Unfortunately I'm stuck with Cingular. My question is really which handset should I choose-- other than bluetooth, what do I need to get the best browsing on my N800 with an all-you-can eat data plan?

Ah... ok, well... I'm not familiar with Cingular's offerings, but I suspect that Bluetooth is enough faster than the data services that'll be available that any Bluetooth-enabled phone should work OK. I'd suggest visiting www.phonescoop.com, have it display phones available by carrier, filter than list down to those with Bluetooth, and then check out the user comments and forums regarding tethering.

What is the terminal program? Why would I need it? ...I may have figured that out as in is it a "holder" for downloaded apps?...because I downloaded fmradio through the installable application list on the N800 itself, and though it downloaded, I can't find it, and it is not in the the extras.

FM Radio: You'll find it in the applets. On the Home icon there's a select applets function, you'll find FM radio there. Then you'll probably have to re-adjust your home page layout to make it fit. Click on the maintenance icon on the FM applet (to the left of the loudspeaker) to scan for stations. 1) Remember to plug in the earbuds cable (or some other headphone cable), it works as an antenna. 2) When in maintenance mode you can switch the sound to the external speakers (far left).

Thanks for the help re the fm radio applet; but I still would like to know what the "terminal program" available at maemo is, and why I would want it.

Think of the terminal program (XTerm, etc) as similar to a command line in Windows. You can enter commands directly to the computer, rather than using menu items in a graphical user interface type program.

There are a host of commands you can issue, but the most common might be:

ls - list files in directory
pwd - show directory you are in
cp - copy files, as in cp oldfile newfile
rm - remove file
sudo gainroot - gain root privileges (see other threads on cautions for this)
tar - untar (uncompress) tar archived file

Each command usually also has a bunch of options, which you can usually see by entering just the command

HTH

Granted, the xterm window is not _that_ useful for most users, however there's one thing in particular that's useful for those using the built-in email client: If you ever experience that the email client won't start, it's always because the network link was shut down just when the client was busy talking to the email server. Then it'll hang there forever, and you're unable to start a new one. Another symptom is that the notification doesn't notify (no beep for new emails). The fix:
- Start an xterm
- Enter this command (without quotes) 'killall enprocess'
Now the email client will start without problems.

EDIT: This command (killall enprocess) could possibly be run through load-applet-run instead of an xterm. Haven't tried though.

My two cents! Here are a few things you should think about as you gain familiarity with your new device:

If you're a noob, DO NOT INSTALL PACKAGES MANUALLY! Do the following instead:

Go to the Repositories link (http://maemo.org/community/wiki/appl...nrepositories/) on the Maemo Web site, and add the Internet Tablet 2007 repositories listed there. Do not add the 2006 repositories, and do not rummage around the Web site banging on 'Install' links. Here's why:

There are generous guys out there who have custom compiled packages for their own needs using different settings than might be considered standard. Some of these guys have set up their own 'repositories' for themselves, and their friends. Some of these repositories use different, or different versions of libraries required by some of the Nokia, or Maemo - let's call them standard - packages. Recovering from mismatched libraries will give you fits, even if you know what you're doing on a Linux command line. If you do get stuck in this regard, the simplest fix is to reflash! The symptom of this is finding a package listed in the package manager that says it needs an upgrade, but won't upgrade, and you can't delete either. If you encounter this situations, don't even hesitate, just reflash.

Next: Assume you're going to have to reflash a couple of times when you first get your device (first month, or so). Make sure to create backups on a removable memory card (the flash process won't touch the card). The backup program is under the Tools menu, and the last thing the flashing process does is look for backups to restore.

Comment: On a previous post someone said using an SD card to extend virtual memory will not speed up the machine. But it may! What you're doing is giving the device more room for its swap file, and that allows the little guy to make room in RAM when it needs to, and that translates to an apparent speed increase. Go to the Control Panel, and the Memory applet to adjust this. I alloted 64M of the 128M card that came with the N800 assuming the quality of this card is pretty good. This seems to be sufficient for now, but I have good computing habits. That is, I shut down programs I'm not using. Leaving them running to improve response time will bog you down eventually.

More pennies for you...

I forgot about this: Don't install any servers you don't really need. Specifically don't install the dropbear SSH server just because it goes with the client. You don't need the server unless you want to SSH into the device, or you want to follow the old way to become root. Besides, the SSH server is a resource hog.

Can you elaborate on this?
Your N800 is not broken due to a miss match so a reflash is not the correct solution...
I mean it is but is to drastic for just a simple problem.