Hey all, nice to meet you.

I've been an unregistered lurker for a while but finally took the plunge at a good deal on Craigslist.

I've been a Ubuntu to Redhat to Suse and now back to Ubuntu 8.04 user for the last 6 years, so I think this device should fit me pretty well.

Tomorrow I pick this up for $300 in "Mint" condition. Problem is that I don't know what to check for, or what commands to throw at it to make sure it's all working well. Sorry if I couldn't find the thread relating to this other than first impressions, but none of us wants to get scammed.

I really appreciate any insight I could get from you all that could bump me quickly from a newbie buyer to a slightly more discerning shopper.

Thanks in advance and nice to meet you all!

If you can connect to the internet...download a few of the below programs, if they are not on it, as well as one that is not. Movies/Music/Web pages are the easy way to see how it looks/works...Either get a MicroSDHC and put these on or use the web to run, hope it is a fast cionnection...

If you have been reading then you know how to boot to root and a few commands, also below, should let you know if it is a "Good" N810.

Easy to install
load-applet
openssh
Becomeroot
Statusbar-clock
Skype

As root
#apt-get clean
#apt-get update
#apt-get dist-upgrade

Really, like all computers, you need to test the components, rather than the software. The software works or it doesn't, and that is pretty obvious.
You need to check the wireless / bluetooth and GPS work. GPS you can use wayfinder (takes a while), bluetooth you can use your phone, wireless there should be something around (hit the connect icon on the top, and see what is there).
The easiest thing to check is just the condition - scratches on the body or screen, memory card cover ok. USB port not damaged.

Check the serial number/mac address on the box, under the battery and in "Settings/Control panel/About product". Cover the light sensor and see if the lights go on... Check for scratches on the screen, case. Start "Sketch" and see if there is anything strange in your lines you draw. Check if everything is in the box. Check if the battery looks "normal" to you or if it's 3rd party... etc...

Make sure it has both stylii. One craigslister claimed he never knew it came with two.
Check that used without warranty is worth the $50 difference compared to what you can get new from MacMall, or others.

The n810 has a miniSD slot, not micro. You will need an adapter if you want to use a micro card with the n810. Just FYI.

Thanks much to all of you. I really did use your advice and made sure it was in good condition.

i'm loving it and never realized just how damn attractive the n810 is. The office hottie wouldn't stop playing with it, and she usually hates my gadgets!

Cheers and thanks again.

One other thing: make sure you update the firmware as soon as you get it, to minimise the number of possible bugs and/or incompatibility problems.

Updating the firmware also wipes away any weird software modifications the previous owner may have made to the tablet. Someone in another thread on here couldn't get the keyboard to work properly, and it turned out the tablet's previous owner had modified the keyboard application.

I've done a tutorial on this topic:

http://tabletschool.blogspot.com/200...-firmware.html