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RogerS's Avatar
Posts: 772 | Thanked: 183 times | Joined on Jul 2005 @ Montclair, NJ (NYC suburbs)
#1
ComputerWorld reviews the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet. They still don't get it. Hey, guys! It’s not about building a better PDA! The 770 and N800 have untethered the internet — you can experience the walkaround web. That’s someplace you just can’t get using a cellphone or PDA or laptop.

Here’s a taste of what to expect if you go look at the earnest writeup: “Most gadget lovers would do better with a more flexible, less expensive smart phone.” Well, I guess I’ve been put in my place. I’m a mere gadget lover.

But here’s a comment that Ari Jaaksi and the tablet team need to make note of. The reviewer, David Haskin, writes, “Our attempts to watch video clips streaming from YouTube, for instance, were a disaster.” Video on the web now equates to YouTube. We’re reached the point where if you don’t have an FLV codec or some better way to watch those videos, you’re considered to be non-web-video capable.
Read the full article.
 
Posts: 88 | Thanked: 0 times | Joined on Dec 2006
#2
Roger, maybe we don't get it?!!

Is Internet Tablet a device for geeks or the masses? If it's the latter, then, average user should be able to surf the web and see the popular content (e.g. YouTube clips). It's not an Internet Tablet if it doesn't support the most common actions on the Internet...

I think no one wants to hear my iPod example anymore, including myself :-o)

If it's a device for geeks only, then, why do you care about what CNet or ComputerWorld are saying, huh?

I think Nokia tries to sell N800 to masses while the current OS supports Internet 2004. This doesn't go well with many out there. This device is a platform for us (who love tweaking), so do you see the difference?
 
RogerS's Avatar
Posts: 772 | Thanked: 183 times | Joined on Jul 2005 @ Montclair, NJ (NYC suburbs)
#3
I don't think this is a case of the geeks-masses divide.

It looks more like the "is it for business or is it for entertainment?" approach.

When I read his earnest description of all the things he tried out, I can see that David Haskin believes that everyone's needs are met by a Treo-like PDA-phone and a laptop, He doesn't envision any scenarios where the N800 pushes one or the other out of the way.

Me, I say either you understand the concept of the untethered, walkaround web. Or you don't.

----
Based on this exchange, I've gone back and added to my original post.
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Posts: 88 | Thanked: 0 times | Joined on Dec 2006
#4
Is it a functional walkaround web? So far not...
 
wodin's Avatar
Posts: 71 | Thanked: 2 times | Joined on Jan 2007
#5
"On the whole, most gadget lovers would do better with a more flexible, less expensive smart phone."

I have a more flexible, less expensive smart phone and it is neither. My Samsung i730 PPC phone cost more than twice as much and is limited to running crippled "Pocket" parodies of real software. And requires much tweaking just to get it to be a decent cell phone.

It will soon be relegated to acting as a BlueTooth WWAN modem for my new N800 Internet Tablet.
 
Posts: 3,401 | Thanked: 1,255 times | Joined on Nov 2005 @ London, UK
#6
My take is that the N800 should do what it does well, or not at all.

It does browsing well, RSS feeds are OK (but seriously buggy), audio is OK, but video and Flash are definately sub-par and so come in for the most criticism. And lets not even mention the Email application.

Nokia have a choice - improve video and Flash to compete with the likes of Archos etc. (not exactly difficult given the hardware available in the N800) or drop these functions entirely (yes, I'm serious!) Offering sub-standard implementations is only going to draw more criticism from reviewers than if they weren't offered at all.
 
Posts: 88 | Thanked: 0 times | Joined on Dec 2006
#7
Milhouse, I 100% agree with you. We have to be objective (fan boyism has never caused progress).
The so called Internet experience (collection of everything related to web nowadays, surfing, RSS, Email, audio & video clips...) on 770/N800 is sub-par and that's where Nokia should get serious, if they want to achieve mass market acceptance.
 
Posts: 128 | Thanked: 6 times | Joined on Jun 2006
#8
I had a 770 for a while. I really loved it, but not because it was a good web browsing device - I loved it because I could hack the sh-t out of it and install cool third party open source on it. Even so, I mostly enjoyed that because it was a cool thing to do, I didn't actually find the device very productive.

If one takes a mental step back and actually looks at what the N800 can do well for the "Joe Average" consumer, one comes up with just the one thing - surf the web, and that only where there are WLAN's or by carrying a cellphone too to act as a modem. Even that isn't bulletproof, clearly, and as iFrank mentions already, showing web pages is just part of the puzzle. So why would a consumer get such a one-trick pony?

There is a lot of work left to do to make these things truly useful, and things didn't improve for Nokia with the Apple iPhone announcement. Assuming the iPhone holds up to the hype, it will give a truly polished and seamless consumer experience, as compared to the freakish puzzle of looks and interface features that comprise the N800.
 
heavyt's Avatar
Posts: 708 | Thanked: 125 times | Joined on Jan 2007 @ Too Close To D.C
#9
Originally Posted by kimmoj View Post
.....If one takes a mental step back and actually looks at what the N800 can do well for the "Joe Average" consumer, one comes up with just the one thing - surf the web, and that only where there are WLAN's or by carrying a cellphone too to act as a modem. Even that isn't bulletproof, clearly, and as iFrank mentions already, showing web pages is just part of the puzzle. So why would a consumer get such a one-trick pony?

There is a lot of work left to do to make these things truly useful, and things didn't improve for Nokia with the Apple iPhone announcement. Assuming the iPhone holds up to the hype, it will give a truly polished and seamless consumer experience, as compared to the freakish puzzle of looks and interface features that comprise the N800.
I could not have said it better. I got the N800 two weeks ago and have decided it must go back to Nokia. I feel the hardware is good but the software/operating sysetem was an after thought. Maybe Nokia hopes the open source communty will bring it up to par, if that's the case than lower the price or give the customer more bang for the buck. Examples would be discount on wireless service, free upgrade for a better carrying case, discount on memory upgrades etc, Nokia don't profit off the communty's work!

Last edited by heavyt; 2007-01-26 at 14:02.
 
aflegg's Avatar
Posts: 1,463 | Thanked: 81 times | Joined on Oct 2005 @ UK
#10
I'm impressed with how well the VidConvert bookmarklet works in Opera 8.5 compared with the 770: with a stuttering YouTube page open, click "VidConvert" from my bookmarks and I get a nice shiny streaming watchable video out the other end :-)
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