Thread: The N800 _MUST_ have a good PIM to succeed
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andymulhearn is offline andymulhearn
2007-02-23 , 17:28
Posts: 211 | Thanked: 3 times | Joined on Oct 2005
#90
Originally Posted by dbec10 View Post
I am in support of the IT having PIM apps on it. And if you are really honest and realistic you'd agree as well.
I remain unconvinced. Which is something of a change because for some time I was adamant I wanted PIM Functionality. But that's on my phone so now I'm not so sure.

If you work in a metropolitan area then you don't have to worry about having WIFI access. However the majority of potential owners of the IT will not have that luxury.
I work in Canary Wharf and don't have wifi access unless I leave my office and go to one of the malls. So it's not just those in the sticks that don't have access.

Nokia claims to have designed it as an internet tablet. For use on the internet, using always on WIFI or cell phone GPRS etc. If that were so why then include video playback, audio, FM radio and all the other things it can do, which have nothing to do with the internet. Why have 2 SD card slots. It can't be so we can view large html pages.
That's a good question. All of that functionality is usable standalone so it's not really in the "internet tablet" mould. Perhaps it's just that the apps are relatively common and easy to implement under maemo. Nothing more or less.

Though to be fair, if you take away music and video, then you need hardly more space than is available out of the box with no cards. Unless you're using at as a big mobile file store.

PIM apps are a logical extension of the device and to not include them would be a great mistake. I have a Palm and the only reason I do not have a n800 is price, it's instability and the lack of PIM apps.
To be fair, Palms came out of the diary/address book world and grew other functionality some of which (browsing) they will never do as well as the N770 or N800. So while contacts/address is their strength, it's about all they can do well out of the box.

I mention instability, because like most of you I don't plan on using only what nokia provided and the other programs (some of them mentioned on this forum) can cause problems.
I've had my N800 for about a month now and it's crashed on me once. I use Opera, FBReader, xterm, media player and have Python, Dates and Contacts installed.

I think you're right, some software affects stability but as a rule, the N800 is FAR more stable than the 770 was. In my experience.

If Nokia wrote the PIM chances are it would be stable and the price would be justified. Right now, for $400. I get to play with an internet "under development" tablet.
Err, I believe Nokia wrote the email client (my favourite bugbear) so I wouldn't be sure that a PIM they provide will automatically be better.

If anything, I think the guys at Open Hand are showing the most promise. GPE is too clunky for me, Dates and Contacts for what I've done with them are very nice products and I hope they evolve down their current routes rather than big and ugly. If they can build a simple connection that works reliably with iCal/google then I'm OK with that and would use it. I'm just not crying in my beer because I haven't got it any more.