The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is a wireless Internet appliance from Nokia, originally announced at the Las Vegas CES 2007 Summit in January 2007. Despite Nokia's strong association with cellular products, the N800 is not a phone, but instead allows the user to browse the Internet and communicate using Wi-Fi networks or with mobile phone via Bluetooth. The N800 was developed as the successor to the Nokia 770. It includes FM and Internet radio, an RSS news reader, image viewer and a media player for audio and video files.
Designed to stay online so you can enjoy the benefits of the internet, whether you're at home or on the go. Browse your favorite sites. Stay touch with the people you love with internet calling. Chat with your friends. Check with yor email. Relax with your favorite songs and vedios with wonderful quality of sounds as like you youself is in the song.
10 Ways The Nokia N800 Is Better Than Apple’s iPhone
All the buzz these days is about the Apple iPhone (not to be confused with the Linksys iPhone). I have to admit, the iPhone is pretty cool, and I was really excited about it for a few hours. Then, reality started to sink in and I realized that the iPhone is probably not something for me. Here are 10 reasons why I’d like to buy a Nokia N800 instead of an Apple iPhone. I realize that there are areas where the iPhone will be better than the N800, I just don’t think it’s worth the extra cost and lack of freedom that comes along with having an iPhone
1. Price
Nokia N800: $399 (get the new, better, cheaper Nokia N810)
Apple iPhone: $499 or $599 (Plus 2 year Cingular service contract)
2. Open Source
The Nokia N800 is a Linux device based on a modified version of Debian GNU/Linux that they call “Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition”. Nokia created the open source Maemo development platform for the 770 and N800. They’ve worked hard to encourage developers to port applications to this platform. You can find more info at maemo.org.
The iPhone is far from open. We’re still not sure what Steve Jobs meant when he said that the iPhone runs “OS X”, but it’s most certainly not the full-blown “Mac OS X” that comes on a new Macbook. While the core of the phone’s OS may someday be open sourced (like Darwin), it’s highly unlikely that Apple will ever open source the entire OS or even share the iPhone APIs that would allow developers to make new iPhone apps.
3. Third Party Applications
Nokia strongly encourages 3rd party developers to make software for their N800 and 770 products. There is quite a lot of software available for Nokia’s platform and most (if not all) of it is free. You can install geeky apps such as VNC and VIM, or one of more than 35 games that are available on the Maemo site.
Apple has stated that they will not allow 3rd party applications on the iPhone. Apple want’s to control everything from the top down. They’re not even supporting Flash or Java (I guess that would make it too easy for developers to bypass Apple’s control and offer applications for the iPhone).
4. No Service Contract with Cingular Needed
With the Nokia N800, you can access the internet via Wi-Fi or with a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone. This allows you the freedom to use the mobile provider of your choosing.
To get an iPhone, you’ll need to sign up for a 2-year contract with Cingular. Nobody knows exactly how much this plan will cost, but I’m sure it won’t be cheap. Data plans are traditionally extremely expensive in the US and I’m sure Cingular and Apple will make loads of money overcharging customers for internet access.
The practice of locking mobile phones to a single mobile provider has become quite annoying in the United States. While the rest of the world can freely change providers by simply swapping out a SIM card, US customers are usually stuck with multi-year contracts and locked phones. Apple is continuing this tradition by locking all iPhones sold in the US to the Cingular network.
5. Removable Storage
The Nokia N800 has two memory slots that support a range of memory cards (SD, miniSD, microSD, MMC and RS-MMC). This allows you to keep one card in the device for a more permanent storage solution, and still have a slot available for cards from your camera or other device. With the falling price of memory cards, you could have several cards with music and videos tucked away in the carrying case that comes with the N800.
Apple’s iPhone has no removable storage. This is probably by design as it helps justify a higher priced model with more memory.
6. Better Audio and Video Codec Support
The N800 supports a wide range of audio and video formats. Supported audio formats are AAC, AMR, MP2, MP3, RA (Real Audio), WAV, WMA. You can play videos in the following formats: 3GP, AVI, H.263, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, RV (Real Video), and Flash Video (YouTube!). That covers just about anything you’d ever want to play on a media device. With the open nature of the N800’s OS, more codec support can be expected from 3rd party developers. You can also use the N800 with Real’s Rhapsody music service (if you prefer your music with DRM). You can even stream audio and video from networked computers!
