Nokia N800: the iPhone killer

I have a basket full of various portable devices, each of them aspiring to be the king of portable Internet. The one I do not have is an iPhone, for several reasons. First and most obvious is we do not have AT&T coverage here in Poland :), but then I think the iPhone is not that great when it comes to mobile Internet. Especially the screen resolution of 320x480 is far from what is needed for decent web browsing. And then there are various reports of incredibly weak Safari performance and its Web 2.0 (AJAX) incompatibility. And while the World was waiting for the holy iPhone, Nokia quietly developed the second version of the Linux - based Internet tablet. The N800 is a successor of the N770 and its specs are really attractive (especially the screen at 800x480, 2.5 times more spacious than Apple's). After reading many very positive opinions on the N800, I finally decided to get one myself, and have to admit it has exceeded all my expectations by a wide margin. Here are the pros of the device:

• Overall build quality is excellent. On par with Apple.
• The design details, such as a foldable bracket, so the device stands on the table without a need of a dock.
• Built in stereo speakers - I love to listen to BBC World service streaming over the Internet (reminds me of the old days when I used to travel with Sony ICF world radio)
• Built in FM tuner, coupled with the built in speakers this is just great
• Built in Skype and Google Talk. With video (there is a small pop-up webcam available)!
• Built in Opera - the best browser on the Planet. The Web 2.0 / AJAX support is just amazing - everything from YouTube (Flash 9) to Citibank to Google works as on a full size PC. This is by far the most important piece of the N800. The browser is incredibly fast and fully compatible with the latest web sites. (and by the way you scroll the pages with fingers, very easy, fast and intuitive plus the hardware full screen / zoom in / out buttons make the Web experience complete)
• Fantastic touch screen. It recognizes if you touch it with a stylus or with a finger and the operating system automatically adjusts the actions - when touched by a finger, the menus and keyboard are displayed big, when touched by a stylus, the menus and keyboard are small. I was amazed how accurate the keyboard was and how easy and fast I was able to type with my thumbs on the screen.
• Great media performance. Both audio and videos (including full screen) play great. Both on earphones and through the speakers.
• Support for two SD memory cards, up to 8GB each, for 16GB total storage.

The device does not have a phone part built in. This is a very clever design. I have always preferred a two - piece approach to mobile connectivity: a small phone, acting as a modem if necessary and a bigger portable tablet (like the N800) in a briefcase, ready to be pulled out when needed. N800 can use the phone (over Bluetooth) as a cellular modem. And it has a WiFi radio built-in for places with coverage. The upcoming US version ordered by Sprint will have a WiMax radio.

After failing a bit with its business communicator lines, Nokia quietly managed to build an almost perfect device. It has the perfect setup and shines in everyday use. Also the decision to base the N800 on Linux (http://maemo.org/) pays off, as there are plenty of third party applications available. It is really hard to think of what else could be put inside the device to make it better? May be a GPS chip? May be a DVB TV tuner? A solar charging panel on the back? Accelerator to let you scroll the pages by tilting the device (OK, this one I really would love to have!). It really has got almost everything needed... We hear rumors on the Google Phone nowadays - from what I see Google should partner with Nokia to make the N800 its default mobile platform. That would add some good fresh blow to the current tug of war :)