Can N800 get online thro USB like other WM5 devices? It will help improving the speed of connection specially in software download.

No.

(inserting at least 10 characters to bypass braindead forum rule)

is this something that is theoretically possible?

i might have difficulty getting to Wifi sometimes, but sit next to a computer connected to the hard-wired internets...

How about using that computer then?

lets say i want to use an internet application that is not installed/available on that said PC... or download something, chat, check e-mail, etc

Or if you are at an internet cafe without Wi-Fi (which is the vast majority in the world) and want to put the N800 online.

As it stands now, it is somewhere between difficult to impossible to put your N800 online at an internet cafe if the cafe does not offer WiFi (it requires lugging a USB WiFi emitter and possibly root access on the cafe machine which must be XP SP2 and a driver install and . . . ):

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...ead.php?t=4641

This is the biggest issue between me and buying an N800 machine right now, since I want to use it for traveling in the developing world in lieu of carrying around a laptop. I may only be able to use it at 1 out of 5 internet cafes.

I would love to have a predictable, easy way to use an internet cafe machine as a bandwidth conduit for an N800 without requiring rebooting, admin rights, special configuration, and/or much extra equipment.

Travis

If you cannot install software on the computer, most like you won't be able to install drivers. Hence you won't be able to surf via that PC using the N800 anyway.

Is there any device that can use the USB of a PC that you cannot install stuff into and surf through that USB in the first place?

there are some USB devices that use generic XP drivers and don't require driver install. but probably not for something so specific as required in this operation.

also makes me think of how most Cable/DSL modems have an option to be hooked up to a PC via USB. so it's not like USB and Ethernet don't go together period.

its just seems to be too much work to achieve that on N800, which has other connectivity options.

The lack of a real USB capability on the N800 (and 770) has always been a serious disadvantage, but it seems to be due to USB's power requirements (i.e. probably also true of any handheld device).

The PepperPad 3 is similar to the N800 in that out of the box WiFi is the only high speed network option, but it does have two standard USB ports. They sometimes fail to work with power hungry disk drives, but otherwise they are great for expandability. In particular, several Ethernet over USB adapters work with no changes to the system setup. According to umpcportal.com battery capacities are 5.5 W/hr for the N800 vs 28 W/hr for the PepperPad. The N800 is much more efficient (runs longer on its smaller battery), but lack of USB ports is one trade-off for low power.

OK, so, now that we are armed with that information, where do we go from here?
Thanks for 'confusing me with facts'