The iPhone, like the iPod, plays only Apple sanctioned audio and video formats. This means you can play content from the iTunes store as well as MP3 audio and MPEG video. No streaming to the phone or playing competing formats.
7. It’s Not a Cell Phone
The N800 is not a cell phone. At first, I thought this was a bad thing. After thinking about it, I realized that I don’t need (or even want) to haul around a mini computer with me everywhere I go. Sometimes I just need a simple phone. If I’m heading to the grocery store, working in the yard, or in some busy place where my phone might get damaged or stolen, then I’d rather just tuck a simple mobile phone in my pocket and head for the door. With the N800, I can just leave it at home when I know I won’t need it.
Apple wants the iPhone to become the device that you always have with you. That sounds great at first, but how long do you think it’ll last in the New York subway? There are times when having a regular phone is more convenient. Perhaps it will be possible to switch your SIM card from the iPhone to a secondary phone when needed, but Apple hasn’t said anything about this.
8. It is a VoIP Phone
The N800 can be used to for making VoIP calls via Gizmo and GoogleTalk. Skype support is coming in the second quarter of 2007. This means that you can make cheap (or even free) calls anytime you are connected to a Wi-Fi network. With Wi-Fi becoming more prevalent every day, this means you’ll soon be able to use your N800 to make calls from just about anywhere.
With the iPhone, you will need to make all your calls via Cingular. More money for Cingular and Apple.
9. Webcam for Video Conferencing
The N800 also has a built in webcam and supports video conferencing! How great would that be for your next conference call? Star-Trek-like video calls are not sci-fi for this device.
The iPhone has a camera, but no video conferencing.
10. It’s Available Now
The Nokia N800 is available now at some stores and from Amazon. You can order one today.
The iPhone should be available in June.
Changes
The Nokia N800 retains the same size and form factor as the 770, but in a slightly smaller package. It also costs $40 more. The button layout is roughly the same, with the scrollpad, back, menu, and home buttons all on the front. The power button has been relocated to the top of the unit next to the zoom in, zoom out, and full screen mode buttons. The right side has the headphone and power adapter jacks along with the stylus. On the right side is the new VGA camera for video chatting (more on that later). The bottom features an SD card slot. That slot is covered by the stand, which is now integrated into the device. Nokia's focus on good design is apparent with the N800, and it's a sexy-looking little gadget.
Inside, the N800 is a slightly different beast than its predecessor. The 250MHz TI 1710 OMAP CPU has been replaced with another ARM processor, the TI OMAP 2420, which is clocked at 330MHz. There's now 128MB of SDRAM included along with an additional 256MB of Flash RAM. Expandability has more than doubled over the 770 with the addition of a second memory card slot capable of handling SD, MicroSD, MiniSD, MMC, and the RS-MMC cards used in the 770.
Like the 770, the N800 runs the Debian-based Internet Tablet OS, in this case, Internet Tablet OS 2007.
The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet
Nokia has chosen a slightly different design aesthetic with the N800, one which I think enhances the look of the device. The front bezel is now metallic with a speaker grille covering the bottom half of the bezel. The buttons on the front have been placed closer together, but are still very easy to use. The whole package weighs in at 7.5oz.
Top view with the stylus. Power button is on the left with the zoom and full-screen buttons to the right
The bottom of the N800 with the SD slot. The handle covers the slot when closed
The back of the N800 with the cover removed. The included 128MB miniSD is installed
Tech specs
Display
800x480 touch screen, 16 bit color CPU
330MHz TI OMAP 2420 CPU Memory
128MB SDRAM, 256MB Flash Operating system
Internet Tablet OS 2007 Edition Connectivity
802.11b/g, Bluetooth 2.0 , USB, memory card expansion (SD, MicroSD, MiniSD, MMC, and RS-MMC), audio out, AC power adapter Size 5.67" x 2.95" x 0.51" Battery 3.5 hours of browsing time, 12 days of standby time Language support English (US and UK), French, German, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian French, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Russian, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese Supported file formats • Audio: AAC, AMR, MP2, MP3, RA, WAV, WMA, M3U and PLS for Internet radio playlists• Video: 3GP, AVI, H.263, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, RV
• Images: BMP, GIF, ICO, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, SVG-Tiny
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