Hello all,

There has been a lot of discussion along the lines of the N800 being "an internet tablet, repeat an internet tablet", and that is where the design is focused. However, for most professionals to adopt the N800, it is crucial that they be able to sync their contacts, calendars, and possibly other data.

Background: I am a computer professional who has owned about 9 PDAs over the past 16 or so years. I long ago realized that a single converged device is a poor solution - I need to carry a phone and an "information device". I need to be able to look up things on my information device while speaking into my phone, and connecting ear buds or using the speaker phone do not suffice. I need to be able to glance at my calendar, access addresses and other info, such as rarely used passwords, IP addresses, etc., and be able to edit them. Inputting info into a phone is a horrible joke - I need something like Palm's graffiti or a good qwerty input pad. I have established that 2 devices are needed. However, carrying a 3rd larger device is too inconvenient. My phone, keys and coins in my left pants pocket, and a full-screen PDA in my right pants pocket make a workable arrangement.

Therefore, the N800 _must_ be able to replace my PDA. In order to do that, it needs a good (doesn't even have to be great) PIM suite that syncs with my computer. I have held onto my aging Sony Clie NX70 for about 4 years because I haven't found anything better. It syncs perfectly with my Mac, has a bigger screen than a treo, a keyboard, a camera, and a long battery life. Pocket PC devices abound, but require 1 to 3 steps more to do almost operation than is required under Palm OS.

The N800 is _Wonderful_ and superior to all of the PDAs out there in almost every way. But it desperately needs a good PIM suite. The good folks at Nokia can't afford to ignore this. (Ari ? I hope you're listening)

Aloha,
-Jeff Mings

Why do you expect Nokia to develop the PIM suite you need? Everybody can.

That is a fallacy: Not everybody can do this. So it is perfectly justified for the OP to ask for it.

I dont know... I dont expect my hardware vendor to write an PIM for my desktop-PC, either. Nor do I expect Microsoft to include everything into their OS. (Actually, the very fact that they did put a lot of applications into Windows got them into serious trouble, remember?)

If the 770/N800 were a closed box, running a proprietary OS with no SDK available, then I'd ask the vendor to include features I consider important. But it isn't.

What else to add to jeffmings post? I'm using my 770 with Winzig for my PIM needs, obviously an integrated solution will be far better, expecially with ical/icontacts sync functions. Imho a good PIM it will be the KA for the platform to blow out everything else

I agree that the N800 needs a good PIM suite. The current N800 options really aren't usable when compared to Palm or Psion - I haven't used any WinCE based PDAs, but I imagine they integrate well with desktop PIM SW.

However, I wouldn't trust Nokia to come up with such an app on their own. They should be responsible for integrating it, but hopefully they would buy/license the product from someone else! (And hopefully it wouldn't be based on GPE...)

I also like the idea of having a local copy of the information on the device itself rather than depending 100% on the availability of a WiFi network. It's nice to be able to sync the device or to surf the web, but something like an address book should be completely contained in the device. (And it should be a decent address book to begin with, one that let's me define my own database format...)

it's a bit early, yet.. less than 24 hrs in dev time, but i'm working on porting kontact.. at least, some of the L&F, and using the underlying code (yay for c++/c marriages) as much as possible. I personally find it to be one of the best PIM/email clients i've ever used.

working on abstracting out the persistence layer enough so any backend could be used (with coding effort of course), but i believe initially, for time sake, i'm going to stick things into sqllite.

kontact is overkill in some areas, so i won't be porting the entire behemoth. but, who knows.

quick screenshots of the UI prototype. (yes, I stole the icons directly from kontact. i should check on that).




edit: and, i plan on using the contact API built in to the maemo platform as one of the available contact resources.

I put dejapim and it seems to work ok. There is a fee to synch with outlook which I haven't tried but thinking on it..my SE W810 calendar function works really well with a reminder that works even when the cell is off..so as a professional myself I don't see a need for the N800 to be a PDA

I agree, but wouldn't it be great if you could synch your cell PIM with the N800? Using the Internet Tablet for extended entries, cleaning up and whatnot and the cell mainly as a viewer.

I wonder if people would pay for a PIM on the 770/N800. I've been meaning to start a PIM project with a back end based on Google Calendar and GMail (for contacts); I just don't have the time, and without a C API for Google Data, it won't be easy. I'd quit my day job if I could make enough money writing a PIM for the 770/N800, but I don't think the market is big enough.

Maybe someday, though...