Nokia N810 Silver Review - Introduction

When Nokia launched their N810 Internet Tablet at the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco last Fall, they made no bones about its intended audience.  Nokia execs laid out a five step plan for the N-Series tablets that began with launching the N770 in late 2005 to the geekiest of early adopters and will eventually progress to a fully mainstream, consumer-friendly mobile Internet device a few years down the line from now.  N810 is a step along that path that features significant upgrades and refinements over the N770 and N800 that preceded it, but it’s in no way a device for the mainstream consumer - at least not by American consumer standards.

What the N810 is is a sleek, pocketable Linux-based computer with a lean, developer-friendly operating system – Internet Tablet 2008 OS is backed by a Nokia-supported community of enthusiasts creating all sorts of applications for it.  N810 is a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled computer, and not a cell phone, though it comes with Skype pre-installed for VoIP calling.  The newly minted WiMax Edition also carries with it the promise of mobile broadband and low-cost Internet-based phone calls on the go.  N810 is a thin, attractive, and very well built device that adds a hardware keyboard and upgraded OS to the otherwise similar N800. 

While the tablet’s operating system and pre-installed applications work well and won’t be confusing to Nokia’s intended audience (early adopters), they don’t provide a consumer-ready out of box experience.  As such, there are really two ways to look at the N810: 

- First, from the perspective of what it is right now: a gadget for gadget hounds.  N810 is a really well-made pocket Linux device that offers a lot to the tinkerer excited by the prospect of customizing the heck out of it and then carrying it around town in his pocket.

- Second, from the perspective of what it is relative to Nokia’s roadmap for tablet devices and in comparison to competitors’ products currently on the market.  N810 offers a combination of price point, hardware (display size, QWERTY keyboard), and functionality that’s unmatched in the marketplace right now.  But its overall out-of-box experience pales in comparison to the one offered by what might be its most direct competitor, Apple’s iPod Touch.  N810 does more than Touch, but Apple’s handheld Web and media device does what it does at higher level than N810, and is far more consumer-friendly overall. 

Before you cry foul at that second assessment, remember that it’s made in light of Nokia’s overall consumer roadmap for their line of tablets - they’ve got a long way to go to hit their stated final goal of mainstream adoption.  But they know that and publicly acknowledge that N810 is still aimed at early adopters, not consumers looking for a portable Web tablet/media player.  So in a way it’s not fair to compare Apples and oranges - or, rather, Nokias - here.

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