Sascha Segan has reviewed the n800 on the PC Magazine Website. I have conversed with Sascha before and he asks that when people direct people to his articles it benefits them to put a few paragraphs and then put up a link so the rest of the story is read on the website. That way his bosses can see his draw to their readership. I respect that request which is why I haven't just posted the whole article. (Something that should be remebered by all when posting links to other reviews etc. )So here ya go:

NOKIA N800 Internet Tablet
By Sascha Segan
Right now, Nokia's N800 is an awesome geek toy. With the right software, though, it could become the next generation of PDA, combining a fully Internet-enabled, handheld communicator with an OS that makes it easy for developers to port over existing desktop applications.

The N800 is more or less an upgrade to Nokia's 770, a Linux-based "Internet tablet" that was essentially a proof-of-concept product to get Linux geeks excited about programming for handheld devices. It worked. The "Maemo project" for porting libraries over to mobile devices, which started with the 770, has helped the entire open-source mobile world, inspiring and aiding initiatives such as Trolltech's Greenphone and the OpenMoko Neo1973.

To read the review in it's entirety, CLICK HERE

Things to note from the review would be this bit;
"
Despite packing sophisticated hardware, the N800 lacks all sorts of key software needed to bring the platform into the mainstream. Some of the omissions are typical of open-source–focused projects, but others are totally inexplicable.

Let's start with the inexplicable. There's no way to sync the N800 with a PC or Mac, nor can you sync calendar or contact information. To me, that's unbelievably annoying. Similarly, though ...."

and this bit

"
The lack of software puts the N800 in the usual odd spot for an "Internet tablet"—a neat piece of tech with no killer app. It has a far better screen and Web browser than, say, a Palm TX or HP iPAQ rx5915, but those two devices have thousands of programs available for them; the N800 runs just about 15. "


Pretty much what I've said in another thread somewhere else.

I think the arguments are null and void. Syncing is only useful for PDAs and mp3 players, very few companies are giving people both laptops and desktops, so syncing those two really isn't done anymore. Nokia has never claimed that this is a PDA or an mp3 player (though it does play mp3s).

As for the software argument, how long has the Palm TX and the HP iPAQ been around? Now compare that time to the Nokia tablets. I have about 20 programs installed, and at least another 27 I could install, more if I had more repositories, and to the best of my knowledge no one has set up an http server for the Palm or HP, yet you can get at least 1 for the nokias. When it comes to software, she didn't know what she was talking about. Gaim for example has already been ported to the Nokias, both the 770 and the 800.

That's my 2 cents on the topic

GAIM not being available seems to be a common mistake in recent reviews - too much Cut & Paste journalism?

Ummm, isn't the killer app the web browser? Web browsing is the reason I got the 770 and 800. For those of us who are web addicted, there is simply NO equal in convenience and screen resolution. For me, all the other features are just icing on the cake. I've recently enjoyed the video on the 800 on a long flight, so much that I don't think I'll travel with my Archos anymore.

I'm excited about the upcoming competing high-res devices, like the E90 and various others, but they're still not out yet.

Now THAT is my kind of review: he balances the pros and cons, doesn't slant toward the negative, and makes no fatal mistakes. He gets the device.

I wish I could see a way to leave comments, though, and let the reviewer know about this error:

We all know that's incorrect.

Overall, though, MUCH better IMO than the last article referenced here.

As a Palm PDA user for several years I don't see the point of all this talk about the need to sync. I don't need to sync. I use the Palm PDA as the extra little helper-brain that it is, it keeps track of appointments and lots of other stuff. I _never_ use hotsync - there's nothing I need to keep on the PC as well, the PDA does the job fine by itself. I only need the ability to communicate once in a while, to e.g. send new contacts to the PDA from some random source, or the other way around. No need to sync, for me.
The built-in killer app for the N800 is really the browser, which, because of the hardware, _works_, in a way no PDA has ever worked, combined with the portability, which no laptop can match. It makes the N800 really useful, and those other little apps (internet radio, fm radio, google chat etc.) just improves on the experience.

Yup, most reviewers just take the product as it comes from the shop and don't look around for extra apps. Which is ok, since their job as a reviewer is to give people the facts about the product as it comes fresh from the shop.

As long as Nokia does not give up and they fix the issues/bugs with the device and include some more useful software. I'm sure boat loads of people wil be buying it. Myself included.

I would advise them to stay off the reviews however. Unless they make it absolutely clear to the person that it is not a PDA or laptop. It is just an internet tablet and that is all.

I mean the name says it all, but reviewers also like to get the most out of every product they review and tell potential purchasers what it will not do before they plunk down the cash.

It's such a shame that all these reviews are based on the original firmware with all it's problems - Nokia would do so much better if they got reviews based on their upcoming firmware (which I'm sure will be much better than the current) or better still release the device with good firmware.

With all these poor-to-average reviews floating about the web (which are never updated whenever new firmware becomes available), prospective buyers may well give it a pass - think how much better the reviews would be if the reviewer had used better firmware.