The Nokia N810 – My new Wifi Internet tablet and sidekick to my Mobile phone

 

Why I chose the N810 Wifi Tablet over OQO and Sony UX UMPCs 

I finally decided to get the Nokia N810 after waiting a few years now for the OQO or Sony UX series UMPC prices to drop, but they still haven’t yet and are still over $1,400 for the latest models. So when Nokia upgraded the N800 with the built-in keyboard, I finally decided on Nokia instead, since I concluded that the only reason why I would want the the OQO or Sony UX UMPCs was that it had Windows XP/Vista, and MS Office, so I could have the flexibility to do work outside the office, but I knew that I would primarily use it for surfing.  The OQO/Sony UMPCs act as secondary mobile PCs, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to work for too long with that 4-5″ screen size (my eyes are bad enough with too much time on the computer…and being Asian).  So at this size, it would really only be realistic to do light surfing and not real work, and I could only justify buying the OQO/Sony UMPCs if the price came down by 50%, since you can get the Nokia N810 for only $370, which has Wifi and a built-in keyboard to meet my surfing needs.  I would rather buy the 11″ ultra-portable laptops than the OQO/SONY UMPCs to give me the flexibility to do work on the go.  

 

N810 vs. iPod Touch

Others may compare the Nokia N810 to the iPod Touch.  However, the N810 is by far more superior for only the $60 extra cost at this time, since the N810 has these advantages:  

1.  Can play Flash and videos directly from websites, such as YouTube, while the iPod Touch cannot.  In the iPod Touch, Youtube videos can only be played via the separate built-in YouTube application.  
2. Has a bigger screen size, which is easier on the eyes for surfing the web and watching downloaded movies.
3. Has the flexibility of a built-in keyboard for typing those long emails, yet it is also touchscreen.  
4. Has Skype for free calls (while connected to the Net)
5. Has built-in speakers (and it’s quite loud as shown from my dog in the video above).  
6. Has Bluetooth so you can connect to your Mobile with a data plan to surf when you’re not in a Wifi zone, and make hands-free calls.  
7. Has integrated GPS receiver so can act as a GPS Navigation device (but need to pay for the software), and is on par with standalone devices. 
8. Has a large and growing developer community base that continues to build more applications and improve upon the OS and features, making this an evolving and better product over time.  Apple only recently launched their SDK Developer program to build applications for iPhone or iPod Touch, but it has contractual restrictions, making it very limited for developers.
9. The N810 has a 0.3MP camera, while the iPod Touch doesn’t, but these days you can look for camera apps for the iPod Touch or try out this knock-off version that has a built-in 1.3MP camera for only $69.99:

Ok, it may be a bit more fun surfing with the animated touchscreen navigation on the iPod Touch though, but I can live with that…