Handhelds Without a Home

If everybody wore cargo pants or flight suits, today's column might have come to a different conclusion. Unfortunately, most of us have, at most, one purse or two pants pockets available to carry around gadgets.

That doesn't leave much room for a handheld device that browses the Web, takes pictures and plays music and videos--but which does not track your calendar or make phone calls. Nokia's N810 Internet Tablet and Sony's Mylo COM-2 Personal Communicator have a lot of things going for them, but when they're competing for pocket/purse real estate with devices that far more people already own--a smartphone and a digital-media player--they're going to lose out most of the time.

I came to about the same conclusion when I reviewed a predecessor of the N810, the N770, two years ago. When I started planning this review, however, I had higher hopes--the inclusion of Skype Internet calling software gave these handhelds a big advantage over most cell phones.

But since you can already run Skype on Windows Mobile phones and Sony's PlayStation Portable, and that you should be able to run it over an iPhone's WiFi connection, that edge looks to be narrow and temporary.

Sony and Nokia's gadgets also suffered from self-inflicted usability problems.

The Mylo (if you were curious, the name stands for "my life online") has a strangely limited software suite and is on the thick side as well. Its reliance on Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Duo doesn't enhance its appeal either.

The N810 is a far more flexible platform than the Mylo or almost any other handheld, thanks to its use of the open-source Linux operating system; by adding the right third-party programs, you could remedy many of the shortfalls I objected to in the story. But there's not much that I could do about the stability issues that I and other N810 users have encountered. (See, for example, this blog post reporting a startup problem that could only be remedied by removing an N810's battery, then putting the device in the freezer for a few minutes.) I can't use a mobile device that requires this much maintenance.

I would say that perhaps Nokia and Sony will do better on their next try, but I don't know that there will be a next try. I think both of these companies would be better off bringing the best features of these devices to gadgets that most people actually buy, even if that leaves the N810 and the Mylo as ultimately fruitless branches of the gadget evolutionary tree.

Do you have any interest in an in-between device like these things? Would you be happier if Sony or Nokia had built a cell phone into either gadget? What if they included a full set of personal-information-management software that synced to your computer's contacts and calendar programs? How about if they were larger, with keyboards big enough to allow touch typing and more desktop-compatible software, like the Asus Eee PC? I welcome your thoughts...

By Rob Pegoraro | March 13, 2008; 11:56 AM ET | Category: Gadgets
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A big swing and a miss from both companies. I think that the mistake is believing that they're going to market to the consumer who wants fancy Web-enabled tech but won't commit to a cellphone contract. In my view, that's a HUGELY limited subset of users. Sony and Nokia should have built in GSM and marketed the devices as unlocked WM6 alternatives. Either that or partnered with TracFone to make these the first really advanced phones that TF sells.

Posted by: 23112 | March 13, 2008 01:24 PM

What I want. Note: these are specs for a dream machine.

Not a laptop. If I wanted a laptop I'd buy one.

Something bigger than the N810 or iPhone.

A convergence device that combines iPod, video playback (in widescreen), and ebook reader. About 7" wide by 9" high, which is a fairly standard book size. High resolution screen for reading, color with a decent refresh rate for video. Backlit in both modes. Simplified interface. No more than 4 or 5 buttons, plus the power button.

Should have a web browser, and WiFi. Basic text editor. Book reading software should handle PDF files.

Solid state hard drive, for low power usage. Reasonable capactiy (100GB, say) for video. Books could be stored on SD cards. Thus, an SD card reader.

Long battery life. At least 5 hours when playing back video.

We're pretty close to the technology needed for this device now. The screen technology is probably the furthest away, battery tech is getting there, and you could get longer life with a larger (heavier) battery.

Posted by: wiredog | March 13, 2008 01:38 PM

I have had an Nokia N800 since Christmas, and while I don't carry it everywhere, I do use it a lot. Around the house it sits on my bedstand, where I can use it to do basic web tasks (weather, email, RSS feeds, etc) without needing a laptop or other computer. If I didn't have a computer in every room, I might use it more at home. I don't need it at work (plenty of computers, but no WiFi) but it's very useful on the road, since its Bluetooth interface allows it to pair with my cell phone for net access when I don't have a friendly WiFi gateway. I have a Bluetooth keyboard, so that makes it easier to manage than the tap keyboard or the handwriting recognition, but I don't have to use the keyboard most of the time.

