I'm pretty much a newbie to this neck of the woods. I bought a n800 to be a x50v replacement. So far, I think the only thing really holding me back is internet access via USB to a PC. Which I think you can do, I've just not figured it out yet.

The N800 has wifi-capability so I don't think the USB connectivity would be necessary. If you have wireless networks in your range, you can click on the globe in the upper right hand corner, select connection and connect.

I've had my n800 for about 10 days, and I'm keeping it. :-)

The likelihood of getting a bad unit is anybody's guess. Mine exhibits pretty good build quality. Some screen shadowing, a minor annoyance, is the only obvious deficiency. It's only visible on white screens and under some lighting conditions. As you've no doubt read here, this is an issue with the current screen technology.

To be honest, though, I'm avoiding adding RSS newsfeeds to the borked reader. Even the Nokia team admits it needs to be rewritten.

So that's two small strikes, one of which is fixable and the other tolerable. You mentioned the notorious video performance, too, which we've heard will improve. This is a serious deficiency. I watched an hour-long mpeg and the performance was barely acceptable, as long as I didn't go full screen which caused intermittent freezes. By most reports, the email client is crummy.

The fact is the n800 does a few key things superbly and that is quite enough for me. I surf, do email (through a web client), and read ebooks. Using FBReader is a delight, and in rendering quality the n800 puts to shame my faithful aging Ebookwise/GEB 1150 while offering text as clean as Sony's e-ink machine.

As for Linux, I'm a newbie learning as I go along. That's half the fun, isn't it? In truth, you need no Linux at all to get started. Some software can be installed quickly and easily, while other packages need you to identify a repository. In some cases this means installing separate libraries if you want to get something like the very good Evince reader running. That sounds more daunting than it turns out to be. Installing the libraries for Evince (which displays comics) took me about 15 minutes of searching this forum and making one or two tries, not such a burden, eh?

Learning the n800 interface is child's play. Yes, it's got idiosyncrasies, but it isn't nearly as problematic as some purists have argued. I was impressed by the Newton developer's blast at the Nokia GUI--and he makes many good points--until I got my hands on the n800 and found it plenty practicable. As for taking interface lessons from MS, good lord. Happily Nokia hasn't. ;-)

My chief interface complaint is the physical rocker buttons on the top. They're too small, too tightly spaced and require fussy manipulation. They should be redesigned. The front panel buttons are much better.

I give the device an A- for web browsing, B+ for overall design, and a C- for overall execution (mainly because it's broken in some advertised areas). That said, it's usable and enjoyable today.

I like my N800 too..

But I wouldnt give A for Opera browser, course I have had some problems with it. Sometimes add bookmark doesnt work and it does open window that doesnt accept any buttons you press and then you get bookmark called null. Also I have had some problems with flash, everyone knows that old flash version doesnt work so well, but also sometimes I have got window that cant be closed. Something that says that.. Wait it could have been Java window, but anyway that.. its running script that can make your computer slow.. Keep running it or cancel.. After I did try cancel it wouldnt close anymore.
Also sometimes Opera browser doesnt just load pages, it just stops middle of loading and usually refresh helps.

Havent had problems with RSS reader.. Whats wrong with that?

Anyway.. N800 is great

Personally, I've had the 770 RSS reader filling up the entire internal Flash partition once. It hasn't happened on the N800, though.

The e-mail client is slated to be rewritten; the new client will be built on top of tinymail, which is a super-slimmed down libcamel, the e-mailing backend of Evolution. Hopefully we get it soon!

I have had 0 problems with the RSS reader. I'm using my N800 in a Nevada library as I type and really feel like an elite user -- no bulky laptop for me! Still, for the normal user I would have to take some points off because Linux is the basis of the environment. Sure, fanarics like me use and like it, but many users wouldn't like to abandon some of their favorite programs or sites to use Linux, not to mention the problems they might have to deal with.

.... Your not missing out on websites because its Linux. Linux is just the kernel.. the brain of the OS. Your missing some websites because they run java and this version of the opera browser doesn't support it. its not a linux problem.

Yeah, I have WiFi access at home and often on the move, but not at work. To be a full replacement for my PDA I need (free) internet access on the device during the day.

My PDA is a Samsung SCH i730 PDA phone running Windows Mobile 5.0. I wirelessly syncs, through the cell phone to my MS Outlook syncing email, calander, ToDo, files etc. It also has limited ability to read/edit MS Office files.

In order for Marvin (Named after the paranoid robot in Hitchhiker’s Guide) to replace my PDA he would have to be able to do all these things. Granted that the hardware (tethered to a cell phone with Bluetooth) is probably capable of doing all that, but so far the open source community has not been able to come up with the necessary software.

From reading posts here and at Maemo, these shortcomings are well known, and someone is probably working on some or all of them, but until then Marvin remains a high tech toy.

I like my N800. haven't had problems with the RSS reader. The lack of a current version of flash is a problem for some sites but not most of the ones I go to. some AJAX sites wont work but Minimo got me through that. The lack of codec support is annoying and Mplayer apparently wont take a stream from twonkymedia. But that may be a Mplayer issue and not a Nokia issue. The calendar program appears to be able to subscribe to online calendars so i'm thinking I could use that to sync with my local Mac BUT being unable to sync with my Mac PIM is a growing problem and keeps me using my wrist PDA.

Installing Gizmo has opened up possibilities but so long as I have to deal with a phone plan for the land line, it's real usefulness is limited as I'm not paying yet another company for phone service.

Maemo Mapper is also coming in quite useful and has helped me find places (and parking in NYC) and having the map in my hand has proven very valuable.

Like Wotin said, it's still a high tech toy, but I foresee it becoming more than that if a PIM syncing app finds it's way to the platform.

On a side note, this thing has shown me the disturbing number of people who have wide open WIFI out there. Scary.