If the n9xx is as stable and robust in terms of software as the earlier NIT's I never want to mix it with a phone

Hey ...

I'm no phone expert and have no idea what part of the technology on a phone locks one into a particular carrier. But, with JailBreak making it trivial to use iPhones on any carrier one desires, I'd think that a GSM N9xx would also be breakable.

Why can't the phone part of the N9xx be totally separate from the "wonderfully stable" rest of the little bugger? Heck, I'd almost be willing to epoxy a phone to the back of the thing - perhaps a Samsung R501 or other thin phone.

I'm just sick of having to carry the phone and the NIT! It just can't be that complex to combine the two functions in one case.

iPhone - BaH! Ever tried to type on one? Tried to change the battery? Yuck!

Steve

For a phone I want rock solid dependability and support.

For a NIT I want to be able to hack and expand.

In one device these two things will never be resolved satisfactorily.

I have been an enthusiastic N800 user (and poster here) since the N800 was released. And I still am.

BUT

When I leave home these days, I just bring my Centro and leave the N800 at home. This is because the Centro is smaller and I can do anything I want to do with it (usually), even though it is nowhere near is good as the N800 for browsing the web, it does work if I'm say in a vehicle and I need to check out the movie times on the web. It even works as a rudimentary GPS unit, which my N800 won't do unless I am carrying the GPS unit with me.

On the other hand, if I left the house with just the N800 I absolutely could not make an emergency phone call unless I happened to be within range of wireless. I couldn't use GPS without the GPS unit.

I wish Nokia would make an ultra-tiny phone that would be a dedicated N8x0 add-on. It wouldn't need to do ANY of the stuff the N8x0 does.

The idea that the Nokia tablet is some sort of walkaround web access device is a myth. Wifi is not available when you are walking around except in unusual places. You need a cell phone. On the other hand, you completely have the walkaround web with the right cell phone.

I normally carry things in my pockets. I have my car keys. I have my wallet, which I carry in my front pocket from habit formed by spending a long time on crowded Moscow Metros and having had four people try to pick my pocket in Barcelona. I really don't want to carry another item with me EXCEPT one thing that gives me phone connectivity and web connectivity.

I really hope nokia releases two versions of the tablets. One with phone and one without. And the one with the phone.... has to be sold unlocked.

Why is everyone so afraid of a phone? Because it will "lock them down" ?

What if the were all sold unlocked, with an empty SIM slot. Problem solved.

And as for stability, just make it multi boot. A everything mode (phone and maemo), and a phone only mode (maybe a very striped down symbian OS). That solves that problem as well.

because loading a full Desktop OS like Debian would be a huge PITA if there was built-in cell capabilities... special software would be needed for the OS to communicate through the networks and the SIM..

I like the freedom of the tablet... do I wish I could make phone calls anywhere with it?? yeah.. but not at the cost of immobilizing my opportunities for expanding this to be exactly the mobile work device I need.

Hardly. There are all sorts of stupid ******** carrier nonsense to be complied with, not to mention an insane number of international, state, and local regulations, with the end result being a lot of resources taken away from making Maemo awesome into making it comply with lots of stupidity.

No thanks, I'll stick with my non-cellular-hindered platform, thank you. If you want a phone, please go buy a phone.

I know one of the local mobile phone companies sell a little module that is designed to let your laptop get on the internet via the mobile phone network. I saw it at a show recently. It looked like it would work with the NITs. I can't remember if it connected via bluetooth or if it was USB. It was quite expensive, but then all data access via mobile phone networks is very expensive in Canada.

EDIT: Their web page has a few USB modules; those would all probably require extra power and I wouldn't be surprised if special software was needed too... Sigh.

Yeah. But most of the people who even consider the n8xx decline it on the first thought just because it has not phone. They just don't think about anything else.... The first sentence that comes out when i show it to someone is "But it doesn't have a phone?? "

Look at the iphone. Just because it was a phone first it became so popular. Look at the touch it is nowhere as popular as even the tablets. Most of the americans who never heard that they could browse the internet from a phone have started browsing from thier iphones and appreciated the usefullness. If the n800 was released with two different models.. one with and one without a phone..... I am sure the iphone would not have been as successful as it is now.

And we would have seen a lot more n800's