Getting the N810 would have been nice, but the N800 was half the price, and uses cheap-and-plentiful full-size SD cards for storage (making it compatible with my camera).

One thing you didn't mention was how easy it is to add applications to the N800/N810 -- go to http://maemo.org/downloads/list/OS2008/all/ for a list.

Full Disclosure: I'm a Linux geek and a software developer, so a big bonus is running the same apps on the N800 that I run on most of my computers. The first thing I did was to upgrade the N800 to OS2008 to match the N810.

Posted by: W. Craig Trader | March 13, 2008 07:21 PM

I recently bought a Palm TX, because I want the superior Palm PIM functions. A side benefit, however, is the built in wifi. (I'm not willing to jack up my inexpensive cell phone bill for a smartphone) My Palm does a ton more than these devices. These are lacking major features, and are nothing novel to begin with.

Posted by: Pat | March 13, 2008 09:20 PM

What I really want is something that combines my cell phone, Palm TX and iPod: a device that makes calls on a reasonably priced plan (I don't need email/web access wherever I go), has WiFi for occasional use, syncs my music and videos without hassle, allows me to add reliable third-party software, and has good address book/calendar software that syncs properly.

That's pretty much an unlocked iPhone, I guess.

The Mylo and N810 would be a step down, as far as I'm concerned, unless they could run the third-party Palm software that I use all the time.

Posted by: jp | March 13, 2008 10:43 PM

I traveled a great deal from '97 through '04 or thereabouts. I had a fabulous, little HP laptop (model long since forgotten) that had a mouse that was attached by an arm to the body of the computer. By being attached that way, I didn't need a flat (or any other) surface to work the mouse, which made using it on a train or bumpy ride possible.

When I didn't use or need the laptop, I had an Apple Newton. Very nice. A friend in the UK had a Psion 3 and then a Psion 5. Now they were *really* cool, but unknown and not really available in the US.

I don't travel for work anymore, and I'd have to pay for them myself, those gadgets don't interest me anymore -- other ones do!

So I have a Palm Treo, which is a bit quirky (e.g., the only way to turn it off is to remove the battery -- it doesn't have an on/off switch) but suits my needs. I don't want the internet (email or web browsing), am not really interested in SMS (texting) or the camera. OTOH, it does what I need it to do, the screen is large and readable for an old goat like me, and the keyboard is very easy to use.

... and so it goes.

Posted by: Former Heavy Traveler | March 14, 2008 02:30 PM

I bought an n800 2months ago and I am verhy happy with it. It is versatile. I use it to play music and podcasts, watch video, and browse the web. i don't work at a desk most of the time, but I find myself in and out of wifi locations.

This is easier to carry than my laptop and is just as capable for web surfing.

Posted by: n800user | March 15, 2008 03:38 PM

I have been using an Asus P505 running WM2003 SE. Although it has no wi-fi capability, its bluetooth more than makes up for it. It has all the apps I need:ebook reader, PIM, phone, a card slot (SD), browser for both email and surfing the web. It can also play music. QWERTY keypad would be nice but since it has voice commander, I can dictate my sms even when on the go. I'm very happy with it.

Posted by: Chari | March 15, 2008 10:36 PM

The Nokia Internet tablets have an emulator for Palm OS, available from ACCESS (the Japanese company that bought PalmSource). I'm interested in an N810 myself.

Posted by: dmm | March 17, 2008 12:49 PM

Three improvements for Nokia to ponder for the next iteration of their N810:

1) offer a larger--maybe folding--keyboard or that cloth keyboard some enterprising company is marketing

2) provide an idiot-proof way of downloading and installing add-on applications (not all of us know the esoteric Linux way of doing it -- including me; after fooling around with Ubuntu for a year I still haven't figured out how to do it)

3) the screen size is a major problem for the senior set; replace it with the emerging roll-out flexible screens that are now coming on the market.

Posted by: Fred T | March 22, 2008 11:30 PM

Handhelds Without a Home

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