Nokia N810 Internet Tablet Review
The Nokia N810 is the latest entry to the Internet Tablet series of Nokia. Nokia N810 is a Linux based handheld, which is the successor of N800. The N810 has improved upon N800 by including some interesting functions such as, a GPS receiver, a QWERTY keyboard and a stylish slider design. But one of the most worrying fact is that some of the new additions have been made at the expense of some of the most loved features in the N800.
Extremely stylish:
Though Nokia N810 is not designed entirely for an average customer, its hardware has still managed to carry some serious mainstream appeal. As you can see, the device has an extremely hi-end looks which is achieved with its all metal body having exquisite subtle contours with a streamline design, brushed finish and sliver blue color theme, all of these making it one of the best looking PDAs in the current market.
Sleek and sturdy:
Nokia N810 internet tablet phone is slightly smaller than its predecessor, making it perfect to be fit inside any purses, pockets or bags. The sleekness of the device makes you simply praise the design engineers of Nokia. This full fledged Linux system is compact and slim with exceptional built quality, being very sturdy and durable. Now a days, we can find some of the PDA companies manufacturing devices that are slim but not durable. Nokia has proven that a sleek design can be given to the PDA without compromising the built quality.
4.13″ touch screen:
Though the overall size of the device has been reduced when compared to N800 but it weighs the same and the display size has not been reduced. Nokia N810 has 4.13 inch touch sensitive display, having a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels and displays 65K colors. We were expecting an increase with the capability to reproduce more colors, but the display is left untouched, a little disappointed. Yet, Nokia N810 internet phone is having one of the best displays. The responsiveness of the touch screen is much better than that of the Nokia N800 internet tablet. This display is a very good one to act as a portable media player and this large display would be apt for watching movies and even browsing. The resolution of the display is good enough to allow a good deal of content to be displayed on the system without compromising on the readability of the text and the quality of the images.
Physical buttons and controls:
The Nokia N810 smartphone makes use of the touch screen technology, it also has an assortment of physical buttons and controls, making the device even more flexible and intuitive. Towards the left side of the display are the ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts the brightness of the display and the keyboard backlighting, a VGA web cam, a swap button that switches between open applications and an escape button. A blue LED indicator is available in the top-left edge of the PDA that notifies you when you receive messages or emails or even miss calls. This LED can also be switched off if you do not need it. When you slide the display panel towards the top, the keyboard is revealed along with a directional pad and a menu button. As these buttons seem to be quite recessed, they are a little tough to use though. Another major disadvantage is that, since the navigational pad is exposed only when the keyboard is exposed. The sliding mechanism is extremely smooth and glides all the way through effortlessly. Though the slimness of the keyboard is one of the strong points of the PDA, it becomes quite uncomfortable when held for a long period of time. The top of the device has a sliding lock key, a volume rocker which doubles as a zoom button, a power button and a very handy full screen button. Having used the full screen button the N800, it is now indispensable, this button is particularly extremely useful when you are browsing the web to toggle between a normal display and a full screen. A dedicated stylus slot is available on the top of the PDA. The stylus is mainly used for the hand-writing recognition and to be used with some of the icons that are not finger friendly. Just below the stylus slot, is the micro USB port, port for the headphone jack, charger connector and a loud speaker. There are two loud speakers, one is in the right and the other is in the left. In the bottom part of the PDA you can find the battery release switch, miniSD slot and a microphone.
Both sides of the Nokia N810 PDA phone has a desk stand that clicks into three positions. But be careful with this kick stand as at times, it catches the edge of the expansion slot and pulls it open.
QWERTY keyboard:
Nokia N810 is the first internet tablet to feature an integrated QWERTY keyboard. The keyboard has a total of 40 backlit keys out of which most of them are double mapped and a few triple. The whole of the keyboard measures 3.75″ x 1″ inches. There is hardly any spacing between the keys and so, if you are having big thumbs, you are going to have some trouble typing stuffs and get the accuracy. Typing in this keyboard is very tricky as they are too flat and the top row is also placed too close to the bottom of the display panel. This decreases the typing speed to a considerable percentile.
OS2008 based:
Nokia N810 makes use of the internet tablet OS2008 based on Linux platform Maemo 4.0, which is an update of the OS2007 which was used in N800. The OS2008 comes pre-installed on the N810 and uses the same layout and functionality of OS2007, but then this OS is having a very attractive look and has been optimised better for the finger. The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet is equipped with a 400MHz TI OMAP 2420 processor. The task navigator column has new icons that corresponds to the same feature set that includes the wed browser, contacts and applications. The navigator column opens finger friendly cascading menus which can be personalised to suite your personal needs and preferences. The applets and the row of indicators are also carried over form OS2007.
Good interface:
Though Nokia N810 Internet Tablet Smartphone is user friendly to some extent, a totally novice user who is new to the technology will find it extremely hard to use it as it is out of the box. Though we must also keep in mind that this PDA is not an mainstream consumer device. But, once you get hold of it and get familiar with a few of its controls then Nokia N810 is a very straightforward device with a clean interface that is flexible in terms of customising with themes and other personal things.
Applications included:
The applications that are available in the phone are, web browsing, instant messaging, internet calls, email, multimedia playback, and image viewing. If you feel that this list of programs are insufficient, then you can install your own applications and programs. The games that are loaded are good, but you also have some additional application and games. Built-in applications and utilities include a file manager, a PDF reader, a notepad, a clock, a calculator, games, maps, sketch program, RSS feed reader, Skype, Rhapsody and an X Terminal client. Unfortunately, the PIM tools such as a calendar were absent, which would go a long way for making the N810 more versatile and marketable to a broader audience.
