Hello all,

Here's my simple newbie question:

Take the average person's daily life - how often is the N8xx NOT going to work due to lack of wifi/wlan??

Surely the purchase of such a gadget is only worthwhile if you spend most of your time in free wifi areas, right?

It is useful anywhere and everywhere. Just take a look around and see what people have done with it.

Who gave you the idea that it stops working if there's no WiFi?

1. With a suitable phone/dataplan you wouldn't even notice WiFi was gone and

2. I regularly shut down the WiFi in my house and you know what? My N800 and 770 still work! Incredible! Amazing!!

I have Wi-Fi access at home and at work, but it is spotty anywhere else. YMMV depending on where you live. If you really need to be online while away then consider pairing it with a bluetooth cellphone and a data plan.

Actually, tablets can also get internet access through your mobile phone, so you can use them anywhere that phones can get a signal.

They connect to the phone wirelessly, so you can keep the phone in your pocket while you use the tablet.

With all of these devices it all depends on the use. About 50/50 for me. The whole idea behind buying the Nokia Internet tablet was to keep from having a monthly cell data plan. I've been pleasantly surprised at all of the places I can use my N800. Krystal has free wifi at every location here. If I'm in a shopping center I might have to park outside a Quiznos Sandwich shop or behind a Kangaroo Bob's to get a connection, but that still allows me to check my e-mail and reply.

I've made it a point to find these places around town so I'm not far away from being able to hook up. AT&T WiFi is offering their service free to their DSL customers but they're a long way from covering my city. You are right. If you're wanting to be "always on" then, right now, Bluetooth is what you'll need...but at a price. Fifty dollars a month is $600 a year. But, you'll need that with an iPhone, too.

I've made similar posts so please excuse the repetition.

Thanks everyone! Some very interesting things to think about... Much appreciated!

Unless you have to put milk on the table, a $200, pocket PC with BT/Wifi and this helpful fora, you will enjoy it.

http://www.onsale.com/search/search.aspx?Search=n800, $199, or
buy.com $229 - $10 GCO = $219

bun

A REALLY good question - when I bought my 770 I didn't realize how few places I could actually use it. People had posted about how they can get wifi everywhere - like even on a bus - but not where I live - in San Francisco. Now I know that we are just a small town and behind technologically, but there are very few places with free wifi.

So this was disappointing for me. I thought I could use it for calls, but so few places I can get wifi. I think a lot of users have wifi at home and use it this way - so they don't have to go to their PC to use the web, etc.

I love the 770 I have and do a lot with it, but finding wifi that I can link to is pretty hard. That said, I can use RSS, check mail, watch videos, and I think when I travel it will be great to be able to access the web at my hotel or somewhere.

In Finland, where Nokia is based, WiFi is everywhere. It's practically like cellular service is here. I think that those of us who are using our NITs are just a little ahead of the curve here in the states.

I tend to use my tablet when I'm traveling. I know that it works for certain things without a WiFi connection, but when I'm away I just love to be able to hear my local NPR station on streaming audio. And the $7/month service from Boingo has worked like a charm.