One gadget that has interested me lately is the N800 Portable Internet Tablet by Nokia. It does everything a desktop and laptop can do but in a smaller package. It comes complete with Wi-fi, for those of you familiar with Playstation Portable and its ability to surf the net while on the road taking a break from playing games.
What’s so special about the Nokia N800? Though not suited for gaming in the manner of a Playstation Portable, it can be used for those who are looking for something affordable and compact that would fit the lifestyle of those always on the go. Design-wise, its small, sleek design is to be compared to a PDA, with the ability to fit it into a small pouch or jacket pocket.
Other features that I think are notable are the two full-sized Secure Digital expansion slots. Included in the box is a 128 MB miniSD memory card with adapter.
To sync with your computer, the N800 comes with a micro-USB port. The N800 also has a pop-up rotating webcam, built-in webcam, stereo speakers, and FM radio tuner. Though I have not used the previous, others who make use of them may find the webcam and microphone handy with their Internet Messeging Client.
The N800 can also play music and videos with a third party program built-in, supporting a variety of common formats for media players. Image viewing is standard for a highly sophisticated electronic gadget such as the N800, supporting a wide range of picture formats.
The N800 operating system is not the ever so “infamous” Windows Operating System. It is a Linux-based platform called Maemo 3.2 in the form of the Internet Tablet OS 2007. Though you cannot load MS Word documents initially, some people suggested using Google docs.
But what if there isn’t a Wi-fi connection in range and you are a creative writer, like myself, who needs a word processing program? I suggest using Abiword, a program that is supported between cross platforms. It can read .doc format and can also export files into the latter and from many other readable formats.
Lastly, the N800 supports Skype, a program that can be used for Internet calls. It can also be used for instant messaging, file transfer, short message service, and video conferencing. Between Skype-enabled devices, these calls are free. For those of you who go on You-tube to watch videos or those who like to view flash videos, the N800 supports Flash 9.
So in conclusion, I give this electronic device a 9/10. My only gripe about this is having to buy extra hardware so I can fit my USB drive through the mini-USB slot. However the hardware isn’t that expensive, and it beats spending the extra $200 for the N810 that includes a standard USB port.
Due to the nature of Linux, and what I recently learned in my Intro to Unix class generally about this operating system, it is an open source program. Third party aplications can be created by using the Maemo Software Development Kit. From the source code, a program could also be improved, perhaps “edited” to fit the needs of the consumer. So get your Nokia N800 Internet tablet today. I’m going to get mine from Amazon. Right now, it’s $219.99. But you know how prices are with electronics; they tend to fall as the unit ages.
In the near future, I see desktops and laptops alike replaced with something like the N series. I consider Nokia the innovators of this technology. What about UNIX? Its reliability and compatability is a wise choice Nokia has made. Can’t have my tablet locking up on me or some kind of error popping up while using my N800 now, can I?
Oh and what about the notorious spyware that Windows machines often fall victim to? I have yet to use a computer with a UNIX based OS that has something installed that slows down the computer’s performance! As a matter of fact, I learned MacOS X is a UNIX based platform! Window’s days are numbered….