The problem with WiMax is that's too costly for one or even a couple of companies to take on at the present. I would love to have WiMax, but at the present I would prefer a phone, two sdhc cards, IR, and more software natively. Like I said in another post I would buy the new Nxx if it has a phone and two memory slots (sdhc). WiMax is an added bonus but I won't be in an area with coverage for at least a year. And if Sprint's board has any more say they will kill the project. I guess it's safe to conclude that os2009 will be released with this new machine. OS2009 will be great if the early word about easier app loading is true. Keep up your ratty ways bro.

To each his own.

On the subject of Nokia focusing resources on now and not three years from now, I read recently that their research into Linux devices predated the first tablet by several years. If Nokia didn't put any resources into long term projects, the tablets wouldn't have existed in the first place.

It's the same with their smartphones, they took years to get Symbian off the ground but it's now used by the majority of the world's smartphones.

WiMax sounds more useful in America than in Europe, as Europeans already have much more open access to the phone networks and sim-free devices are relatively common. America's phone networks are far too tightly controlled by their operators, which would restrict sales of a phone-enabled tablet, and WiMax perhaps offers a way of sidestepping their control.

The tablets are apparently far more popular in the USA than in Europe, so WiMax on the tablets would probably make sense in the long term.

Wow.

Years of research, and this is what they came up with? It makes one wonder what they've really been researching: The best implementation of a mobile Linux? Or: "How can we use Linux and still tie-in users?"

Karel, Karel, Karel... *sigh*.

New platform. Paradigm shift. High disruption potential. Baby steps.

Karel, it's not that easy to instantly come up with a computer platform for a pocket-sized device which can run off a battery and be accessed from a small screen.

From my limited experience, the mobile side of device design seems to be much more difficult than desktop computer design. Most of the work on Symbian for example has gone on the behind-the-scenes mobile stuff like Bluetooth, 3G, wi-fi, maximising battery life, multitasking with low amounts of RAM, reducing the number of microchips to shrink the phone etc which just wouldn't necessarily be issues on a desktop machine.

None of these are things people would notice straight away when they use a device, but they are vital for powering the features they do use.

Apple put all their iPhone resources into the interface, hence they came up short with actual hardware features (no 3G, no 3.5G, no GPS, no advanced camera, no SDK, no budget models, etc). Apple are now having to play catchup with the behind-the-scenes stuff while Nokia and others play catchup with the interface.

I'm not saying all long term research is automatically worthwhile, just that you have to do long term research at some point, and better sooner than later.

I agree on spending on long term future technology its that you have to balance that with the present. In regards to N8xx platform we really need software development and a phone and full usb support. Put WiMax on new N8xx but give it current technology(usb support, phone 2 sdhc cards, etc...) so that it is useful in the present. The biggest complaint I hear from users on these threads are lack of software support and full usb. So add WiMax but also add the things we need in the present. I do like that new tv support that I can use yesterday! Dan

What? I don't think I've ever heard anybody complain about that. Aside from the obvious lack of a point (we have OTG, plus fullsize USB doesn't normally act in client mode) How the hell do you expect fit a fullsize USB port into a device this size, anyway?

I think you misunderstood his point about USB.

Look at the popularity of Penguinbait's KDE mod. People don't care about environments specially designed for small screens; people want to get stuff done, stuff they cannot do with the Itablets, because of that specially designed interface.

And for "specially", read "clumsily", because it is far from optimized for handheld use.

"Paradigm shift", my rectum. Nokia was just too lazy to develop decent software for the thing.