I did not mean to imply that Nokia sees this as a way to tie the IT to their phones. What I meant is that they see PIMs as a business application to be implemented on a business oriented PDA/phone. They see the IT as in a different product category complementing the PDA/phone and not duplicating the functionality of it.

Hi, I hesitated a long time before getting myself a N800. The reasons why I hesitated are:
- no PIM
- no business suite (I d prefer a Open Office rather a MS Office)
- no gsm/3G direct connection
- no camera (less important)

So I am a perfect match.

Compare the N800 to a HTC or equivalent PDA phone (with the same screen size such as 9000 or just launched Advantage), they have all in one solution (plus I need 2 chargers when I travel if I have a phone AND the n800 )

BUT I CHOSE THE N800 because:

- it s the only one - because of Open Source OS- so far that may evolve to get at least all the sw and applications I mentioned and more.
- I can leave it at home and keep my phone when I don't want to carry it.

My humble - no techie- idea is that online (PIM and Business) applications could be developped. I d pay (lump or monthly) for that if professional level is reached.

Of course that requires full time 3G (and preferably 3.5G or HSDPA) coverage because Wi-Fi is so limited geographically.

By the way, as existing for wifi, no manufacturer has developped a 3G chip integrated to a mobile card? Would be perfect for IT if coupled to BT headset (w/ micro)

Cheers, Seb

Sorry. One never knows if it isn't Nokia's CEO posting here.

I actually don't carry a phone half the time since I don't need it and dislike the "always reachabel" concept of mobile phones. So the very cheap thing I use stays in the glove compartment. The N770 OTOH I do carry around a lot so I need a PIM there, not on my 1€ T-Mobile Phone.

With all the PIM software on sourceforge I'm surprised no one has ported any of it over. KDE PIM looks nice and runs on the Sharp Zaurus. http://sourceforge.net/search/?type_...soft&words=PIM

I checked today online apps from Google. Seems to be a spreadsheet and text. I had tried the calendar (we use it at the office) but the browser gets confused : boxes and timeframes seem to overlap on the n800 screen. I can still manage it but not perfect.

If the same applies to spreadsheet and word processor, then not the solution.

Seb

At the very least you'd need to install a gazillion megabytes' worth of libraries -- provided it can be ported at all. And I'm carefully assuming hildonisation is not going to be easy either.

What exactly do you do with those Google apps (the precious few that work with the Internet Tablets' browsers, that is) when you find yourself out of internet reach? Can you even run them if there's no internet?

BTW: No, Google Docs and Spreadsheets don't even work with Opera.

This talk about using/utilizing the PIM on the phone is in stark contradiction to what was at one stage implied by Ari: The phone is just a link to the network. So it can be really simple. (Ref. e.g. the blog he posted last year about that lipstick phone as an ideal phone.) I mean, what's the point of buying a rather expensive gadget like the N800 (expensive compared to "normal" phones), if you _also_ has to buy a **!@ "smartphone" too? Just to get access to something that should have been part of the N800 in the first place?

I've said it before: The ideal phone for me is a simple, small, bluetooth-enabled low-cost phone with long battery life (so black-and-white LCD screen is fine), which can stay in the pocket all the time except if somebody calls me on it. And these kind of phones don't have useful PIM apps. And the "PIM" in mid-range phones like my k700i is rubbish. And in my opinion phones are not the best place for PIMs anyway, it's much better to be able to use and looking up stuff at your N800 in front of you while you hold the phone at the ear (and for the same reason it's not a good idea to use the N800 as a generic phone, so I've never agreed with those reviewers complaining about the fact that it isn't a phone).

Just today I found out that the built-in email application in the N800 won't even start if I'm not networked.. what's the point of having it at all then? I only configured it so I had some way of reading the mail archive off-line when I can't go online (because then I just log in to gmail or the office webmail instead). But it's useless now. There's no _need_ for a built-in email app. if it can't be used off-line. (Is there some setting somewhere that can fix this? I forgot my N800 at home so can't test more today.)

EDIT: Turns out the email app. had more severe problems, I had to reboot the N800 to get the email app working at all. After that it does start without being online, so I'll retract that. However it sure likes to try to go online a lot -- I've got the source now (well if it's the right one), so I'll try to hack it a little.

If I may put in my 2c here: I run a small ofc and hence am tied to my phone almost 24/7. After recognizing the limitation of a mid price cell (I use the SE W810i-great cell device btw) I decided I needed some sort of PDA for times out of ofc..the Cingular 8525 (HTC Tytn) appeared to be an awesome device-which it definitely is. So I get it on Cingular's 30 day trial, and use it for a couple of wks..and it is definitely a great tool and useful for my needs..especially for using "real" internet access when away from the ofc. However, I finally realized that for the actual time I needed the extra features of the 8525-it just didn't justify having to carry (or lug) such a "beast" of a device. I much prefer the little W810i and what I need it for 90% of the time in my shirt or pants pocket. So I returned the 8525..bought a N800 and when I need the "extra" feature of using "real" internet..I just get online if I'm in a wireless environment..or tether to my cell if not. The N800 is limited in it's PIM, but I find using my W810i for calendar..remind me of tasks..and contacts is perfectly fine..and since it is with me all the time as opposed to the N800, I don't think I'd use a PIM function on the N800 anyway. Anybody else with similar experience? I think the N800 does what it does well and in my opinion a cellphone-even midrange priced ones-manage contacts and calendar functions in a satisfactory way.