Ok this is another ipod to N8XX comparison. I know there has been a plethora of "i like the X better because..." posts on the board over the last year, but as an unbiased tablet and gadget enthusiast I feel compelled to share a few of my thoughts.

I recently decided to consolidate my gadgets. I grew tired of grabbing my ipod, phone and tablet as I ran out the door. Once I added my keys and wallet, I started to look like a clown. Even though I swore off buying another ipod, I decided to make a bold move ...sell my tablet and ipod and get the touch. So, I dropped a serious $400 on the the new touch 32gb.
Before I get into my impressions I want to preface this with the fact that Iam not done with Nokia tablets, I eagerly await the the next generation n900. The primary reason for the change up was that I couldn't justify spending $$$ on a number of mini and micro sd's to house my music collection so that I had a complete gadget.

Form Factor:
The touch is incredibly thin and light weight. Its shape is gorgeous, but like some of apples products, it almost feels over simplified in form. Very thin, it actually feels better in the hands now that I bought a form fitting case. Where it wins with me is that it is half the weight of the 810. It is so light that I can slip it into my top pocket without any problem. In comparison the 810 (in my opinion) is borderline too heavy to slide into the pocket and forget about it. I much preferred the weight of the 800.

The screen:
Immediately you notice the difference in the the screen size and quality. The touch has a very attractive bright screen but the smaller 3.5" size and lower resolution doesn't quite win the overall experience and web surfing. The n810 feels richer and more detailed.

Speed/Performance:
I was never really unhappy with the speed of the 810. It had been a little inconsistent for me depending on what apps I had running. Although, the more recent os updates have made big improvements with is overall stability. I was only ever really disappointed with the performance when playing videos locally or streaming. But the touch has been REALLY smooth so far. Quick, never laging or stuttering.

GUI/Software:
Diablo is very nice, but this is where the touch moves into the next level for me. It quickly makes up for the lower res. and screen size by offering quick and effective scrolling and zooming. I mean it is flawless. After a year of scrolling of on the tablets, it comes off feeling incredibly polished. The music player is beautiful, artwork looks very sharp and its layout works very well. The map widget via google is really nice. The web browser lets it down a bit with its capabilities though. No flash support or copy paste features obviously slows productivity and restricts the webs you can visit. But pages load very quickly and I have found Iam in and out of a quick web browse (say for a movie showtime) quicker than the 810

Conclusion:
I really miss the ITT community. Its support and development of incredible programs for the n8xx's is like no other and apple and others (like archos) should take note. I spent the time to write this little blurb so that I can share my perspective, not as a developer/programmer but a consumer that can see room for improvement in a winning device.

So clearly these are two very different devices. The n8xx are capable of doing so much more but for an end user the touch is doing what it does extremely well.