Jul

23

2007

Nokia N800 now with Skype

Posted by luna6

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I’ve had the good fortune of testing out the Nokia N800 for the past month and a half, while vacationing in South Korea.. The company that sent me the evaluation unit was even kind of enough to ship the unit all the way to South Korea! I did enjoy using the unit and was ready to ship the unit back to sender, but then I was notified that a new update was released by Nokia. The main drawing card of the new firmware being…a full fledged Skype client would now work with the N800!

With that I decided to hold on to the unit a bit longer and test out the new features.

Specifications :
CPU : TI OMAP 2420 (330MHz).
Display : High-resolution touch screen (800 x 480 pixels) with up to 65,536 colors
Memory and Storage :
* DDR RAM 128MB
* Flash 256MB, 128 MiniSD with extender included in sales package
* Two internal memory card slots, (SD, MicroSD, MiniSD, MMC, and RS-MMC).
Battery Life : Continous Use - 3 - 4 hours, Standy time up to 13 days
Operating system : Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition (Based on Debian Linux)
Supported file formats :
* Audio: AAC, AMR, AWB, M4A, MP2, MP3, RA (RealAudio), WAV, WMA
* Image: BMP, GIF, ICO, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, SVG-tiny
* Video: 3GP, AVI, H.263, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, RV (Real Video)
* Internet radio playlists: M3U, PLS
Connectivity :
* WLAN: 802.11b/g
* Bluetooth specification: 2.0. For internet connection and file transfer via phone
* USB 2.0 high speed device mode for PC connectivity

For people not familiar with Nokia’s N800, the unit is a small handheld internet tablet. The unit runs Internet Tablet OS 2007 edition, which is derived from Debian Linux. As time goes by there should be a wealth of free open source programs available for the N800. To see what applications are available now you can visit http://maemo.org/. The unit itself comes bundled with Opera 8 w/ support for Adobe Flash, POP3 email client, Instant Messaging application, RSS Feed Reader, Media Player, Calculator, Clock, Notes, and Games. I did find the lack of a calendar program to be an odd omission. Internet connection can be had via wireless 802.11 (b/g) or bluetooth enabled cellphones.

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There is a slight learning curve in using the device for the first time due to the unfamiliar layout of the desktop manager. Reading the manual is always helpful, but if not it shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes to get familiar with the N800’s layout. I did find the UI to be good, but it could have been better. The vertical taskbar that resides on the left side of the desktop took up an unnecessary amount of screen real estate. Also the default desktop theme “Adria” was fugly, but it could easily be changed via Tools/Control Panel/Personalization/Themes. I chose Balaton theme which looked great.

nokiacontrols.jpgThere are two basic options for inputting commands into the unit. The first option would be via the hardware keys situated on the top left area of the device. A four way directional keypad with a center “OK” button works well to the control the onscreen cursor. As an example, a short keypress of the directional keypad moves the cursor from one item to the next, in the respective direction that that keypad is pressed. A longer keypress of the directional keypad acts as a scroll up, down, left or right function. To activate the highlighted cursor item, the center “OK” button must then be pressed. I found this setup to be intuitive and the buttons well contoured for my fingers.

The other way to control the unit would be via stylus and the LCD touchscreen monitor. Tapping your way around the N800 is simple and you can even do advance things like drag and drop with the stylus. When you need to enter text, a virtual keyboard appears on the lower portion of the touchscreen. The virtual keyboard has a neat feature that guesses the word you are typing via a smaller pop up window on the lower half of the keyboard. As an example, when you enter the url for a website that you have already ventered, the full url will be given as a clickable option after a few keypresses. You can also enter text via the included handwriting recognition software, but I preferred the virtual keyboard and used it exclusively.

On the left side of the unit, a retractable webcam exists, though I found few options to actually use the device. Google Talk does not support video conferencing nor does the new Skype client available for the N800. Sadly, you can’t take still pictures with the included webcam.

The included web browser, Opera 8, worked very well. Pages rendered quickly and the UI was easy to master. Tabbed browsing was not available, but other than that the included Opera 8 browser did great. As nice as the 800×480 touchscreen looked, I did find the screen real estate to feel cramped and wished the screen could display a larger 1024×600 resolution (to minimize scrolling). You can enable the web browser to go in fullscreen mode which makes text easier to read, but doesn’t cut down on the need to scroll. Although the screen felt cramped, image quality was always excellent on the N800.

