IMO, the N810 is too slow to run any of those desktop apps. They work, yes, but they are SO SLOW. iPod currently has the advantage in SOME ways. It has the "gadget" and "games" apps, but many people are developing productivity apps for it as well. But it will mean more $$ to spend.

Strong point of N810 is basically ability to write free software, lots of FREE software, emulators, and decent desktop ports.

Strong point of Ipod is basically good graphics/UI, lots of development, better "media", smaller/multitouch.

I got a N810 because I did not want to be locked in by Apple, but then they released the stupid App store and changed all that. Oh well....

Although I don't own an Apple product, we bought 2 iPhones for testing not too long ago at work. Since I am the BlackBerry support guy I will sadly wind up the iPhone support guy. So I am not an avid iPhone user nor fan, yet have had my hands on the device and I do have another opinion.

Browsing on the iPhone:

Typing/entering URLs will take some getting used to on the virtual keyboard- landscape mode helps spread things out and thus makes it easier. If you mistype a URL rather than give you a full, up-close zoomed view of the entire URL they give you a dime-sized magnifying glass which you use to navigate the cursor's position. Nice but...so many times I find that just as I have my finger and thus cursor in the correct position, when I lift my finger it inadvertantly moves the cursor over one character. Such a pain. I really have to focus and often take 2 or 3 tries to get it positioned correctly. No, I don't have gorilla hands either. All they need to do is add a <-- and a --> button somewhere.

Once you get to a website the scrolling and movement is fluid. It's strictly finger-touch input on the iPhone and iPod Touch, so it's easy to send the page sliding around and seemingly "bounce" the page off the edges of the device. Smooth and fluid and although a bit gimmicky, it is responsive enough that you can get back to where you need quite quickly. I still haven't taken off my original screen protector on my N800 so I really can't compare it accurately as I know the protector has hindered the responsiveness. Even so, I am more accustomed to the N800's browser drag/scroll methods and are a bit biased towards them. I like being able to be zoomed out and use the stylus on smaller links which would be tougher to hit with the finger. True, it's pretty effortless to zoom in on a web page on the iPhone, so it's a toss up in efficiency.

I can't speak for Google Reader as I have not chased down and installed the app someone created for OS2006/2007 (it may in fact work on 2008) but it looks to have limited features and hasn't been updated in awhile. I'm sure accessing it via the web isn't ideal. I just loaded it on the N800's browser, never having done so before. Due to the coding it looks to be ideally viewed when zoomed out fully, not practical on the eyes. I don't see a speed issue from this limited experience. I am not a complete RSS junkie like some, so each time I reload my tablet (for personal reasons not typically failure) I pretty much stick with the built-in reader which I know many have outgrown. There are more than a few other RSS readers out there for the Nokia tablets. Wouldn't it be nice to get Viigo on our tablets?

I think once you create your bookmarks, even if you don't go looking for other methods of accessing your favorite sites, the tablet is quite easy to navigate. True, if you load it up with bookmarks you'll need to start nesting more subfolders which can make for a bit more effort. I haven't played with the iPhone's bookmarks much. Whenever I wipe it and start over the iPhone always brings up the bookmarks when I first run Safari, forcing me to click Done each time. Peculiar and progressively annoying. I think on the tablet, if you look around you can probably find faster ways to access your most common web sites, either by creating a new search item for the home screen or installing something like Personal Menu.

Although there is no native means of switching applications/tasks on the iPhone at this time, it will very likely be something Apple addresses in future firmware releases. You'll need to seek an iPhone forum for more concrete evidence. I really appreciate having the ability to switch programs on my tablet- who runs just one program at a time on theirs? N-O-B-O-D-Y And yet the best you can do on the iPhone is to have multiple browser pages to switch between, else you're constantly hitting the "go home" button to return to the main screen. The core iPhone apps are small, quick loading and fluid, having the same look and feel across the board. There is some attraction to the widget-style apps found on the iPhone. I have not sought out anything in the appstore- I honestly don't have time to literally play with the iPhone while at work, and the first gadget that follows me around the house is my N800.

