Okay, let's go back...

I purchased my 770 in Jan. 2005 with simple expectations of using it as a portable Internet browsing device with some other nifty features such as audio/video, and maybe a handful of community created apps. To my pleasant surprise, so much more was made possible in a very short time. VNC, Canola, tons of games, several open source apps I never thought would run on the little device, and of course multiple firmware updates that improved not only functionality, but overall appearance of the interface.

Now, I don't own an N800, but I've seen similar improvements, updates, and growing number of new apps make their way to that device as well. And that's after the "branch off" from the 2006 OS 770 users have come to know. Such a break in OS compatibility in any other device would kill a product line so fast it would make your head spin, but for some reason (I still can't figure that one out) people continued buying the tablets, and possibly an increase in sales as a whole.

I think Nokia knows quite well what they are doing in this space, and have learned very valuable lessons from these two devices. Knowing what I know now, I expect the same growth and maturity of the third device, and that is what keeps me holding on to the Internet Tablet idea.

Sure, Nokia support for the 770 has stopped, but it still serves my needs just as well as it did the day I bought it (sometimes even more so). I didn't buy an N800 because I expected less support for it, but it has exceeded my expectations tremendously. As for Apple iPhone/iPod Touch, I don't see the same growth, development, and maturity happening any time soon (at least not as fast as the tablets).

Sorry for the supper long post. Just trying to give this thread some more perspective and reading material.

I took the n800 out of the case i keep it in today. This is great piece of consumer electronics acheivement. It has solid build, a beautiful screen and a removeable battery.
Nokia has nothing to be ashamed of.

Er... back more to the original topic. The Touch looks very nice- I even experienced a brief urge to get one because (I guess) it's New and Shiny.

Then reality- it has a smaller screen size and same resolution as a Palm TX and with a much more limited set of software!

The N800 has the screen size and resolution to make the device much more useful... if the software was there! (And a transflective display really wouldn't hurt, either.)

I don't know. To me, (a non-hacker) the new Ipaq 210 currently looks like the most useful of the bunch. But maybe I should just keep limping along for another 6 months and see what the Intel MIDs actually do....

GPE Calendar + Erminig + Google Calendar! Unfortunately, I've not seen a contact sync application (preferably opensync-based so I can sync with my Linux desktop).

One thing that has been mentioned briefly and must be kept in mind- especially by those wondering whether to buy an iTouch or N800 or both- is why iPods sell so well in a market flooded with mp3/music playing devices (do you own anything that runs on batteries and doesn't play mp3s??). It's a lifestyle product now. It's simple, for the the most part, cheap enough to own a couple different flavors and it has the Starbuck's effect- you know exactly what you're going to get and how it will work no matter what you buy and where you buy it.

I totally agree with Apples decision to keep the iPhone/Touch "closed" for the time being. I don't know how much time I've spent in the past trying to figure out which 3rd party, beta app just borked whatever Palm/Clie/WinMobile device I was using at the time (although that WAS part of the fun). The average consumer doesn't want to spend time either fiddling on their own or with tech support trying to figure out why the screen freezes after installing that last [Nanny-Cam/World Clock Scheduling app]

For me the beauty of the 770, and now N800 is what could be. It's been like getting one of those unraveling party favors.

The iTouch will take PMP's to the masses, but enthusiasts will always want to add their own personality.

My impression is that Nokia started with the bare essentials and watched to see what would happen. Those who got the concept were the ones Nokia planned on selling the device to. I love this and have waited to find apps to support (verbally or financial).

Well, Apple really wants to sell you the Touch; the Classic is only around for a specific (loyal) iPod niche, and the Touch is the future. This was even mentioned in one of the Mac-centric podcasts I listen too; Jobs sort of brushed off the Classic intro compared to the Nano and Touch intros. Of course, there weren't that many changes, compared to 2 basically completely new products. There's a certain niche of MP3 player user that wants to carry their entire music library with them all the time, and flash memory still hasn't advanced to the point it can offer sufficient capacity to service these hardcore users. These people have been consistent buyers of the hard drive-based iPod over the Nano, and Apple thinks there's enough of a market there to keep an iPod around for them, even though their future drive is toward more iPhone/Touch-like devices running OS X. That's why there's a price overlap between the Classic and Touch. Remove the Classic, and their price structure is pretty logical: $50 between the 2 Nanos, $100 between the Touches and the iPhone.

Actually, the N800 is the first device that actually made me go out and buy VMware Fusion in order to load up Ubuntu on my Macbook Pro just to port things over to it.
My Palm devices years ago never did that. My cell phones (n80i, N95, 6260, etc.) never did that.
Not even my Sharp Zaurus 5500 did that and it was Linux-based as well!
But the combination of free SDK, built-in wi-fi and bluetooth, and dual SDHC slots was just too much to resist.
I get this device and use it almost constantly at home. It really is my new "web browser and news reader" device.
Especially when I'm using the MBP to recompile apps for it...

Another reminder of how broken the monopolistic US cellular market is. Cheapest data plan here is about $30 a month, and that's not unlimited. Even my parents' HDSPA data plan in Indonesia is cheaper! ($20 total, bandwith caps, no included minutes for voice calls)

A comment on engadget that makes a LOT of sense:

http://cellphones.engadget.com/2007/...he-nokia-n800/

Oooooo....BURN!

I know that wasn't your intent but it's funny nonetheless