NOKIA N800

So far, nearly all my posts about the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet were intended for my existing audience of Nokia 770 Internet Tablet owners or interested parties. I spent too much time comparing it to it's predecessor and have yet to take the N800 as a device all by itself and review it. This is a mistake I will remedy now: This article is meant as a companion to my First Look article. All screenshots are clickable for full clarity.

The Nokia N800 Internet Tablet is not a PDA, ultra-mobile PC, smartphone, or eBook reader. It is an Internet Tablet. In my interview with Dr. Ari Jaaksi of Nokia, he emphasized that the device was built from the ground up to focus on Internet functionality. How well is this accomplished?

The Home Screen with default applets.
Design and Interface
The N800 fits in your hands like a PSP is designed mostly for two-handed operation. The left hand holds it, controls menu, application, and directional keys on the front and zoom and maximize keys on the top. The right hand can be used for the stylus. In most applications, dragging the stylus over an inactive screen area (an area without a button or hyperlink) will grab and scroll the screen for you. This is quite conducive to widescreen web browsing, but an actual "scroll wheel" would have been a welcome addition. The 800x480, 4.1" widescreen display is bright and sharp, if a bit tiny for some eyes.


The Home Screen is full of applets that can be removed, changed, replaced, or resized. The icons on the top left are similar to Windows' system tray, offering both status and shortcuts. The left buttons are Bookmarks, Contacts, and Applications. The beauty of the Applications button is that it knows if you tapped it with your fat finger or the sharp stylus and gives you either large or small icons accordingly.