Well, that certainly was a quick little experiment, wasn't it? Just months after quietly becoming available, Nokia has just as quietly slapped an "end of life" label on the N810 WiMAX Edition, officially ending Nokia's consumer-level support for the wireless standard -- for the time being, anyhow. Though we've been able to confirm that the discontinuation is official, no word was given as to why it fell off the market so quickly -- Nokia insists that it was a "natural" end of life -- but if we had to take a stab at it, we'd guess the Baltimore-only availability had something to do with it.
You know, we were hoping for a Nokia knock-off to poke fun at this morning, but what we got instead was a comprehensive five page review of a vaguely N810-ish, Linux-based handheld called the MID-2008. The 4.3-inch, 800 x 480 touchscreen phone / media player features a 628MHz processor, 128MB RAM and supports a 16GB expansion card, WiFi and Bluetooth. A host of apps are bundled in with the thing, such as Firefox, document readers for MS Office and PDF files, a YouTube app, the Pocket Oxford Concise English-Chinese dictionary and several games, including our personal fave, "Crazy Parking!" Unfortunately, the phone was disabled on the demo unit so there's no telling how the thing works as a handset, but as a media player the device was praised effusively. Of course, that could be saying more about the "new hope" that "Chinese-made phones" bring to the reviewer than the device itself. At any rate, we don't have a manufacturer or a price on this one yet but we'll keep you posted.
It has been but a matter of hours since we first heard of the Cupcake branch of Android, but the tweaked-for-the-better operating system has apparently already made its way onto Nokia's Internet Tablets. The latest port of NITdroid is chock full of those sweet, highly fattening Cupcake goodies, and honestly, this whole development makes us cautiously optimistic about where all this is headed. Anyone care to give their N810 somethin' new to run on? Let us know how it works out.
We've already seen a pre-release version of Android ported to the Nokia N810, but the folks at Linux consulting firm NthCode have now finally taken things to their logical conclusion and finagled version 1.0 of the OS onto the handheld and, best of all, they've described the entire process in minute detail. While the OS itself more or less works, they apparently still have quite a ways to go, as the device is currently not able to do some little tasks like run applications, charge the battery, or access the internet. But, hey, it's Android on an N810, we're not about to get picky. Head on past the break for a video, and hit up the link below for the complete details.
Browser bakeoffs are never without a certain amount of controversy, but we're sort of into Pocketable's latest comparison since the devices on the bench represent three very different points on the spectrum of touchscreen devices. Having used them all, we'll say upfront that the results are surprising: the Archos 5 smokes both the iPhone and the N810, and not always by small margins -- the 5 loaded Engadget 18 seconds faster than the N810. (We did the same test with our 5 and iPhone 3G and the results were basically similar.) Now, that's not to say that makes the 5's Opera-powered browser the best or even the most usable, since in our experience scrolling is painfully choppy and hard to do with the resistive touchscreen, but it's interesting that the hotrodded PMP managed to load pages consistently faster than either the smartphone or the Linux-powered tablet. Take a peek at the full results at the read link.
Go figure -- Sprint goes live with its XOHM WiMAX service, and all of a sudden, the long-awaited Nokia N810 WiMAX edition pops in stock. Crazy, we know. After seeing this puppy announced (and in the flesh) way back in April of this year, it's about time Nokia made it available to Americans with the cash to spare. As of right now, the 4.13-inch, QWERTY-packin' Internet Tablet can be ordered for $493, and unless Nokia's fibbing, it's in stock for shipment. Hello 4G, we're thrilled you're here.
A little URL hacking by Engadget fan Leo, has revealed Sprint's new My Xohm site and loads of service information. The site is clearly in a preparatory state with plenty of dead links and Latin dummy-text holding the pre-launch site format together. Nevertheless, there is quite a bit of detail here, some of which is certainly more than just idle filler. For example, based on the current text, we can expect the following at service launch in September:
Nokia's N810 WiMAX Edition -- looks like a lock based on the liberal use of its image (above) across the pages.
XOHM Express Card (Samsung's SWC-E100) modem with optional PCMCIA adapter.
XOHM Modem (ZyXel's MAX-206M2) Ethernet hub / router with optional 4-hour battery -- unfortunately, XOHM will not offer static IP addresses at this time.
The XOHM portal (whatever that is) supports both Windows and OS X. However, the modems listed above and Sprint's XOHM Connection Manager software are PC-only, sorry Mac owners.
Unfortunately, we can't find any specific pricing information but the site does tell us that access will be sold by the day or by the month without binding contracts or cancellation fees. It also promises speeds between 2-4Mbps for downloads and 1-3Mbps for uploads. Not sure that's worth the move to Baltimore but it's certainly given us cause to pause at the thought. See the modems pictured after the break.