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Other applications I used often were the included instant messaging client and the POP3 email client. I had no problems setting up my account Google Talk account (I just had to enter username and password) or my Gmail account (make sure to enable POP3 in your Gmail account settings). While text messaging long sentences was a chore, as well as writing long emails, brief chats and quick replies in emails worked smoothly.

Battery life with Nokia N800 was fair. Continuous active use would drain the battery in 3-4 hours, while you infrequent use (which is more common) would give you a whole days use without the need for a recharge.

For Nokia N800 users interested in updating their devices to the latest firmware – which allows the unit to run the new Skype and Rhapsody client – you’ll be happy to know its a painless procedure.. Head on over to Nokia’s website and download their easy to use Windows updating program, which can be downloaded here. You do need a host computer running Windows 2000 w/Service Pack4, Windows XP w/Service Pack 2, or newer to install the software. (Also Microsoft Net 2.0 Framework is required).

Linux users can update their Nokia N800 by following the instructions here.

After installing the Nokia Internet Tablet Software Update Wizard, I just had to start up the Update Wizard application on the host computer and click through a few windows of instructions. When asked to do so, I then plugged in the Nokia N800 via the included USB cable to the host computer. From there I had to power on the unit and hold the home key and then the N800 went through the update procedure. It should be noted that if you have any important data residing on the N800, you should back that data up to a memory card, as the update procedure will wipe out all data on the device.

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After the update the most notable difference where the icons for Skype and Rhapsody. Clicking on either application then shows a pop up window asking if you want to download & install the application. If you click yes the unit installs the new software quickly and automatically.

Using Skype on the N800 was an absolute blast and made the N800 feel more like a communicator. I was easily able to call out to any cellphone or landline in the world (you do need the SkypeOut plan to use this feature) and receive phone calls from any cellphone or landline (this requires the SkypeIn plan). The one caveat with the current Skype client for the Nokia N800 is that video conferencing is not as of yet available. Voice quality was usually very good, but certain random times voice quality did become choppy. If you have wi-fi at home or at the office, the Nokia N800 could supplement your cellphone very well.

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Conclusion :

While I enjoyed using the Nokia N800 prior to the firmware upgrade, once having Skype installed, made the Nokia N800 an almost indispensable tool carry around. Having the ability to make phone calls anywhere in the world from any location that has wireless internet was neat. Furthermore with a SkypeIn plan you can easily receive phone calls from just about any place in the world that has wifi. The addition of having Skype made the Nokia N800 a near cellphone like device.

While the Nokia N800 is billed as an “internet tablet” the screen’s rather cramped 800×480 resolution made browsing the internet not ideal for long term use. This is because a lot of websites use larger 1024 resolution and the end result would be a lot of scrolling for the user. With that that said, for brief instant web use (say Google Maps / Webmail / Wikipedia) the device workeed remarkably well. The N800 if left in locked mode, will turn on instantly making the N800 more appealing for frequent on / off usage. Furthermore the integrated instant messenger client works perfectly with Jabber / Google Talk, although pecking on that virtual keyboard for an extended period of time can be a chore. Bluetooth keyboard is preferred. Finally the included pop3 email client made checking corporate email accounts or Gmail a pleasure to use. While writing long emails is not recommended with the device, quick browsing and short emails worked fantastic.

Multimedia wise, the N800 does ok. Video playback of YouTube streams were choppy even with the updated firmware. Audio playback of mp3 files worked much better with impressive sound quality. Video playback was less than satisfactory because of the slow cpu. Also for Windows users, it should be noted that WMV is not supported. You can also easily stream internet music via the pay service Rhapsody or the free Internet radio stations included in the N800’s media player. With the new update the Media Player works now with MythTV AV Media Server.

As I used the Nokia N800 more, the more I became impressed with the device. Web browsing worked well, but I just wished the screen had a larger resolution. For me Skype was the killer app. Not bad for a $399 device!

Pros :
LCD touchscreen displays vibrant colors and clarity.
Instant on capablities.
Open source software.
Skype is the killer app on the N800.
Instant messaging via Google Talk / Jabber worked great.
POP3 email worked great.
Opera 8 worked well.

Cons :
LCD touchscreen does not have portrait view.
LCD touchscreen felt cramped with its 800×480 resolution.
Webcam could not take still pictures.
YouTube playback was choppy.

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Users Rating: 6.7 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars (20 votes)

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14 Comments so far

  1. 14 luna6 Says: October 5, 2007

    AR: You can’t use the n800 and skype in the manner you described - just with headphones and builtin mic or via the loudspeader and builtinmic. If that’s an absolute requisite than you should pass on the n800. With that said I used it with headphone and mic and the loudspeaker methods and they worked great - I wouldn’t want to place the unit next to my ear.

