purchases
Nokia N800 v N810
03/January/2008 09:51 Filed in: Technology
I had been looking around in the past month or so for
something that would allow me to browse the internet
wirelessly for those times that I was in the living
room and feeling the need to look up some factoid
about some movie or television show.
My laptop became an 'ethernet-only' device last summer when it started malfunctioning, and while I could just go out an buy a new laptop, my current laptop - despite its state, can still do 90% of what I need it to do - word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and browse the internet - the old fashioned way. I was thus trying to decide whether to get the older N800, or the newer N810. After a period of reviews and contemplation I got the N800, 'like-new' plus four gigs of SD memory off eBay for about $260. Why go with 'older tech'? Quite a few reasons actually:
1. Not much changed under the hood
WHen one looks at the N770 and the N800, you can see quite a few differences of importance. The same cannot be said about the N800 and the N810. Yes the built-in GPS, Keyboard and 2 GB of storage are nice...but not for double the price (amazon.com quotes)
2. No need for GPS
A couple of years back I bought an external bluetooth GPS unit. The built-in GPS unit of the N810 seemed a bit reduntant considering I already have a GPS unit which can work with the N800 (provided that I get some software).
3. Skeptical of the Keyboard
I've had a number of portable devices in recent years with built-in keyboards, and quite honestly none of them left me completely satisfied. I did not think that the built-in keyboard on the N810 was really worth the extra money (or that I would use it all that much).
4. Need for SD, not mini SD
The N810 comes with one mini-SD slot, which is not for people who haven't used SD cards before, but over the years I have accumulated a number of SD cards from older PDAs (that are no longer with me). The Mini-SD slot would require me to scrap my existing SD cards, and pay yet more to get mini-SD cards. The N800 on the other hand has two standard SD slots so I can reuse my existing cards.
5. FM Tuner
Not a major deal considering that I do not listen to FM radio much these days, but the N800 comes with an FM tuner, the N810 does not.
6. Price Difference
As stated earlier, the price of the N810 is about double the price of an N800. Given the perceived expandability of the N800 (compared to the N810), I did not think that the features warranted it. Also, since the N800 can be upgraded to the Internet Tablet 2008 OS (the same as the N810)...the N800 seems like a better purchase (for my needs). All things considered, I thought (and still do) that the N800 was a better value for the money.
My laptop became an 'ethernet-only' device last summer when it started malfunctioning, and while I could just go out an buy a new laptop, my current laptop - despite its state, can still do 90% of what I need it to do - word processing, presentations, spreadsheets and browse the internet - the old fashioned way. I was thus trying to decide whether to get the older N800, or the newer N810. After a period of reviews and contemplation I got the N800, 'like-new' plus four gigs of SD memory off eBay for about $260. Why go with 'older tech'? Quite a few reasons actually:
1. Not much changed under the hood
WHen one looks at the N770 and the N800, you can see quite a few differences of importance. The same cannot be said about the N800 and the N810. Yes the built-in GPS, Keyboard and 2 GB of storage are nice...but not for double the price (amazon.com quotes)
2. No need for GPS
A couple of years back I bought an external bluetooth GPS unit. The built-in GPS unit of the N810 seemed a bit reduntant considering I already have a GPS unit which can work with the N800 (provided that I get some software).
3. Skeptical of the Keyboard
I've had a number of portable devices in recent years with built-in keyboards, and quite honestly none of them left me completely satisfied. I did not think that the built-in keyboard on the N810 was really worth the extra money (or that I would use it all that much).
4. Need for SD, not mini SD
The N810 comes with one mini-SD slot, which is not for people who haven't used SD cards before, but over the years I have accumulated a number of SD cards from older PDAs (that are no longer with me). The Mini-SD slot would require me to scrap my existing SD cards, and pay yet more to get mini-SD cards. The N800 on the other hand has two standard SD slots so I can reuse my existing cards.
5. FM Tuner
Not a major deal considering that I do not listen to FM radio much these days, but the N800 comes with an FM tuner, the N810 does not.
6. Price Difference
As stated earlier, the price of the N810 is about double the price of an N800. Given the perceived expandability of the N800 (compared to the N810), I did not think that the features warranted it. Also, since the N800 can be upgraded to the Internet Tablet 2008 OS (the same as the N810)...the N800 seems like a better purchase (for my needs). All things considered, I thought (and still do) that the N800 was a better value for the money.
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Nothing for me, thanks.
25/November/2007 13:11 Filed in: Technology
Black Friday has come and gone... no worthwhile deals
were found.
I checked on Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City and Apple.com.... some deals were OK, but nothing spectacular such as the $101 off MacBooks at Apple.com. I wasn't really interested in getting a MacBook, and MacBook Pros had no deals. On top of that, my educational discount probably gets me more of a discount than the black friday deals. Best Buy, Circuit City and Amazon really had no deals that were of interest. Sure, if you want to buy stuff just because they are cheap, you could buy a lot of things, but nothing I really wanted.
So what did I want, but no deals?
1. MacBook Pro
2. Nokia N810
3. Nintendo Wii
4. Good deals on PSP games
5. Great deals on LCD HDTVs
Oh well, maybe next year.....
