It was probably Dell Latitude X1.

If only!

Alas freely available wifi is as rare here in Australia as cheap phone data plans.

And while my employer has limited wireless, they use a Cisco setup that requires a windows program to run, so I can't use it. (As so far, no Linux port from Cisco and no hack from anyone else.) They also use exchange for mail and turn off IMAP, so while I might boot to 2008 and use wired networking, I can't do much with it!

I dislike 2008 for many reasons mostly to do with UI - the thumbscrolling in FBreader, the small usable real-estate in xterminal, the Fisher-Price icons, the huge thumb friendly but eyeball hostile menus, those are the main ones.

If I worked somewhere that wasn't so goddamn Windowscentric (and me a Unix admin, I gnash many a tooth) I would be using the N800 a lot at work. As it is, I might work a bit more on easy dual boot to 2008 so I can use a wired connection to talk via crossover to reluctant servers but that's about it.

Wired networking for 2007, I would be happy!

(better looks for 2008 I'd be even happier....)


Zebee

Not any more, at least in the major cities.
There are a few options around A$30/month now.
I'm on A$15/month for 1GB with '3', though voice rates are a bit high, and data roaming outside the 3G areas is $1.65/MB (The phone is set not to allow this!).

Canadians are getting hosed by hosers (eh). Just a short look at google pops up newspaper articles showing how high cellphone rates affect business around here and if it affects business, it's not too hard to see how it affects the spending habits of individuals; ( http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/te...s/economy.html) and an associated comparison of Rogers' Canadian plan with AT&T's US plan (http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2087/125/)

I don't know if I'd qualify as an 'average' N800 user in Canada (the fact I'm female alone probably drops me out of that segment), but I never did and highly doubt I will ever use the N800 with a cellphone.

So the cellphone+N8xx = SmartPhone line of reasoning is dead to me, personally.

After owning PlayThing now for three weeks, I can see its strengths and weaknesses from a totally non-geeky (in the best way) perspective.

Pros:

1. It works well (once you get the hang of it).

2. The programs are free and do the basics.

3. The public forum support is friendly (here, at least).

4. It's cheap for on-the-go internet cruising and great for internet radio.

5. It's got that neato video camera (that I don't use) and a camera (that is fun to play with) and I can record (good for using in court, if I ever feel the need ).


Cons:

1. I. Can't. Read. The. Fonts. The screen's just too damned small for comfortable reading and increasing the fonts just means I'm scrolling back and forth a lot.

2. Keyboard issues. The Ultra-Slim bluetooth one I got is fine. But it does mean an extra bag to carry around. Pecking at the onscreen keyboard is slow and I tried the N810 keyboard and found that to be too cramped.

3. PIM issues. There's nothing out there (yet?) that'll allow me to easily sync with my mac's Address Book. My mac. Not a windows or linux set-up. A mac - without running bootcamp. I want to sync directly with my Address Book (or at least find something that will accept an exported multiple-card file instead of individual cards and sync *all* the info, not just one name, the first phone number detected and an email address).

You know, in another year or so, I'm seriously going to check out the EEE PC and see what's improved on it and compare and contrast it with the N800.

In the end, I realize that if I really *am* looking for on-the-go travel internet access, the N800 doesn't really fit my needs totally - at least while I'm in Canada and while I'm dealing with eyesight strain.

If the EEE PC keeps down in the $300 level and has most of the qualities of the N800, has an integrated keyboard that doesn't make my fingers squashed, has a screen large enough for me to read without straining or excessive scrolling and no big ol' warning signs, I would consider getting it. In a year - I figure a year's worth of use is worth the price of the N800.

The EEE PC is appealing to me 'cause it's small and light enough not to take up too much room in a bag, it seems to do the basic stuff I'd want and what the N800 does (i.e. everything everyone else is doing in coffee shops with their laptops - cruising the 'net, writing off emails and maybe writing more substantial), ... .

Of course, *I* have a bag (a leather courrier bag but a bag, none the less). Which, when you look at the pretty colours the EEE PC comes in, makes it pretty obvious that the company is aiming for a lot of women like me.

The N800 certainly has a place in my heart now. In the future, I see it spending most of its time as an alarm/internet radio/bedside internet tablet. Which is a good vision since this means it'll be used for years and I will always think of it as money well-spent.

But I'm not slavish enough to a brand (or I would have just marched into an Apple store and bought an iTouch without thinking) and the N800 will have competition with the EEE PC - next year.

Maybe you need the wimax tablet, Betty?

Something I don't understand.... Why sync? THe tablet's small enough to have with you all the time, so make that your primary source of information.

Sure, if you have a work calendar that has enough on it (and what's there you need away from your desk) then I can see it, but for most people it would seem to make sense to use the tablet as their diary rather than their desktop.

Zebee

Some of us have to sync, based on our work needs. I'd like to make the tablet my primary source, but it's not even designed to work that way as of now. Nokia still purposes it as a companion device (ie, secondary) and that's all too apparent to business users.

Huh. Maybe I do? So many of these things haven't hit the average consumer's consciousness. I've never heard about it.

But, then again, I'd never heard of the EEC PC, either, until I read about it in this forum.

Alls I know; my eyes hurt after spending some time reading online on the N800 and that, ultimately, will be the deciding factor aside from price.

I'll have to take a look, though. Thanks!

[edited to get some spelling mistakes made because I was using the iGo Ultra-Slim and, well, squinting ]

I'm far more likely to be sitting in front of my Mac than in front of the N800 during the regular course of the day. I also have an automatic backup system going (not that I've ever had a hard drive crash :::knocking on wood::.

I'd just prefer to use Address Book to be my primary contacts list than the N800.

And if it's a pain to sync the N800 now, I don't want all the contact info stuck in the N800 waiting for me to have the time to refigure out how to sync it back to Address Book.

What was the name of that wimax tablet, again?