I've been contemplating whether to get N800 for the past few days. What I'm most afraid of is getting the power on/off problem.

I've had an N800 for over half a year now and never had any problems at all with the power switch. I suspect most people don't have problems either.

One thing worth emphasising though is that there's no reason to switch the N800 off. You can charge it while it's on, and you can lock the screen for carrying it in a bag or pocket. It can be set to offline mode if you're in a hospital or aircraft.

There's usually no real reason to use the tablet's power switch at all, because it's designed to be left on in standby mode like a mobile phone. Leaving a computer in standby mode consumes much less power than constantly switching on and booting up. I know it sounds crazy but it's true.

Comments made by Nokia employees here and in Maemo Bugzilla appear to indicate there's a firmware update due to be released very soon to fix that problem. "How soon is soon," and "should I wait" are questions you'll have to ponder on your own.

Yes, I know there is no reason to switch off. But if it hang, then I would have to remove the battery.

Removing the battery is no problem. It's not like the N800 is the iPhone or anything.

Go for it!

really, it's worth buying. you will be able to do the same as on a N810 (except GPS - external module is sometimes better - think overheat in long trips).

the pad is always available (unlike n810), full SD and mini-usb. this thing is pretty standard.

while i like very very much my new N810, the old N800 is still more likely to be taken with me in trips, 'cause of the full SD things (storing pictures/movies from camera to this great gadget - up to 16GB of storage)

about your fears, i have 1 n800 and 1 n810, none with problems. And in case of problems i don't think starting the n800 after keeping it 30 minutes in the freezer will be a problem, since both my tablets have more the 15 days uptime, you

so, give nokia some money

- errmm, make that now 64GB of SDHC storage! (i have 32GB in my n800)...

- but i agree: "Go for it!"

- honestly, it's one of the better deals out there... take a look at *any* other Internet tablet currently on the market, then compare features, operating systems, and price...

yes you can! (power on)

I just bought my N800 last week and can say it's a great piece of hardware. But, something to consider is there is what I consider a significant difference between the N800 & the N810. The N810 has a trans-reflective display that allows it to be easily read outside.

Another other difference is you can add up to 16gb (allegedly) more memory to the N800. If I had known about the trans-reflective display I likely would have waited for a price drop in the N810 as I like to read ebooks on my current PDA, a Sony Clie nx73v, that lets me turn off the backlight and can be read outside, in color, with ease. But I can make due with both for now. It is just a bother if I am really into a specific book because I can't easily move the book from one device to the other. But, like I say this is something I just will adjust to for now.

The OS is just OK. Mostly due to it being newish and thus a lack of applications. Of course I find this to be a pretty universal issue with Linux in general. Too many versions that result in applications that run on one system not running on another until someone decides to port it over.

Also do not expect many of the great PDA apps to have analogs on the NIT's. Even though the OS is VERY open, I see few apps that are anything beyond "...just-another-media-player.." I am sure they will come but for some reason that is all people seem to want to provide. These things are pretty powerful devices that have plenty of room and clock-cycles to spare.

It would be interesting to see of there is a port of mySQL for Maemo sometime in the future. Until there I'll have to live with creating my own client-server apps on one of my web servers and just use a web interface to manage the data. Maybe that is the future of how best to leverage the ability of the tablet as the application becomes completely platform agnostic just dependent on the browser.

Last there is no Java runtime yet...I have not read much saying to expect one anytime soon, which I find very disappointing.

Still, I am thrilled with the NIT. I am using it more every day...especially for web browsing. I do like having the the iGo Stowaway keyboard too and am getting used to it pretty easily. Being a touch typist I feel like I am missing something if I have to look at the keyboard/on-screen keyboard to type. The the device becomes the focus rather than the task at hand.

Last, I am having a great time reacquainting myself with the Unix-like OS. I see this device as helping me enjoy computing again after almost 40yrs playing around with them I sorta had lost interest. I find the device fascinating an well worth the investment.

Have fun if ya decide to take the plunge. BTW, I bought mine from Amazon directly and with overnight shipping it was just $247...hard to beat that deal.

HOLY-SCHNIKES!!! 32GB card??!!! Much coolness point to you!! do share with the class what brand and type of SHDC...pleeeeeese?