I checked on Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City and Apple.com.... some deals were OK, but nothing spectacular such as the $101 off MacBooks at Apple.com. I wasn't really interested in getting a MacBook, and MacBook Pros had no deals. On top of that, my educational discount probably gets me more of a discount than the black friday deals. Best Buy, Circuit City and Amazon really had no deals that were of interest. Sure, if you want to buy stuff just because they are cheap, you could buy a lot of things, but nothing I really wanted.
So what did I want, but no deals?
1. MacBook Pro
2. Nokia N810
3. Nintendo Wii
4. Good deals on PSP games
5. Great deals on LCD HDTVs
Oh well, maybe next year.....
Black Friday
17/November/2007 10:47 Filed in: Technology
I never really cared about Black Friday, as a matter
of fact I always thought there was something wrong
with individuals that spent the previous evening
staying up late and celebrating, and the very next
morning crowding shopping malls at three in the
morning for those hard to beat deals. I always
prefered to sleep late and enjoy my day off, or when
I had to work, go into the office and be free to work
without distractions.
This year may be different, I am actually looking forward to black friday! Why do you ask? Well, it's no secret that my aging powerbook (4 years, 1 month old) has been acting up and I have been waiting to get a new MacBook Pro. Now new models may come out in January, but if the deals are great during black friday....well why not just buy one then? I wish Nokia would hurry up and release the N810...so that can go on black friday sales as well.
I wonder if any PSP games will be on sale...
Oh...yeah, I am not crazy to get up a two AM so that I can get in line at some mall entrance...all my shopping will be online, probably on amazon and the apple store (unless my local apple store has a compelling reason for me to go into groupie mode...like $1000 off the price of a MacBook Pro)
This year may be different, I am actually looking forward to black friday! Why do you ask? Well, it's no secret that my aging powerbook (4 years, 1 month old) has been acting up and I have been waiting to get a new MacBook Pro. Now new models may come out in January, but if the deals are great during black friday....well why not just buy one then? I wish Nokia would hurry up and release the N810...so that can go on black friday sales as well.
I wonder if any PSP games will be on sale...
Oh...yeah, I am not crazy to get up a two AM so that I can get in line at some mall entrance...all my shopping will be online, probably on amazon and the apple store (unless my local apple store has a compelling reason for me to go into groupie mode...like $1000 off the price of a MacBook Pro)
Got my Newton Battery holder!
23/June/2007 12:34 Filed in: Technology
The laptop-style battery I've had in my vintage
Newton 2100 has finally kicked the bucket - it no
longer holds a charge! Even though I can send it out
and have it re-celled, I don't really know how much
longer Newton accessories and services will be
available. Despite the active newton community, the
device is about ten years old! I searched on
eBay last week and I found a functional battery
holder, so that I can use regular (or rechargeable)
AA batteries with my Newton. I just received it today
and it works like a charm!
Now if only there were an X-Port version for MacOS X!
Now if only there were an X-Port version for MacOS X!
Debating the purchase of an N800
20/June/2007 17:27 Filed in: Personal
With the unfortunate breakdown of my mac, despite the
fact that I can still get online with it, and
accomplish much (if not all) of the work that I need
to accomplish with my computer, the last four years
I've been completely wireless. I've been using WiFi
to get online, thus the notion that I would go and
seclude myself to another room every time that I want
to check out something on IMDb (or something else
online) seems rather foreign.
I spend far too much time everyday looking things up, checking forums, responding to email - making it inefficient to have have to seclude myself when I need to do one of these things. I was thus considering buying a Nokia N800 internet tablet. I can browse, have my RSS, my email, my internet life all at the palm of my hand. There are a few things though that I don't like about it though:
1. No PIM! I know that it is not meant to be a PDA, but a device of such size, and abilities, should have both a robust addressbook and calendar application! I know that there are a number of open source programs that can be installed, but some of these utilities should be pre-installed on such a device.
2. Apparent lack of mac compatibility. I would like to easily import and sync addressbook, calendar, notes, music, videos, and bookmarks with my Mac. Even though this device is mean to be used by itself, without the need for a computer and synchronization, it would be nice to be able to accomplish these tasks!
3. No TomTom! I would love to get a software navigation package for North America. I already have a bluetooth GPS unit, but no software is available (just software)
I spend far too much time everyday looking things up, checking forums, responding to email - making it inefficient to have have to seclude myself when I need to do one of these things. I was thus considering buying a Nokia N800 internet tablet. I can browse, have my RSS, my email, my internet life all at the palm of my hand. There are a few things though that I don't like about it though:
1. No PIM! I know that it is not meant to be a PDA, but a device of such size, and abilities, should have both a robust addressbook and calendar application! I know that there are a number of open source programs that can be installed, but some of these utilities should be pre-installed on such a device.
2. Apparent lack of mac compatibility. I would like to easily import and sync addressbook, calendar, notes, music, videos, and bookmarks with my Mac. Even though this device is mean to be used by itself, without the need for a computer and synchronization, it would be nice to be able to accomplish these tasks!
3. No TomTom! I would love to get a software navigation package for North America. I already have a bluetooth GPS unit, but no software is available (just software)