  2. 13 AR Says: October 5, 2007

    Can this be used as a skype PHONE (as in like a handset) that can be held close to the ear? i.e. I don’t want to have to attach a wired or wireless headset to the n800, nor do I want to have to use a loud speakerphone. THanks for any response.

  3. 12 Jae Says: September 21, 2007

    I have been agonizing over the choice between Nokia N800 and a cheap laptop (Fujitsu 10″ touchscreen laptop for under $400). Since I already have a PDA phone, I’m worried that I would be carrying 2 devices that basically does the same thing. I really love the hi-res 4.1″ LCD over the crappy QVGA 3″ LCD on my ppc phone. Web browsing experience on my ppc is marginally acceptable in a pinch. But other than that, could anyone tell me if I can justify buying the Nokia N800 over a used cheap portable laptop for the same price? (i do have wifi and skype on my ppc phone). Also the reviewer mentioned about unsatisfactory video playback (not youtube, but a video file playback using a media player app.) If anyone has had both Pocket PC and N800, it would be nice to know how they compare. Thank you everyone in advance for the feedback!

  4. 11 fabiorod Says: September 19, 2007

    I am loving it, however, i could not find a “mail for exchange” or a “roadsync” like application to be able to read my company’s e mail as we do not have a webmail.
    Does anybody can help me with it?
    thanks

  5. 10 Sean Doyle Says: July 25, 2007

    Radio app is really cool for listening to FM. I’ve used my N800 with Gizmo as a phone in a pinch, but with Skype it’s even better now… I’ve been actually doing business in the UK using it to Skype out without a hitch. One downside, it seems when Skype is running the power saving functions are disabled, so I don’t leave it running and only run it when needed.

    Maemo has a ton of apps, including games. Navigating the various repositories can be a bit of pain if your not familiar with apt, but otherwise it’s good. The new Firefox backend is a bit glitchy but a very nice upgrade. Clawmail is a far better mail client and runs very nicely. I use the browse to check my Exchange mail via OWA all the time. Streaming music plays great and the built in speakers aren’t bad for listening to music on the desk while smoking a cigar. Get Pidgin (the new GAIM) for seemless Yahoo/AIM/MSN/Jabber/etc. chatting

    I use my N800 as a substitute for a laptop to check mail, IM and listen to music when roaming around. For VOIP I use it as a second phone instead of laptop because I can roam around my house on wifi and chat to anyone in the world.

    N800’s are great devices and bridge the gap nicely between smartphones (I have a Sprint A900 with bluetooth modem plan) and a laptop. I like my phone to be a phone, browsing on a smartphone stinks. I can get pretty much anywhere on the web with the Nokia and now with the update I can even succumb to my YouTube addiction.

  6. 9 Jerome Lapointe Says: July 24, 2007

    (…like on the iPhone)

  7. 8 Jerome Lapointe Says: July 24, 2007

    The buttons seem to be on the wrong side… seems to me right handed people would want to use their right hand thumb…

  8. 7 luna6 Says: July 24, 2007

    Lennart thanks for the correction on the screen resolution, was a typo on my part that’s now fixed. cheers.

  9. 6 Lennart Fridén Says: July 24, 2007

    Nice review. A few corrections though: the screen resolution is 800×480 and not 800×400. The webcam can be used to take still pictures using the downloadable “Camera” application although you wouldn’t want to due to its poor resolution and optics.

  10. 5 nigel blythe Says: July 24, 2007

    You tube is now smooth! just let it download the file first!

    You can take pics with the camera, and videos, and also have a motion detector application for the cam.

    get a n800 and get involved in the scene!

    maemo garage has tons of apps

    maemo itself has tons of apps

    good luck

  11. 4 Jon Says: July 24, 2007

    There is a mozilla-based backend available in beta for the browser. It is a lot better what compatibility is concerned (google reader and such). You can also for example drag the map around with your finger in maps.google.com.

    If you let youtube buffer the entire flash video before hitting play, it is smooth as butter with the latest update.

  12. 3 iMac Says: July 23, 2007

    N800 seems like an ok device but doesn’t compare to the iPhone. Now that’s something to salivate over.

  13. 2 Jonah Says: July 23, 2007

    This looks like one slick little device (mouth salivating). Whenever the price goes down a $100 more I’m getting one.

  14. 1 Olafur Arason Says: July 23, 2007

    Pretty much my complaints about the N800, but it is a great machine. But there is a camera application that you can installed.