I don't think that the price difference is really in favour of the Nokias. Compare:
iPod 8GB: 300$
iPod 16GB: 400$

N800+8GB card?, + 2x 8GB card?
N810+ 6GB card?

Sure the Nokias have a better screen, but the iPod are much smaller and miniaturisation also costs. In the end, if you compare the hardware and the respective prices, I would rather say that the most overpriced device is the N810.

About the software differences, I think we have had dozens of discussions already, so I am not going to repeat them.

Oh I was just making a comment about the locked OS on the touch, nothing deeper. After paying ~$400 for the touch, you'd think for what little those apps offer they would be distributed for free, much like maemo maps, pick-your-poison for mail and notes, OMWeather and whatever widget you want for a stock ticker.

Oh wait, "free" is one of those bad four-letter words to Steve Jobs.

And after some digging I answered my own question about the GPS via lifehacker

Regarding the N810 being the most over-priced. Yeah for the features and scant built-in memory compared to the current and coming wave it is a bit over the top, but given the down-hill slide of the price, I'm biding my time with my N800's OSKb waiting for the N9x0 which may come with the WiMax enabled N8x0's.

Since the N810 has a hardware kb and not an onscreen one, just comparing prices of the two touches to the N800:
iPod 8GB: $299 / iPod 16GB: $393
$220 for N800 + $75 for 16GB= $295

That, plus all the added bonuses we get with our gear puts a big on my face.

apple should not have bothered with the iphone, as they have to keep the ipod touch a less attractive option because of it.

if they instead had included fully working bluetooth so that one could maybe use those bluetooth keyboards and mice that apple also sells, and opened up the device for third party apps from day one, they would be basically sitting on a new newton...

but then newton was killed by the very man on top iirc, and he is a person that never liked pda's i think...

N800 - USD226
2 x A-Data 16GB SDHC - USD150
Toss in a BT headset and you have a 32GB device that you can use to:

surf the web - youtube, facebook, full google apps
watch videos offline & online
listen to music
chat with buddies over IM (MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Jabber, GoogleTalk, etc)
make internet calls over GoogleTalk and Gizmo
view pictures
lots of free software
hook up with external GPS receiver with maemomapper/Maps
hook it up to a BT keyboard for extensive text input (documents/spreadsheets)
download pics from my K800i (3.2MP camera phone) or E51, and blog with pics on Blogger

Now sure I'm missing out much from not having an iPod touch, and I have so much more freedom now that I have an external AA battery source.

Granted, some people feel that the UI on the iPod Touch is far more user-friendy, but that's very subjective. I'm far more comfortable with the N800, after trying out my wife's iPod Touch.

So, the USD20 that Mr Jobs wants to charge for is to get the iPod Touch up to par with the iPhone sans GSM/CDMA radio?

You don't need to try to convince me or anyone here that the N800 is a nice device. We all have at least one, or we would not be on this forum.

Alll I wanted to say is that, between all "internet tablets" (i.e. pocketable devices which can access the web and do usual internet things like e-mail), the touch and the Nokia are comparatively priced if one compares hardware features. This is probably also why Nokia lowered the N800 price, at 350$ it was not competitive any more. The hord of pocket PC organizers face the same problem.

I don't think that the iPod touch can be described as "overpriced", if competitors feel compelled to lower their price to match its price/feature ratio. Doesn't that make sense?


Another note: the 20$ upgrade fee does not apply to iPods sold now, they already come with the new firmware.

for the basic user, the touch is attractive because of its ease of use. I currently have a 770, and it does what I need it to, and it was cheap ($120 when I bought it). But I do admit, the GUI on the touch is much better than the nokia imo, and the device is much easier for the average person to use. I wouldn't consider most of the people on this forum "average users".

And in the retail marketplace, the "average user" is a much large target than those of us who are tech savy enough to get the most out of a nokia internet tablet, which is why the apple products have been so successful - they are designed to appeal to the average person, and are very user friendly.

"but then newton was killed by the very man on top iirc, and he is a person that never liked pda's i think..."

From what I've read, Jobs/Apple plan to come out with a new successor to the Newton.

How this will niche itself between iphone/touches and the credible Apple tablet-PC rumors I don't know.

This is a rumour that has surfaced every six months since 1998, the year Jobs killed the Newton platform. So don't count on it.

for those that keep harping about a closed platform. Apple is releasing an SDK for touch / iphone development in about a month. As the process goes through Apple for approval (I believe) the ease of use, installation, and upgrade may cost more than the Maemo apps, but probably be a lot more stable and easy for those of us that don't like dropping to command lines to fix our issues.

Wait, wha? So the guy who bought his touch the day before the keynote has to shell out another $20 compared to the guy who bought his on or day after keynote, when they both probably paid the same price?

Was Jobs a farmer in a previous life because that man knows how to milk a product.