As some of you know, I've finally got an N810, and having experienced for 2 weeks, I have a bit more insight into the hardware features I would like to see in the next tablet.

Here are some wishes to add to the list:
A slimmer, smaller form factor. After owning the N810 for two weeks (and loving it), I have renewed appreciation for the small, thin form factor of the iPod touch. It is far more portable, than the N810 is currently.
Phone-Handset functionality. I understand that the tablet is not a phone, but as an internet appliance it is well suited for voip. This is reflected in Nokia playing up this aspect of the device and including voip software (RTCOMM+Skype), however, it can only hackishly be used as a handset for casual calls. It's my opinion that the N900 should be able to be held to the ear, even if it doesn't have cellular-voice capabilities.
A more durable screen/body. This could mean glass capacitive screen with a special stylus, or some crazy new technology. I would love not needing to baby the N900 near as much as I feel I need to baby the N810.

On a side note, this article released today shows that some of our wishes for the new tablet may actually come true:
http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4...30.html?kc=rss

YARR!
}:^)~

The Friendly Capt'n

You take away the large screen, and you take away the tablet's purpose.

A little extreme, but I mirror the sentiment. Although I would not like to see much of a smaller 'screen' a little less border and a bit of a thinner form factor would make quite a large difference in portability.


YARR!
}:^)~

YARR?

One more wish before the weekend!

The Fujitsu Stylistic series of Slate PCs has a feature that I would LOVE to see in the N900:

A small built in battery that allows you to swap batteries without turning the device off.

On the stylistic slates, the battery allows for 5 minutes of uptime --more than enough for a battery swap. This would be very handy for extended usage periods that require continued uptime. Even 1 minute uptime should be enough for you to take out the old battery and put in the new (assuming you had it ready). Thankfully, such a battery could be very small and (hopefully) wouldn't hurt the form factor of his brave new unit!


YARR!
}:^)~

Daft Corrupt

Yeah, this is something I've wanted for a very long time (a feature I really miss from recent Apple laptops). We could probably manage this with an oversized capacitor, but at worst, I bet we could get suspend to disk working OK in Fremantle.

Capt'n Corrupt's wish for a smaller form factor just inspired in me a new (AFAIK) design idea. I agree, of course, with General Antilles' comment that we don't want to sacrifice any screen space. So a NIT that was no larger than the current screen would be the ideal.

On the N800 you have the d-pad and the escape/menu/swap buttons on the front (where it seems N810 users wish they were, too, rather than hidden with the keyboard). I like having hardware buttons and it seems Fremantle (unlike the iPhone) expects them, too. But having those buttons on the front requires that the unit have a larger face.

How about putting the buttons on the back? If they were positioned correctly, laid out well, and surfaced to provide tactile information, it would be easy to use them without seeing them. I'd position them vertically down the center of the back, where both righties and lefties could easily manipulate them with a forefinger, middle finger, and/or ring finger (instead of a thumb). (If you test this out, take into account that the unit would not be as wide as the current N8*0 -- in fact, it would be only about 92mm, or even say 100mm, instead of the N810's 128mm or the N800's 144mm.) The middle of the N900's back could easily be reached even by a small hand that was simultaneously being used to hold the unit.

The thing I do with the N800 that requires the most dexterity is selecting text in Tear, which requires holding down the Menu button while selecting with the stylus. I think holding down the menu key on the back for this would actually be easier with, say, my ring finger than it is currently with my thumb. And everything else would be at least as easy, maybe easier.

For what its worth, I also agree that the screen size is what I want/need in order to properly run some of the apps that I want to run. So, please, not smaller

I do, however, agree that a smaller overall device would be great. That means much (?) less space for the frame around the screen. Would it be feasible/practical to have all the buttons on the 'edge' of the unit, similar to the power/zoom buttons? I suppose it might get a bit awkward for finding a comfortable 'holding' position unless this was done properly...

I only have an N800, so I don't know if the N810 has a nicer shape (it probably has), but having 'tapered' edges would also be great (the N800 edges are quite 'boxy').

Some N810 users. Not all.

I like the screen size, it's one of the things that had me choosing this device over others. The only thing size or design wise I would really want changed (besides better button placement) is that the screen shouldn't be recessed. It makes some areas hard to hit like the X to close windows (which is changed anyway in Fremantle but still). Ideally it should be straight flat, kinda like other devices out there.

This design seems like a good start



Link to engadget article