The Nokia N800: My new toy

[Mr. Picklesworth]

I purchased mine because it is not a phone, by the way. I have always hated telephones because they are a downright irritating communication method.

Regarding battery life, I agree that my N810 doesn't do well when in use for a huge chunk of time. I definitely get better than 3 hours out of it with web browsing, and can watch a fair number of hour-long videos on a single charge. (In that respect, I believe it holds its own against the iPod, which I should remind has a much smaller screen).

However, where Nokia really stands out is power management! This device seamlessly enters sleep mode in a way that lets me carry it around all day, using it in short bursts without needing to think about the battery. It's a different way of thinking, more in tune with a PDA (difference being this is very functional), and takes a little bit of getting used to.

Odd problem: Something I run seems to be constantly accessing the internal memory card. I can no longer connect the device via USB except when it is just starting up. I suspect that MPlayer has something remain after being closed. Anyone else seeing similar issues? Is there some good command line trick to finding the offending process? (What is accessing /media/mmc2?).
Similar issue going on with the backlight getting stuck on for a few minutes (even if I lock the device), this time definitely the fault of MPlayer. Why must it be such a decent media player?!

[theDaveTheRave]

helliewm: thanks for the response, that has answered my questions perfectly.... I've been thinking of getting the EeePC almost as a "PDA" type gadget, but why do I need that when I can reasonably easily take my laptop around with me!

I've been on the lookout for a replacement PDA ever since my PalmPilot died (about 3 years ago). Which as far as I'm concerned was the best gadget I ever had (followed a close second by the hand held food processor!), the Nokia E65 was almost a match for the Palm, but I couldn't syn to Ubuntu, and it couldn't email, but WiFi access was cool!

I've also been thinking about the OpenMoko N72 - but don't know when it will be on general release!

Thanks for all the comments of others here, as I now think that I will end up with a "cheap" mobile and something like the N800.

Thanks to all for a great thread and great help.

Dave

[helliewm]

The Openmoko isn't 3G/HDSPA. I have a T-MOBILE FLexT 35 Web n Walk Max Contract 900 MINS/TEXTS 10 GIG bandwith including SKYPE and audio/video streams. It costs about £45 a month. From http://www.expansys.com I got a T-Mobile contract as above with a HP IPAQ 614c 3G/HDSPA it runs Windows Mobile Professional 6 yes it syncs as a modem with the N800 and my laptop. The Eeec just does not seem good value its just a sub power notebook. I am much happier with the N800 and my laptop. I use the N800 as a IPOD too, just bought a spare battery only £19.00. N800 has loads of open source software and you can use it for SKYPE.

Let me know if you need more help, just PM me.

Helen

Ps I am 100% Ubuntu and use 64 bit Ubuntu Hardy and my laptop and Desktop, yes I did find a way to sync Windows Mobile Professional 6. I am so happy with this set up and will probably stick with the HP IPAQ's for my phone as they do sync with the N800 and Ubuntu laptop. Expansys has much better T-M0bile phones on contract than the official T-Mobile web site.