Well, another CES season is at it's close, and IMO there's still no true competitor . None of the devices have a resolution that even comes within striking distance of the Nokia. And then there are the speed issues that have been reported on items like the Archos 604 wifi and also on the new iPhone.

Personally I would like to see some competition, but there must be some hurdle that just keeps it from happening. Perhaps cost/power issues associated with such a high rez screen.

Ya, its because people who have tried to surf the internet on other similar devices were sorely disappointed and most probably don't believe the Nokia's screen resolution actually makes surfing the internet usable on such a small device, thus the lack of customer demand, thus the lack of competition.

I was actually surprised there weren't other devices announced at CES comparable to the Nokia N800. The closest I believe is Cowon's Q5. Here are the specs as stated by dapreview.net:

o screen resolution of 800 x 480
o 5-inch, 16.7m touch screen
o 30GB hard drive
o Win CE 5.0-based
o supports MPEG4 (A)SP, WMV, MP3, WMA (DRM), WAV, BMP, JPEG, PNG, Ogg, FLAC, APE, AC-3
o TV-out
o FM radio + recorder
o USB-host
o internal speakers
o supports WiFi, Bluetooth and HSDPA
o small form factor

"As a result of all of this functionality, price is expected to be rather steep - some 600 USD in Korea, although it's likely that some features can be stripped off according to continental standards, possibly lowering price levels here and there."

No release date announced.

If Cowon successfully pulls this off, Nokia N800 might have some serious competition!

Hey, I stand corrected!!! That will be quite good competition!! I'll be looking forward to it's release.

Not really a competitor (because of the price), but the OQO 02 looked really nice and probably everything the first version should have been.

I think you need to define your terms a bit more precisely. In what way do you mean there is no competitor? A Linux-based handheld? A portable Internet browser? Etc...

My Pocket PC, for all its faults, still runs rings around most similar devices. Most people know these features, but I'll kick out a few just so everyone knows where I coming from:

True 640x480 web browser (in either portrait or landscape mode)
Built in wifi/bluetooth
1 SDIO slot and 1 CF slot
Touch screen
Accelerated graphics
Capable of Windows Terminal Services/Remote Desktop
Built-in voice recorder/microphone
Apps for everything under the sun

I won't bore everyone with the things it can do because it pretty much does everything. Rather, I'll say what it can't do to keep the list shorter:

- Does not do video for current version of Flash (You Tube, etc.)
- Browsers are not where I want them to be, but are still good.
- The OS hasn't matured quickly enough. A new release is pending.
- Needs an Ipod-like storage capacity
- Camera must be purchased separately (which I guess is best for those who dont' want one)

I routinely use it for the common things (calendar, email, browsing, memos, todo list, etc) But I also use if for:

- Skype calls. $15 per year for Skype Out and I call anyone, anywhere for an unlimited time.
- Handwriting recognition software allows me to use an alternative to Grafitti-style input or pop-up keyboard.
- Highly skinable desktop
- Real arcade games and emulators
- Create and import Word/Excel/Powerpoint files.
- Remote control over various PCs in my life via LogMeIn and file transfer via Avvenu.
- Good MP3 player
- Watch movies in most formats in good (640x480) resolution and speed.
- Run all my old, familiar Palm apps in the Palm emulator at better than full speed.
- Troubleshoot wireless issues at work with my wifi signal evaluation app
- Full internet browsing.
- Stream live TV from my home to anywhere I am with wifi using Slingbox (while being able to control the satellite box remotely as well).
- Streaming audio/radio

It goes on.

I'm no fanboy. I'm excited about the new Nokia (although I think it is butt ugly compared to the 770). But I don't think saying there is no competition is fair unless you qualify your terms more. There is a lot of room for improvement in the Axim, but that can be said for all devices. They all have their place. I love the 770's display, but when it comes to features and software, it has some catching up to do. I hope the 800 does that. I'm eager for it to succeed.

I assume your Axim is an x50v or x51v? These are the best Pocket PCs on the market in my mind. And if you want a PDA and can get over any MS bias then it is the way to go. Great bit of kit.

However 640x480 still doesn't cut it on web pages. Pocket IE is average at best, and some 3rd party browsers are better but still nowhere compared to browsing on the Nokia.

I use my 770 as a convenient web browser, in fact for me it is the internet tablet described on the box, I don't want much else out of it, and because of that there is nothing that comes close on the market without paying a fortune for something like a Sony UX or an OQO.

Of course there is no reason why the 770 and N800 couldn't become a competitive PDA too if Nokia really wanted that to happen...

Yes, x51v

I totally agree with your statement that the 640x480 screen isn't in the same league as the Nokia's screen, but the browsing experience is better. The 2700g Graphics chip with dedicated memory plus a CPU speed of 624MHz helps. 800x480 is fine unless you don't have enough memory or processing power to render the images. I really hope that the 800 will be a better web experience.

I also agree that IE is not the best browser. Opera makes the experience much, much better. It handles just about every page I care about except for Flash video/games. Netfront is pretty good, but I prefer Opera.

Mozilla was working on the Minimo browser, but I've not seen much work lately. I was really hoping for a "Pocket Firefox" browser since I use Firefox as my default browser for both my Linux and Windows machines.

I am eager to hear about people's experiences with the 800 as time goes on. It looks like a nice device.

The review below says that the 640x480 is taken advantage of at that full resolution due to some Windows Mobile 5 implementation.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/Dell-Axim-X51v.htm

Perhaps the browser still feels more responsive than on the 770/800, but it's also wireless b, which limits range. Based on my recollection I don't get a full b-connection everywhere in my house.

So for me, the Axim is close to a competitor, but I still wouldn't call it competition. That Cowon Q5 looks like it will be the first one to really go the distance, and it will be strong competition since it's a full media player. Can't wait!!

I'm sorry, and no offence meant, that's just nonsense. Browsing on a 640x480 screen will always result in a less satisfying experience than browsing on an 800x480 screen. The presence or lack of hardware acceleration makes no difference to a web browser. Also the 624Mhz X-Scale PXA270 CPU in the Axim is probably less powerful than that in the N800 as the PXA270 is based on ARM 5 architecture and has no floating point support. Given the choice I'd take the 330Mhz OMAP2420 CPU in the N800 over the 624Mhx X-Scale PXA270, anyday.

I own an iPAQ HX4700 which is a VGA 640x480 WinCE device with h/w acceleration and it doesn't come close the browsing enjoyment I get from a 770 (and as of yesterday, a N800). Browsing on even the HX4700 is a horrible experience once you have browsed the web on a 770/N800.

So on that basis there is still no competition to the N800, or even the 770. The Cowon quoted above has a similar spec but runs WinCE and has a hard disk, so while in terms of browsing experience it may come close (or even exceed) the 770/N800 it's likely to be heavy, large and expensive - no thanks!

It is. Most definately. Without a shadow of a doubt.