Internet and messaging capabilities:
The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet PDA Phone is primarily designed for accessing the internet. The internet capability is achieved either with 802.11b/g wi-fi and Bluetooth DUN. While N800 is based on the Opera based browser, the N810 works based on the Mozilla-based MicroB web browser. Though the Mozilla-based MicroB web browser is not as fast as the Opera browser, it is quite robust. Since Nokia N810 has support for AJAX and Flash 9, sites like Gmail, Google Reader, YouTube, and other Web 2.0 sites are completely accessible. As far as the performance is concerned, it is just acceptable and not up to the standards of the desktop when it comes to streamlining of video. The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet still offers the best browsing experience for an ARM based mobile device. The 800 x 480 resolution is currently the best and is unmatched by any other portable gadget.
Incomplete GPS receiver:
The N810 has internal GPS receiver and maps application that allows you to browse through the maps and streets addresses and you could also find various points of interest. You could also purchase the “Wayfinder” for voice guided driving instructions as well as route planning.
Communication facilities:
The Nokia N810 Handheld PDA Phone has maintained the fact that it is a PDA device and hence cannot be used as a phone. Though it lacks a phone, it is still a powerful communication device as it has support for POP3, SMTP and IMAP4 email accounts, web-based email, you can make calls via Skype or Gizmo and also using Nokia’s own VoIP application which also has video ability. Instant messaging is possible using various third party applications such as Pidgin, Google talk or Jabber. Most of the communication facilities that were included in the N800 PDA is in here too.
During initial setup, a wizard walks you through the steps for accessing your account. There are also advanced settings so that the device automatically retrieves your messages on a regular basis, plays a sound when new messages arrive, removes messages older than a specified number of days, and so on.
A great portable media player:
If you possess the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet, then you will not have to think about investing on another portable media player at all. Since it functions as a UPnP client, connections can be made to the media servers in order to share some content. The Rhapsody internet video facility is available. It supports a number of music and video formats, including AAC, MP3, WMA, WAV, AMR, RealAudio, WMV, AVI, 3GP, MPEG-4, and others. Transferring media to the device is a snap as it is a simple matter of drag and drop. You can also import play lists or create them on the fly, and there is a shuffle function too. Finally, the Nokia N810 comes with an image viewer supporting JPEG, TIF, BMP, and other formats.
Video playback:
The video playback is very smooth and stutter free. Since Nokia has installed the Internet Tablet Video converter, it converts all the formats for Nokia N810, and hence there is virtually no codec format that is not supported by the N810. The videos do not look that colorful and vibrant as in some of the other PDAs which is because of the limitation in the number of colors supported. Except for the lack of vibrancy in the colours of the display, the overall experience is very enjoyable with the large display.
Audio quality:
The audio quality cannot be said to be as good as the ones that you can find in the MP3 players, but still it is good enough for casual listeners. The loudspeakers are not that exiting and are on the quieter side.
Package contents:
The package contents of the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet include AC adapter, a USB cable, a soft carrying case, a screen cloth, a vehicle mount, and reference material.
Battery:
The battery life of the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet is quite good. When it is used continuously with a bright display and with the wireless LAN active, the device lives up to four hours. It gives a music playback of 10 hours and browsing period of five days. The standby period specified by Nokia is 14 days.
Warranty:
Nokia offers N810 Internet Tablet one year warranty for parts and labor.
Verdict:
The Nokia N810 Internet Tablet has improved upon a lot from its predecessor N800 in terms of design, processor speed and internal storage. However, the functionality of the device remains unchanged. Though the price tag it carries is quiet high, the PDA is worth it. The N810 Internet Tablet is an incredibly versatile, capable, and impressive mobile device.
Nokia N810 Internet Tablet - Technical Specifications, Features
| Manufacturer | Nokia |
| Model Name | Nokia N810 Internet Tablet |
| PDA type | Internet tablet |
| Dimensions (H X W X D) | 2.83 x 5.04 x 0.55 inches |
| Weight | 7.97 oz |
| Color | Blueish silver, black |
| Display | High-resolution 4.13” WVGA display |
| Display resolution | 800 x 480 pixels |
| Colors supported | up to 65,000 colors |
| Processor | TI OMAP 2420 |
| Processor speed | 400Mhz |
| Memory | DDR RAM 128MB
Flash 256MB |
| Internal memory | 2GB |
| Storage expansion | miniSD and microSD memory cards compatible |
| OS provided | maemo Linux based OS2008 |
| Software included | Chess, Clock, Backup, Drivers, PDF Viewer, File Manager |
| Input device type | Stylus, Keyboard, Touch-screen |
| Digital audio standards supported | AAC, AMR, MP2, MP3, WMA, Real Audio |
| Audio input type | Microphone |
| Audio output type | Speakers |
| Email protocols supported | POP3 , SMTP , IMAP4 |
| Wireless connectivity | IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Bluetooth 2.0 EDR |
| Port / Connector Type | 1Hi-Speed USB, 1Headphones |
| Connector Provided | Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm |
| Expansion slot | 1 x SD Memory Card |
| Cables included | 1 x USB cable |
| Battery | Lithium ion |
| Standby time | Up to 14 days |
| Package contents | Nokia N810 Internet Tablet Battery Stereo Headset Travel Charger Car Holder Pouch Connectivity Cable Get started guide Safety, warranty, and other product information booklet |
| Warranty | One year |
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