Telecom NZ going to end CDMA
http://www.mobilebusinessbriefing.co...etwork-closure

If I could buy it out right without a contract and if Clear Wire would allow me to use it instead of my N810W on their network I would get one. But Clear Wire so far will not allow evo-4g or epic 4g on there network because their brand is not on the units (as far as I know).

The Epic 4G looks to me like the right choice for now if you like a hardware keyboard (like the OP said, as a replacement for the N810). As for a happy N800 user, who doesn't feel the need for a hardware keyboard, but really wants as big a screen as possible in a pocketable size, the Motorola Droid X looks best. Only 2/3 the weight of the N810, but with a 4.3" screen, 0.4" deep instead of 0.55", and just a tad narrower -- seems like the best form factor to me.

Of course, I'm not actually getting one. I'm still satisfied with my N800 (and have come to like the N810, too; just set one up and gave it as a gift), and I want a phone-less tablet. But the specs on the Droid X are so much to my liking that I could see buying one, if it will work without a contract, and using it just with WiFi.

(I'm still hoping for a MeeGo tablet with specs like the Droid X, and no cellphone, and can wait a while longer.)

No cellphone? So no data access on the move? Or would you want to use bluetooth to another phone to get data?

Seems to me that with 3G speeds, bluetooth is a bit of a bottleneck.

Yeah, DanRamos and I are going to die waiting for the high-performance WiFi-only pocketable computer tablet to arrive!

I'm a special case: able to afford a nice tablet but unwilling to give much money to the telecoms, and not in need of constant connectivity.

As for Dan, I think he'd rather have his pocket computer separate from his phone, not sharing the battery or the risks of loss or damage.

My hope resides in one fact: we're not really alone: Apple hasn't done too badly with the iPod touch.

And Samsung will never dump the Epic? Or, to be fairer, you have some reason to believe that Samsung will give the Epic more support than Nokia has given its devices? Just trying to be wary of the "grass is always greener..." syndrome.

Then I must be "special" too.

Nice 4-row keyboard, screen size, battery capacity, RAM & CPU specs, shame about the OS :-(

I would wait until Cortex v9 comes with dual core. Am not sure how it will hold battery though..

We had a nice little thread running here about comparable N810-like devices. The two closest were the SFR M! PC Pocket MID and gigabyte M528 --- both, I believe, are capable of running full Ubuntu desktop distros.

I can modify for free any GSM 3G capable tablet you may purchase that you would rather not have to give money to telecoms people to use.

I can do it remotely too. Basically it involves not buying or installing a sim card. I'll provide more details about how to do this once you get your tablet

I am the other way around. I would prefer every computing device I had to have 3G capability - just in case. I could then take the sim out of my phone and put it in my laptop / tablet if needed. Even though these occasions don't arise frequently, in my life it would make a big difference in that moment when they did. Options are always better for me.