@Karel: I get what you're saying. And I certainly have an appreciation for those older machines.

@Malfaiteur: lol.. I suppose I am. And I violated my first rule of buying gadgets, which is "always buy the device for what it can do today, not what you hope it can do tomorrow." The other thing to consider is that Nokia might actually change the hardware relatively quickly to deal with the two problems that it seems everyone has with the n810, namely the lack of headspace above the keyboard and the crappy design of the d-pad. Both of those could be pretty quickly fixed.

@pwsn: I think it's a fine choice. When I was in grad school I used a Palm with BT keyboard to take notes in class and while I got some stares, it really was the best device ever for that purpose. My classmates who carted laptops around were always looking for a power outlet and moaning about the 7 lbs of gear. With an n800 and a BT keyboard, you'll have what you need in a package that weighs about a pound.

Speaking of BT keyboards, at this point I am not sure I can recommend the ThinkOutside aka iGO ultraslim keyboard. I used to have the older kind which required a flat surface but had a full set of full-sized keys and it was much more comfortable to use than the ultraslim, which is tippy because it lacks support on the sides. I found it for $30 on Amazon, and if I'd paid more I'd probably be disappointed.

I went through this decision process a month ago and chose the N800. The main determiner for me was the added cost of GPS. If you buy an N810 at list, you'll end up paying $600 bucks total if you activate GPS routing.