[Thanks, Leo S.]
Read -- General Support FAQ Read -- Pricing and Speed Read -- My Xohm Read -- Devices
It's a common problem, really. You're eager to get Windows 3.1 back into your life, but you've no N810 to install it on. Good news retro software aficionados -- said internet tablet has just tumbled to $299.99 (at CompUSA, at least), a full $90 less than the price we cheered over in March. Yeah, that 800 x 480 resolution display, VGA camera and full QWERTY keyboard is more attainable than ever, but with the possibility of a bombastic successor just around the bend, would it pay off even more to wait? The world may never know (although that's highly unlikely).
After seeing Android all lit up on Nokia's N810 internet tablet, seeing this antiquate piece of software on there just seems... wrong. Still, we can't deny that we're a huge fan of the work, and to be frank, we'd highly recommend anyone with a fair amount of spare time give it a whirl just for nostalgia's sake. Wait, is that a tear we see forming? You softy.
Heads-up, hardy hackers. Those of you too timid to put Android on your N810 the hard way now owe somebody a (big) hug, as the Android Installer makes installation a lesson in simplicity. We won't bother rehashing the play-by-play in this space, but suffice to say all the hand-holding you need is just one click away. Just be aware that this method was only tested in Diablo, so you're on your own if starting in anything else.
The first official OS2008 update came to Nokia's internet tablets late last year, and those yearning for yet another can finally breath a sigh of relief. Reportedly, the company has pushed out the OS2008 Feature Upgrade for the N810 and N800, but we are told that users will still need to "reflash the device in order to install this release." Thankfully, future OS updates are slated to be provided over-the-air without the need to reflash. The changelog is actually quite lengthy, but the highlights include an open source email application based on Modest and the tinymail framework, simplified account setup and the introduction of Chinese character rendering support in email, browser and RSS feeds. Let us know how it goes, will ya?
The FCC apparently figured we've seen as many external photos of the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition as we needed, because when Espoo's latest tablet came in for testing, Uncle Sam did us all favor and stripped it down to the chassis. Nothing too thrilling inside, obviously -- oooh, the PCB is blue! -- but if you're ready and waiting with your $455 in hand, maybe this'll be enough to tide you over until these shipping in July or so. Check the gallery for the rest of the pics.
Nary a month after debuting at CTIA 2008, the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition has found a place on Buy.com. Judging by the product listing, Nokia plans on charging around a Benjamin more for the WiMAX iteration, though this particular e-tailer hacks off another $23.01 for a final asking price of $455.99. Regrettably, the page doesn't fill us in on an expected release date, but we can just feel it drawing closer. Er, wait.
Update: MobileCityOnline has the device with an expected arrival date of July 9th. Not like we're believing 'em or anything, but there you have it. Thanks, Makai!
We've already seen Google's Android mobile OS get shoehorned onto Nokia N810 tablet, but it looks like the Internet Tablet OS is about to get even more flexible with ports of Ubuntu and the Qt toolkit. Nokia is acquiring Qt developer Trolltech, so it's no surprise the Qt is making the jump, but it looks like it'll be mostly a third-party-targeted framework, with the ITOS interface and bundled apps still using GTK+. Nokia told Ars Technica that it's exploring cross-platform possibilities between ITOS and Series60, and that it wants to see if GTK+ and Qt can coexist on the tablets like they do on the Linux desktop. That's pretty ambitious for a low-powered tablet, but we're all for more flexibility -- which seems to be in the cards with the Nokia-sponsored port of Ubuntu to ARM. Several pre-Hardy Heron versions have been ported and run off SD cards, if you're feeling adventurous -- we're not sure what the advantages are, but it's nice to know that Nokia's keeping things wide open.
You know what's great? Synergy. We've had an OS crush on Android ever since it was first rumored, and of course the Nokia N810 has been warming our hearts for a good while now with its mysteriously useful QWERTY-tablet powers. Put the two of them together and we're practically beside ourselves with joy. If you're feeling gutsy you can try it for yourself with the handy tips over at eLinux.org, but we're content to watch this magic from the sidelines for the time being.
It has been but a matter of hours since we first heard of the Cupcake branch of Android, but the tweaked-for-the-better operating system has apparently already made its way onto Nokia's Internet Tablets. The latest port of NITdroid is chock full of those sweet, highly fattening Cupcake goodies, and honestly, this whole development makes us cautiously optimistic about where all this is headed. Anyone care to give their N810 somethin' new to run on? Let us know how it works out.
