Nokia slides latest Linux tablet onto market Nokia took a direct pop at Apple yesterday as it unveiled the latest addition to its internet tablet range. Nokia N810 The Nokia N810: it can definitely handle pink The Linux-based N810 finally adds a real keyboard to the Nokia tablet range, instead of asking customers to rely on a full screen touch keyboard. This might …
"This might go some way to answering the question of whether it's more of a phone than a computer."
That's easy to answer: It's not a phone. Never has been. It can make VoIP calls, but so can my PC.
I also don't understand how this is "a direct pop at Apple", since Nokia's 770 internet tablet has been on the market from 2005. This is just the third iteration of the same concept.
Speaking at yesterday's launch in San Francisco, Nokia multimedia group executive vice president Anssi Vanjoki reportedly said: "We are competing with Apple on all fronts with all cylinders... Let the best man win."
Good luck Apple, you will need it! Perhaps if Apple could bring out a phone that is not 3 years out of date featurewise then they may stand a chance...
Who needs it?!
You obviosuly haven't used one for any serious period of time.
WiFi web browsing while watching TV on the couch (without some overheating bulky laptop burning your legs) is awesome. I have flash cards stuffed full of ebooks that I can read on the go anywhere with the PDF viewer.
Its not a cell phone (thank god). Ive never seen a cellphone with a decent browser AND a decent data network that I liked enough to take seriously.
(Sorry Apple fanboys, AT&T's data network absolutely sucks big time. And no therre's no GPS in the iPhone either).
US cell phone carriers are still in the dark ages as far as data plans / speeds go.
Well, me for starters. I'm quite unimpressed by the current crop of "smart" phones, which appear to do everything, but nothing terribly well. The iPhone had me interested, but Apple's behavior turned me off plus I have no interest in AT&T service (I had a then-Cingular phone for about a day not so long ago and had absolutely ZERO coverage both at home and work. "More bars everywhere", my ass), and I'm sure it would look pretty awful after a week spent in my pocket.
I have a phone already. It's small, can survive being dropped, sat on, scratched up by the keys I also carry in my pocket (and it's looks don't matter), and does a bloody great job at voice calls and texting with a pretty good battery life.
I have a laptop, but it's not something I routinely carry everywhere. I certainly don't bring it to the mall to use while I wait for my wife to try on clothes.
Which leaves the in-between space, currently occupied in my case by an ancient Palm. It has a few games, some e-books, and even a version of BASIC so I can write my own simple scripts, but no connectivity. It fits really well in my pocket alongside the phone and keys, and if I know I'll have no need to use it, I can always just leave it at home.
So yes, I'd really like something that does all the Palm can (not least of which is 3rd party apps and even the occasional program of my own making), but also has connectivity. Wi-fi is fine, I have it at work and home, and it's not too hard to find elsewhere. There's always Bluetooth, anyway.
Several things really make this version standout for me:
1. Now comes with Skype built-in and a headset.
2. GPS + maps data built-in (optional voice directions upgrade sounds cool).
3. Boing Mobile client built-in (worldwide WiFi service, $8/month).
4. Future models will have WiMax
5. Possibility of writing/porting open source Linux software to it.
(OK, Im a developer so number 5 is for me).
Nokia are quite right to forget about the current PITIFUL cellular data networks and jump straight to WiFi and WiMax.
I have to agree wholeheartedly with Paul. For one thing, I have long been happiest with a cell phone that is a phone, and an Axim that does everything else without hanging up on someone to look something up! It cost me less than $200, has WiFi and BlueTooth (and therefore, in a pinch, a "phone"), and just about everything else I ever need (or can be outfitted with add-ons like GPS). Put all that on a phone that decides for me who my carrier has to be? At the moment I'm with Verizon, but I can change my mind about that without having to replace my precious "portable brain." When my Dell goes, this is definitely the way to go - unless they come up with a roll-up bigger screen by then!
I think it's a mistake to hide away the five-way navigation key in the slide-out keyboard.
But otherwise it looks sweet, and if I didn't have an N800 already, I'd be very tempted.
The real keyboard is a nice feature. Touch screen keyboards all suck, IMHO, though they do have the advantage of adapting easily to non-English layouts.
I'm seriously in 2 minds about this kit, I already have a 770 (bought for £70 from expansys) and the GPS built in sounds sweet if I can get it to work with Kismet but I'm not sure I could justify buying one... but if I could get it cheap with a contract it would be a possibilty... otherwise I'll just have to wait for whatever is 2 generations down the line so I can buy one cheap as end of line stock ;-)
I like the fact that it doesn't have a SIM. Why on earth would I need yet another phone contract or PAYG to top up, when I have a perfectly good Bluetooth-enabled contract phone with a hefty data allowance?
Nokia did the right thing by keeping this as a tablet and not trying to make it a SmartPhone.
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