Product Reviews

PDAs/Phones

Nokia N800 Internet Tablet [Computer Buyer]
COMPANY: Nokia	PRICE: �310 inc. VAT
RATING:	ISSUE: 192 DATE: May 07

Verdict: Browse the web from the comfort of your own sofa. Attractively-designed and easy to use, but the Wi-Fi-only connection limits its usefulness.

At first glance, Nokia's N800 looks similar to Apple's iPhone. There's a 4.1in 800 x 480 touchscreen and the device runs a Linux-based operating system. Its main job is internet browsing, although it also has a media player, email client and RSS reader, plus a useful VoIP application that's compatible with Google Talk and Jabber accounts. The N800 also has a webcam push it in to release it and it pops out of the left-hand side.

But despite a likeness to Apple's iPhone, the N800 doesn't work as a mobile and the only way to make use of its online features is via its 802.11b/g wireless connection. This means you can only get online where there's already a wireless network, which entails using it at home or in the wireless hotspots dotted around the UK.

The N800 is UPnP-enabled (a media sharing protocol), so as long as you

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have a compatible device somewhere on the same network, you can stream media to it. The built-in speakers aren't up to much, but more importantly, the N800fs performance isn't quite up to playing music and browsing the internet at the same time. Despite being capable of playing video over its wireless connection a nice feature its 330MHz CPU is too slow to do so. Internal storage is also inadequate at just 256MB of flash memory. You can add to this yourself via two SD card slots one external and one internal so upgrading will at least be cheap.

We enjoyed surfing the web on the N800 and there are a few nice touches. By default, the on-screen QWERTY keyboard is sized for use with the stylus. But poke a text box with the pad of your finger and you get a full-screen keyboard with a little practice we found ourselves writing fairly lengthy emails. However, as the buttons for closing a program or using the menu system remain tiny, you'll often have to swap between stylus and finger-operation.

The N800 is unique, but you have to ask whether the chance to read news websites and write short emails from the sofa is worth over �300, particularly since the only way to connect to the internet is via Wi-Fi.

Nokia user guides, reviews, FAQs and downloads at Know Your Mobile