That's kind of what I was aiming at, Texrat. Looked at a Blackberry, but didn't like the form factor, and was tired of squinting at WAP pages. So I got a normal thin phone and the N800. Problem is, I don't want to pay Verizon the $60 a month for a data plan, so I'm waiting/hoping they come out with a different price structure that I can afford, and then use the phone as a BT modem so I can surf whenever/wherever.

It would be nice IMO if land service providers could also offer an extension to solely address the wireless data plan element. But-- in my case that's not practical, because Verizon provides my land service under contract while AT&T provides my cell phone service, also under contract. A shame we can't piecemeal what we want in the US.

Hey, the Eee looks cool, and quite handy. x86 architecture means you can run a ton of programs directly. It's cheap, and just the solution needed for a second PC.

Microsoft and Asus' announcement that Microsoft would be supplying a windows-based OS for the Eee shows that Microsoft is paying attention, and is quite worried about the success of the Eee. It also shows that they don't get it. A big draw for these devices is the quantity of free software available. Heck, given the BSA's recent shenanigans, it's becoming a big draw for businesses too. In an environment where software companies interpret "copyright infringement" such that some clown's inaction (such as failing to uninstall software on that obsolete hulk gathering dust in the closet) can result in serious financial penalties, and where those same software companies share those penalties with former employees who were most likely the ones responsible for the "infringement" to begin with, proprietary software, especially the sort with complicated licensing, carries an intrinsic liability.
In other words, the hardware's cheap, but the total cost of ownership is even cheaper, and getting more so. The Eee class of computers (and bigger versions) can be used for all those tasks that don't require the unique things that Mac and Windows platforms still offer, and they can provide better performance with much less hardware. And those cool-Windows and Mac-only programs (games, GIMP is not Photoshop, etc.) generally do better on desktops anyway.

But the Eee is still a laptop. It runs an x86 processor, and that means that when it's on, it's using plenty of power. Its battery life is measured in hours on vs. off, and not hours of use. Its design means that, when someone is using an Eee, the user's focus of attention is the computer.

The ITs are entirely different. VoIP (and video calls) are not tethered to a location. I can, and do, walk about the house while on the phone -- and on a device that now costs only slightly more than a dedicated WiFi phone (and on a device that finally works well as a Skype Phone). When I'm working on something, it's not in front of me; it's by my side. If we need a fact checked, I can do it, and pass the results, rather than force someone to stare down my screen. Sharing video works the same way: go to youtube, or whatever, and hand it to someone. The pocketable bit means that I can pull it out in any number of improbable locations.

The implementation leaves something to be desired. While Nokia has grasped that F/OSS projects work best when the various professional, semi-professional and volunteer efforts have a directed and fully funded framework in which to operate, someone needs to get the maemo that volunteers don't maintain repositories over the holidays, a period that's kinda important in the consumer electronics world.

So, no, I don't administer unix boxes with it.

spot on, Texrat! Not a simplification at all. I've been saying pretty much the same since the 770 came out. Back then Nokia only had BT+3G in those ridiculously overpriced smart phones, so it's pretty safe to say that this use case was not predicted (a pretty big fault, considering the depth of the product line otherwise). The 770 forced me to get my first non-Nokia phone.

Give me a small, spartan phone with good data capabilities and a long-lasting battery, and I'll be a happy camper.

Limited in-house resources and a concentration on the .NET/PHP/JAVA side of programming in our company means that a platform that supports neither of those gets left behind when/if there are other platforms that DO cater to those needs. And since there are WiMo Alternatives to the Tablet (The two big HTC systems i.e) it's easier to concentrate on those.

No need for .NET/MONO (also throwing together some quick VB stuff might be nice) but at least a decend and official JAVA would have been nice, even more so given the CPU's capabilities in that area.

Given the lack of "necessary" capabilities (YMMV, here Sync with Exchange is "necessary") makes the device even less interesting in general use, same for the "needs extra phone" element. Germany might be different but getting twin cards (two cards, one number) is easy and UMTS or GRPS far more common than open WLAN's. And using a TelCo Hotspot is as costly as a good data plan from the providers if not more so. Without a "phone" ability it's somewhat hard to sell online solutions for the beast even more if your average end user isn't an IT-professional but rather "Joe Average Enduser"

Understood. Theoretically, though, a company that saw the potential in the tablets could throw the right resources at in-house enterprise development for it.

And within the organization, phones aren't necessary. For instance, we are (finally) getting to where the tablets can be used as wifi voip "land" lines in house.

Uh oh. Has Nokia created a polymorphic proverbial blob of clay? Yes. Yes they have. While I think cell phone tethering is cool, as is playing an ancillary role to a cell phone, I don't have one. Did I miss the point? Absolutely not. My tablet gets hella offline usage during my commute and when I'm out and about hits random WiFi hotspots to supplement my coffee with the internet related headaches I've gotten addicted to (like this forum).

Sorry to interject on this, but I just wanted to make the point that while people feel strongly about their use case scenarios and can't understand this or that, there are other types of users out there and our corporate overlords had to take everything into account.

You can't please all the people all of the time.

I'm not pleased with your opinion.

For Nokia to come out with the device and include a sim slot, they would first have to include a proper contacts application

Preferabley one that also syncs with Outlook, since that is what all other Nokia 'phones' do. Especially the N series ones.

Zuber

on the topic of sizes and dimensions. (first page or so )

i find tiny laptops appealing. size of a laptop bag is part of a problem, but general handling and weight is also issue.

couple of years ago i saw a Dell Laptop that had about 12 inches of screen or so, maybe less, did not have a CD/DVD drive and looked very thin and portable. seemed ideal for on the go business applications. i don't think it was marketed for home user, more for corporations. does anyone know which model i'm talking about? i sort of still want one, maybe i can get one somewhere on the cheap.