Thanks konttori...

The N810w certainly is that device... I'm just wondering how many people actually *want* a device like this. From the chatter, it seems that some people are very happy tethering the N810 to a mobile phone while others would rather have an all-in-one long-range wireless access (I think I misused the WAN term) device. I'm genuinely interested to hear reasons on both sides, and even from the apathetic bunch in the middle!


}:^)~
YARR!

Corrupt Wimax Edition

You may want to take a look at this which i compiled a while ago.

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...318#post173318

I have an n800 and bluetooth kb that works well for me - the n810 was announced a few weeks after I bought - I'll probably wait until the next version (n900 or whatever) before I upgrade.

The old Psion Series 5 keyboard, ahh, I loved that thing

I mostly agree with this, with the following caveats:

1) base it on the E71, not the E61/E62/E61i. For one, the joystick on the E61 and E62 sucks. For two, the E61i uses the proprietary media connector for data and headset. The E71 fixes all of these issues, and has a really nice form factor (outstanding keyboard when compared to those phones, or the N810). The screen is a little on the small side, but I'm ok with that. Maemo on the smaller screen would be preferable to me over S60 on that device.

2) Quadband GSM, Quadband UMTS (ie. add T-Mobile USA 3G stupport), and UMA are musts, IMO.

3) The _one_ weakness of the E71 is ... poor reception strength. Predictably 2 bars worse than the E61i or E62 (both of which I own, and I just got done evaluating the E71 for womworld). Whatever they come up with needs to have outstanding signal capability. IMO, the wired headset jack should be able to use the wire as an antenna (just like some nokia phones use the wire for FM radio reception). If that's going to require a thicker cable for handling the power pumped into it for transmission, go ahead. But do SOMETHING.


Really, what I want is a Maemo device that has a built in WWAN (that's actually useful, thus ruling out WiMAX), can do direct voice calls, SMS/MMS, and data. Ideally, it would support voice calls using any of: a cellular network, SIP, UMA, Skype, and Gizmo (the E61/62/61i/71 already do the first two, and you can get a Skype addon (iSkoot), but I'd prefer the Maemo client I think).


If I were king, there would be a Nokia Maemo Phone category that have 2 sets of options:

A) form factor (E71, E66, E90)
B) WWAN network (GSM/UMTS, WiMAX, maybe CDMA/EVDO, eventually LTE)

And if I really got my way, I'd get an E90 based Maemo phone, with dual GSM cards built in, so you could direct different traffic to different providers (or two different plans with the same provider, maybe). And it would include clients for UMA, SIP, Skype, Gizmo, and Vonage.

And the Qwerty keyboard.

Laptops are too F'n HUGE. The biggest device I ever want to carry again is a Samsung Q1. Anything bigger or heavier than that is dead weight. I've switched to riding public transportation to work (I'm saving $250/mo by doing so). I don't want to whip out of freakin' laptop so that I read Livejournal, this site, chat on Yahoo/AOL/IRC, and read my mail and RSS feeds. When I'm on the train or express bus, I want to uses something like... an N810 or Q1 (if only the Q1 had a native ubuntu port; though ubuntu mobile is almost ready for prime time, I hear).

Frankly, 11"+ laptops are dinosaurs. If you need a bigger screen than a NIT/MID/UMPC/netbook, use a desktop or get glasses. If you need to be mobile, your laptop is a boat anchor, pick something else.

And, really, "techie guy in a boardroom"??? techie guys don't go into boardrooms. By that time, they're no longer techie guys. They're pointy-haired guys. (and, really, I couldn't give a crap what's vogue for the board room; I go into senior management meetings with my N810, and I have yet to have a problem)

Last ... the link you provide shows a device with Windows ... are you on the right web site? hawking Windows to Maemo users? really? Perhaps you'd like to suggest a device that comes with a real OS?

Speak for yourself. I bought mine to do work. And I've been using it to do work. I use it to take notes in meetings (sometimes using my iGo keyboard). I use it to access my servers while away from my desks.

I do _also_ use it for some leisure activities (checking IMDB while watching movies, IM'ing from my couch, RSS/email on the train/bus, etc; all things that I wouldn't do with a laptop because it would be too cumbersome).

But to suggest that these devices are only bought for leisures is to show your ignorance of your audience. A fatal mistake in any endeavor.

and to argue that "what business people [need]" somehow defines what is or isn't a laptop is the tail wagging the dog (or a poor straw-man argument). Not every laptop is for business use. Not ever laptop needs to be for business use.

NITs don't have to satisfy boardroom pointy-hairs in order to be laptop replacements. They simply have to satisfy all of the mobile general purpose computing needs of some segment of the market. And in order to be successful, that market segment merely has to be big enough to support itself.

Any argument about "it's not a laptop because it can't do powerpoint presentations in a boardroom" is specious at best.

Then why is there a WiMAX version?

If this mantra (that WWAN connectivity is supposed to come from a companion device) was so true, then Nokia would have released a WiMAX router, like the CradlePoint Personal Hotspot or something, instead of a WiMAX edition of the NIT. And THAT would have been where the WiMAX connectivity for the NIT came from.

Of course, there's the third option: Nokia wasn't thinking coherently when they entered into the WiMAX deal, and so the "NIT is supposed to pair up with [another device]" mantra isn't true, but they're also not going to follow the WiMAX edition to its logical conclusion (a GSM/UMTS edition). Or perhaps they were told from above to do the WiMAX edition, but the end result is the same: no such mantra governs the product group.

There's nothing about "GSM/UMTS radio in the tablet" that implies that it will be your phone, actually.

Several MIDs are saying they'll have HSPA modems built in. That doesn't make them phones. Certainly, if the hardware is complete (has the interfaces necessary for making calls, sending/receiving SMS/MMS messages, etc.), then the difference is a matter of software... but, these devices aren't saying they'll be phone replacements. They, like the N810 WiMAX Edition, merely package their WWAN inside the device.

Which is what the next generation NIT should do. It would be nice if it ALSO could handle voice and SMS/MMS ... but at the very least it should be able to do 3G data.