Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Nokia and Maemo have formally announced the official release of the latest update to their Internet Tablet OS. The Linux-based OS, codenamed Diablo, Feature Pack update includes several internal enhancements to performance, wireless capabilities, and stability.
Rumours abound that this update release likely heralds the next Nokia Internet Tablet - N810 WiMax Edition as many of the new OS updates seem to pave the way for this upcoming device to be utilized fully.
Updates include:
- SSU (seamless software updating) - allows updated of specific OS components without the need to flash/rewrite the entire OS
- Over-the-air (OTA) updates - sent via Wi-Fi and WiMax connections
- email client (Modest) updates - improved UI and mobile-friendly email features.
- Miscellaneous bug fixes to OpenSSL
- Browser panning fixes
- A-GPS support for the N810 and N810WE
- Wayfinder GPS application updates
It is anticipated that most apps will continue to work when updated (don’t blame me if they don’t!)
Updates links below:
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Friday, May 23rd, 2008
The latest addition to Nokias lineup is no lightweight. The N810 includes new features but also drops some of the functionality seen in the 800. OS2008, a Linux distribution, comes pre-installed and, to add a nice touch, is now supported on the 800. This latest release from Nokia comes with a higher price tag which, at a first glance, seems hard to justify.
Design.
The overall size of the N810 is significantly smaller than its predecessor. The addition of a drop-down thumb keyboard helps to reduce the N810 to a size that fits nicely in your pocket. The bezel has been improved and a number of buttons have been moved off the screen surround which gives the N810 a far sleeker layout than the 800. Ease of navigation has been improved by moving the directional pad down to the left of the keypad.
The webcam is embedded into the face of the N810 and, unlike the 800, cannot be adjusted. Above the webcam is an ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts the screen and keyboard lighting - very nice touch.
The shift away from the touchscreen keyboard is something that many users were crying out for. Gone is the frustation of stabbing at the screen as you try to type an email. The hardware keyboard is not quite fully featured - QWERTY layout minus a number row. Unfortunately, if you have sausage fingers like me, typing can result in multiple keys being pressed at the same time. But with a little practice you should be fine.
OS2008 brings an eyecandy-like improved UI to the the N810. There are still icons for battery, WiFi, Bluetooth, volume, brightness, and instant messaging status but the N810 adds a new icon that shows the GPS receiver status. Application scroll bars have been made wider to add thumb scrolling and applets can be moved to custom positions, unlike the previous software version.
The following software is installed by default:
- File manager
- calculator
- Simple text editor
- PDF reader
- Sketch pad
- RSS reader
- Image viewer
- e-mail client and media player
- Web browser (supports Flash but can be a bit jumpy)
Many more third party applications are available from the maemo website.
The GPS and software are a welcome edition but unfortunately the N810 comes with the free variant of Wayfarer which shows your position but does not provide route planning. To add you feature you’ll need to cough up some extra cash.
Conclusion
A very nice edition to the Nokia range. The N810 could do with a little more third party support but how much do you really want to pay for additional applications? That said, this is easily one of the best devices on the market for mobile web browsing and reasonable priced at around £269.
Specifications
TI OMAP 2420 processor 400Mhz
128Mb DDR memory
256Mb flash memory
Screen 4.13″ 800×400
USB port
Microphone/headphone sockets
Downside
Having to pay extra for the GPS navigation features, internal memory cannot be replaced, 1.5Gb out of 2Gb internal storage capacity is taken up by GPS maps, the stand blocks the USB port and memory card slot when closed, lack of PIM (calendaring/task management) software.
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