Yes, admittedly, the design and simplicity of one-click "apps" which merely redirect you to a web page might just be the key feature for some potential purchasers. It certainly is a great marketing ploy by gobs of different sites on the web. I get people asking me about different downloads for their BB which do claim to optimize their experience by going through the icon/app you acquire from them vs. going straight to the website. I have not done enough testing to prove this to be true.

I couldn't say what the game selection is like on the iPhone. I'm guessing cards and remakes abound. I have toyed with some of the Maemo emulators out there and have had a high degree of success and entertainment with them. Are there many native games for the Maemo platform? Not really, but plenty of good ports for sure. I suspect we'll see a jump in the offerings in the next-gen Nokia tablet. I'll pay an extra heap of $ if they N-gage our next tablet. I don't know if this would require a Symbian emulator or more programming than it's worth. Give the less game-inclined the option of removing the code and freeing up space, but make use of the platform that's already been developed if at all possible!

I typically play games only when I can't get a wifi connection. With an iPhone and a data plan, you nearly always have connectivity. True, I get more productivity done when I have no wifi for my tablet- I catch up on my personal banking app, or my fuel purchase/mileage tracking, or update a spreadsheet.

Oh, yet another basic function currently not found on the iPhone - copy/paste. What?! That's like not putting a cup holder in a car. Yes, rumored to be in the mix for an upcoming firmware release though. But for now it really puts you in a state of "uhhhhhh..." when trying to do certain things.

It really is a matter of personal needs when it comes to investing in a device such as the tablet or iPhone. I don't want my phone service on my Blackberry even, so I carry it separately along with my tablet. Yuck, I know, especially considering I could have any BB I want and even the iPhone at no cost to me. But soon enough I'll have the option of a converged device that suits all of my needs. If you have reason to replace your cell phone and renew your contract, an iPhone might be the ticket. But you can always buy a used tablet, take it for a spin and resell it- still plenty of demand. Heck, if you lived in my town I'd let you use mine. True, you can buy an iPhone and you get 30 days to play, but it can be a hassle thanks to billing and contracts and salespeople. Return policies exist for a reason, just don't abuse them or we all suffer.

I see the Nokia product as being limitless (aside from hardware always being limiting) and the Apple product as giving you fru-fru appeal and "this is what you want" marketing that eventually wears off and then you sit and look at your friend's tablet and realize you can't do what they're doing.

Go check out http://maemo.org/downloads/OS2008/ and look around in the categories off to the right to see what is readily available. There are also apps to be found, sometimes above and beyond what's found at the maemo.org link above, at http://garage.maemo.org but some of these are works-in-progress. Yet realize there are other apps that aren't brought in under either of the Maemo sites that you may find on personal sites/blogs with a little bit of Googling.

Final point- Although I can appreciate and see Apple's appeal to the masses and there may be some tidbits here and there about their product which would be nice to have on the tablet, I would never trade my N800 for one.

Oh, and if you can hang on to your $ for another week, go check out the Blackberry Storm (Verizon only) next Friday when it is released. I'll be curious to see if they truly do work out the bugs in their software in time. I got to play with a Storm on Tuesday night and it was slick indeed. More professional than an iPhone and historically geared more for the business user, but their drive for garnering broader consumer appeal is very apparent and there are plenty of folks who buy BBs that aren't using it for work. If you see a Storm, play a video on it and check out the volume! Btw, RIM will have an apps store in the coming months, if that's your preference for obtaining software.

I don't work for any of the device manufacturers mentioned, I'm just a user and support the users at work. Get the device that appeals to you most.

If you need more info/feedback, I can type some more.

Dave

Thanks for all the helpful replies, I've been convinced to try the N810 over the iPhone. I think I'll wait to CES to see if Nokia is going to announce an N810 with a faster CPU.

What is the date for CES?

CES 2009 is January 8-11, 2009

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