I'm new here, I just got my N800 2 weeks ago but its already become indispensable. My original reason for buying it was to run Slimserver, which it does remarkably well. I really could care less about PIM features and editing word documents.

I have found the web surfing on the IT to be very addictive, I carry it with me all over the house, I can surf while eating breakfast, when commercials are playing on TV etc. I put it on the bedside table at night so I can surf in the middle of the night when I wake up without disturbing my wife. Its so much more convenient than the laptop that I wind up using it in many situations that I would not bother using the laptop.

One of the big draws to me was the fact that it runs linux, being able to go in and play with things, port programs etc was very important.

It seems to me that this opennes is part of the "problem" with the IT. On desktops people expect to buy programs that did not come with the computer in order to do most of their tasks. A fairly large number of people even modify their machines, adding new video cards etc. The mind set is that the hardware is a platform for external software and hardware.

Laptops are a bit more closed, very few people would ever consider upgrading the hardware on a laptop, but most people will still assume that they will be buying software for it. A certain number of people have a well defined function for their laptop and get it it with software to support it, but that is a fairly small percentage of users. One telling point is that almost nobody would ever even think of putting a new operating system on a laptop, while the concept is well known for desktops, even if most people balk at actually doing it.

For handheld computing devices its very different. The concept in most peoples mind is that a handheld is designed for a specific function and comes out of the box with everything you need to perform that function. The traditional functions being calculator, cell phone, PDA and MP3 player. This is the overwhelming mindset of most people when thinking about handheld electronic devices. If you want a new function, get a new device.

It takes a major mind shift to think of a hendheld as a platform like you do a desktop. To a large number of people its just inconceivable that they would have to get software and install it etc in order to get the functionality they want the device to perform. Its not their mindset.

The IT DOES come out of the box with the software for its intended purpose (browsing the internet) but that is so far removed from most peoples conception of a handheld device, that the fact its not optimized out of the box to perform traditional handheld functions can cause great distress and frustration because it does not fit their preconceptions of what a handheld is.

I think this is one of the big hurdles for the IT, to change peoples conception of what a handheld is, from a single use optimized for one purpose device into a platform that needs to have programs installed and configured, an incredibly flexible device, but one that you have to make into what you want it to be. A "handheld computing platform" rather than an appliance.

John S.