Thinking Of Getting An N800 Options

[rickh]

I'm coming from the Zaurus side of things, having used a C3000 for a couple of years. Unfortunately, it was recently stolen, and instead of getting another one, I'm thinking of replacing it with an N800.

I tried to search, but didn't really come up with much in the forums, so here are a couple of questions:

1) Is there real word processing, Word (or at least ODT) compatible software available for the N800? I see that there is a reader, but I'd ideally like to be able to do substantial word processing with a bluetooth keyboard.

2) Is it possible to map the keyboard for international english usage?

If I could do both those things, I could leave my laptop behind and work for the most part on the N800.

Any info is greatly appreciated.

R.
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[mars]

Here are a few ramblings ...

I have a Nokia N800 and a 3100 (pdaxii3). My conclusion so far is that they are *different.* The Nokia has a better internet experience and the built-in wifi and bluetooth is quite handy. A bluetooth keyboard is also a perfect match. There are also some interesting applications such as maemo-mapper and a vehicle diagnostic program.

However, the Z is so far much more versatile -- consider the near daily compiling of new apps for pdaXrom by the community.

Nokia's hildon framework to me is a bit like qtopia (I know they aren't technologically similar) -- applications have to be customized for each and aren't typically a straight compile -- which is why there is not yet a plethora of apps for the nokia n800.

And while my bluetooth keyboard is great to type on, I need to bring and set up a second device (the keyboard) to do any reasonable typing. You still can't beat having the Z's keyboard. Having extra keys on the Z also comes in handy for the little things like increasing the screen brightness when the sun is blinding and you can't see the screen.

However, the nokia's screen is bigger and 800x480 which is nice.

For media playing, I actually prefer the Zaurus. I haven't had great success with mplayer on the nokia yet. For the internal media player on the nokia, you have to re-encode the videos or for my xvid encoded 320x480 videos, find a FourCC code changer so that the nokia thinks they are divx files. Mplayer on the zaurus is also better on advancing through the movie using the keyboard.

I also prefer xmms for my music too over the nokia's media player.

I am convinced now that you can really get on with just SD cards of which the nokia takes two. There is a kernel update to allow the use of SDHC cards on the N800 which means that 8GB cards are usable.

The nokia's built in low quality camera and FM radio are gimmicks to me.

Overall, I enjoy the Nokia, but it isn't a Zaurus replacement for me -- this is unfortunate, because I thought of selling my Z and all its paraphernalia. The nokia has a different set of virtues (primarily focused around an always connected device). For me, my use cases tend to favor the Zaurus.