.

dckw1, the N800 has a couple different ways it connect to the internet. The first is WiFi, which is marketing speak for a technology called 802.11b or 802.11g. The basic idea behind Wifi is that you connect a device called a wireless access point up to a broadband connection (typically DSL or Cable) and it provides a bubble of wireless connectivity within a range of a few hundred feet of the access point. You can buy one of these yourself from most electronics retailers for $50-75 and connect it up to your own broadband connection at home and then be able to get online with your N800 anywhere within range. Many coffee shops, libraries, malls etc. offer access for free or for a small charge. There are some businesses like Starbucks that will almost univerally have Wifi access available, albeit for a monthly fee or steep daily rate.

The second way to get online is via a cellular internet access/data plan through your cellular provider. Basically, for a monthly fee of $30-$60 (assuming you are in the US) you can get online from your cell phone and many cell phones (but not all) can share that internet connection to another device such as a laptop or your N800 via a Bluetooth connection. Bluetooth is a set of technologies that allow low power devices like cell phones to exchange data wirelessly over short range.

I use my N800 with my Nokia N95 phone on t-mobile and can get online pretty much anywhere I have cellular service. My service through t-mobile costs me about $20 a month for the data plan, although I believe they are charging $30 or so these days. ATT/Cingular and T-mobile primarily are using an older, slower standard for cellular internet access called EDGE. EDGE delivers an internet experience a little faster than an old dialup modem. Ok for checking email and light web browsing, but you don't exactly want to be downloading Youtube videos over it. Both T-mobile and ATT are rolling out a faster, more competitive technology called HSDPA, but it is only available in select major markets and only works with a few newer (and expensive) handsets. Nationwide on ATT and T-mobile, EDGE is the name of the game.

Sprint an Verizon are both using a better technology than EDGE which usually goes by the technical name of EVDO revision A, which is MUCH MUCH faster. It is more like an average speed DSL connection. You can download videos, mp3s and surf the web at a much better speed. Unfortunately, Verizon currently caps how much data you transfer per month to 5 GB. I personally think Sprint's terms, speed and coverage are better, anyways.

VOIP stands for voice over ip and is basically a way to use your N800 to make voice calls over the internet. There are a couple programs that let you do this. Basically, all the VOIP software will let you call other VOIP users for free, it is just making and receiving calls to the POTS (plain olde telephone system) that costs money. I use a program called Gizmo Project and have had great success using it internationally to make cheap phone calls. Another popular program is Skype, which can also make and receive "normal" phone calls, as well as call other Skype users for free. There are some other options like Google Talk and some generic SIP support (in beta/testing) as well, but I haven't explored those options much.

I hope this information was useful to you. You can find out a lot more and find recommendations of specific phones to use with your N800 by using the search function for these forums. Please try to search for common terms here or using sites like the Wikipedia before posting a new thread on a topic which has already been beaten to death. If you would like further help, I am always available commercially :)

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Rocketman,

And yours was equally greek and twice as long. I expected to see questions asked when more explanation was required.

dckw1,

You may as well listen to rocketman, he seems to know everything

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Good reply Rocketman, and good luck, dckw1 ! Some basic searching will disclose the features/requirements of the N800, but during my initial searching a month or so ago, I did notice a number of web-based phone stores that advertised the N800 as available from them "unlocked", and there seemed to be encouragement to associate with various wireless plans. These sites can easily lead the uninitiated astray. Diligent searching can clear it all up, in time.

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I'd like to thank everyone for your advice and help. I'd like for people to know I really mean that. I'm 71 years old and though I may be slightly out of the fray, I don't shirk from challenges. Beside this N800 unit just tickles the hell out of me. I figure that before I get it up and running I'll have less hair than I have now. I've already ordered the unit so here we go. I do have one question for now though. I am a Vonage customer and I'd like to know if I can take and make calls on the N800 with my Vonage account. I know Nokia offers the Skype service for VIOP calls.

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If I remember correctly, Vonage is semi-proprietary and you basically can only use their sanctioned equipment/software. You do have the option of transferring your phone number over to another VOIP provider that does standard SIP, though. Gizmo Project supports SIP providers through a "secondary account login" type function in the software.

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Thanks. I will contact Vonage and find out, then I'll let you know what they say.

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Rocketman

I have been reading and re-reading many of the posts since I started asking for help. Today, I went back to your post #7 again (3 time), and I would like to take the time to thank you again, personally. There are people who know what they are talking about when it comes to the Nokia N800 and there are teachers on the subject. Not everyone can teach. You, my friend are both. I don't understand all I know about the N800 joining this forum but what I do understand is because of you. I should be getting my N800 this coming week and I plan to look into that device you mentioned for 50-70 dollars for WiFi at home, cable. Once I get used to the unit, I will look for a data plan via a cell phone plan. Could you give me an idea of prices, a range is fine, for unlimited data? Once again thank you. Dckw1...

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If you enable bluetooth and make it visible on your phone before you power up your N800 for the first time the N800 will detect the phone and ask you if you want to pair it (make them authorized to each other) during the first-time configuration process.

Things are proably a bit more complicated in the US but in Europe the above is usually sufficient to let you go online through whatever mechanism the phone provides (GPRS, EDGE, 3G), without any data plan (you want a data plan to cut costs in case phone networking is used for a lot of data). In the US there are often more restrictions built in to the provider-sold phones, if I've understood it correctly. But in any case it doesn't harm to get that phone pairing done right away during first-time config, it's more work to search for and wade through config menues later.

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Got my N800 yesterday. Am able to pickup hot spots around town with no trouble. Am having troubles getting the 800 to accept my Verizon LG headset, vie bluetooth. Keep getting message "Failed Pairing". It is recognized, just won't accept it. Also can I get a plan to give me wifi anywhere I am?

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Bluetooth headsets are not currently/yet supported on the N800, unfortunately. The reason you get 'failed pairing' is probably because different types of bluetooth devices (phones, PDAs, headsets, stereo headsets, printers, etc.) identify themselves through 'bluetooth profiles', and the profiles (in your case, a BT headset) doesn't have a handler on the N800. Hopefully BT headsets will be supported at some stage. (Incidentally, my Palm T3 PDA doesn't support headsets either, however I can still keep my BT phone in the pocket, paired to the BT headset, and dial from the Palm's contact list and pick the call up through the BT headset. Three BT devices involved.)

For open wi-fi hotspots you won't need a plan. For some other types of semi-closed hotspots, e.g. T-Mobile, you can either get a plan or pay-as-you-go by bying access on a day-by-day basis, or some such.

To get net access from absolutely anywhere (well, cell phone covered areas) you would have to use the phone (as wi-fi hotspots have limited coverage), see Rocketman's posting above.