Connecting geeks

The 770 reinvented: welcome N800

January 8th, 2007

Nokia have just released a new Internet Table. This time it is called N800. The hardware has been improved. It has now 128 MB RAM and 256 MB flash ROM (to store the filesystem). The memory card system has been switched from RS-MCC to SD cards, which are quite cheaper, and it now has two card slots. Memory cards may be up to 2 GB. Among the new features, we find also a web cam, with a resolution of 640×480. It is apparently intended to make “video” calls using Google Talk, although this is something that should be confirmed as soon as the new lucky owners of the gadget test it. The rest of features are the same than in the 770 (wifi, bluetooth and so on).

The design has been also improved. The N800 is lighter than the 770 (about 90 grams). The width is greater and the height lower, and the position of the buttons and headphones plugs is now more ergonomical.

It does not have an integrated keyboard.

Here it is the product page at nokia.com. It costs 399 Euro when buying from Spain (about 50 more Euro than the 770).

Here you can find some photos of the new device, including some comparison of dimensions with the 770.

Some other links of blogs talking about the new gadget:

• Ari Jaaksi’s blog
• Karoliina Salminen’s blog
• Teemu Harju, arguing that Skype is coming for the new N800

And now the one million dollar question: is it worthy to buy the new N800 if you already own a 770? The new N800 is a better device than the 770. With a faster CPU and more memory it is expected to be way faster than the 770. This should influence the multimedia capabilities; for instance, video playing should be much better in the N800. Another strong point is that you can use two memory cards, and that the format is SD. The memory cards can be up to 2 GB, so you may have up to 4 extra GB, which is quite a lot for movies, music, etc. With that capacity, the N800 is a real multimedia device. For instance, I have a 512 MB card in my 770, and every time I copy a movie to the card I have to remove all the music and the maps of Maemo Mapper. With 4 GB I could store a movie, my favourite music and the maps of Maemo Mapper (I have Madrid and surroundings stored in my card, and it is quite useful when I get lost in the city, that happens quite often ). The rest of features are pretty much the same than in the 770, except the new webcam, which I do not think I would use too much.

So, summarizing, if you don’t own a 770 and are thinking of buying it, forget it and go for the N800. It is worthy to spend 50 more Euro. If you already own the 770, it does not make sense to have both devices. Try to sell your 770 before buying the new N800. The other option is to cross your fingers and get a discount from the Developer Device Program. Personally, right now I am trying to sell my 770, and I am crossing my fingers .

Regarding the operating system, I expect the new releases of Maemo (3.0, codename Bora) and the Internet Table system (IT 2007) to be compatible with the current system. Also, the already available packages should be compatible with this new system, or at least, easily recompilable to make them binary-compatible with the new system. The releases page says that the compatibilty among Maemo 2.1 and 3.0 is rather good. Here you may find some details about the compatibility issues.