Sadly, I was right about Brontide throwing up his hands and giving up on the tablets.

I have to agree with him about Modest, however. I just do not understand how so many long-outstanding bugs remain unaddressed with that app. Modest is sufficiently "core" to the Maemo system that when it keeps crashing the desktop (as it does in my case on one of my tablets) or randomly locking up, it makes the whole system feel "flaky". It is also sufficiently "core" that it should have received bug-fixing priority long ago.

As for the "confused networking" problem, I haven't experienced that. I have the opposite problem; my tablets connect to open APs too willingly. I have to put my tablet in "Offline mode" when letting my daughter watch movies while riding in the bike trailer, because it will connect to an open AP while we wait at a stoplight, and the notification dialog and subsequent system slowdown as all the apps try to update over the 'net will mess up the video.

My biggest complaint about the batteries of my N800s is that the battery meter will read 100% when I leave the house, but then, after a short time of doing some demanding task (most recently, this happened when using a high-speed GPS unit, and later when watching a video using the built-in speakers), the battery level will drop precipitously and the tablet will start panicking about "low battery". I'm never sure, when the tablet is in this state, whether it will shutdown on me or whether it will keep going. But if I stop doing the demanding task, and let the tablet "rest" for a while with the screen dark, the battery level rebounds and everything is fine...

Personal note:

Brontide, come back to the community. Admit you're a geek, shrug off Nokia's "Big Company" blunders, and enjoy your tablet.

And even if you can't use it as your carry-around Internet device, there's lots of ways to keep the tablet from gathering dust.

If nothing else, many of us dads have found that the tablets make a great toy for the kids. My kid loves watching videos on the tablet, and she likes playing with liqbase, drawing a picture then going to the physics sim and making all of the pictures bump into each other. Once I showed her the basic steps of going back and forth between the drawing screen and the physics sim, that can keep her happy for a long time... So there's one way to keep the tablet from becoming a paperweight.

Another use I've found recently is leaving one of my tablets beside the phone, plugged into the charger and sitting at the DialCentral keypad. It is a great way for my wife (or others) to quickly dial a long distance number and get a free call.

The N800s make great bedside FM radio alarm clocks, and I'm sure the 810 can be used as an Internet radio alarm clock.

Oh, and I suggest investing in an inexpensive 4AA battery pack or spare Nokia charger cable, and carrying it around in your bag. (shrug)