Nokia N800 or Apple iPhone?

Earlier this week I was in New York City (it’s a helluva town), and as well as the usual tourist attractions I stopped by the Apple store in Soho so I could play with the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Both devices are very slick – Safari and WiFi access are excellent – but I see little point in getting a Touch when the iPhone is just around the corner in the UK. Even better, the iPhone is exclusive to my current mobile provider.

However, I have a slight dilemma. I like Apple products, and I really want an iPhone when my contract is up for renewal. The problem is that I don’t like the direction Apple is going with shutting out direct access to their devices, nor can I properly sync my Evolution calendar and contacts to the device if I get one. Thirdly, I already have a phone that is pretty good (as a phone).

So I started focusing about what I really like about the iPhone, and apart from the whole shiny Apple experience it boils down to two things: Browser and WiFi. This got me thinking again about the Nokia N800, which also has the added bonuses of being a) open, b) hackable and c) supports VoIP.

What I really want to know from N800 owners is two things:

Are you happy with your device?
Are you planning to replace it with an iPhone?

Answers on a postcard please.

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Published:: 9.27.07 / 7am

Category:: Linux, Personal

Josef Assad 9.27.07 / 7am

Neither iphone nor Nokia N800. Nokia e61i. As a phone, it works flawlwssly. You get a beautiful screen, wifi, bluetooth, irda, python (yep!), qwerty, and an acceptable 2 megapixel camera. Oh, and micro SD expandable memory.

mrben 9.27.07 / 7am

Short answers:
1. Yes
2. No

Long answers:
1. I’m very happy with it. It’s a great "geek device", and for many things has replaced my laptop for mobile functionality. Web browsing is slick, and there are a tonne of apps out there. It plays media well, although I’ve yet to push it fully with video. I’ve got the GPE calendar on there, and Erminig to get it to sync to Google mail, and I’ve played a bit with Maemo mapper, which will pair with a bluetooth GPS if you’ve got one. In some ways, it’s a bit of a niche device, because it’s not really a PDA, or a media player, and it’s not a phone. But combined with a phone, and with a few software additions, it’s as good as.
Oh, and the screen is of excellent quality.

2. Personally, I steer clear of Apple products. I always thought that the iPod, while a brilliant design (both of the physical device, and the GUI), I think it’s really expensive for what you get. And there is always that tinge of lock-in. The iPhone seems no different.

Get an N800, use it with your phone, store your media on cheap SD Cards, and lose nothing when you next upgrade your phone.

IMHO

Jonathan Carter 9.27.07 / 7am

I don’t own either device, but have played with both, and I own a Nokia E61, which is ok.

If I had to buy one of those, it would be the N800 for sure, it’s a no-brainer. The N800 runs Debian (and you would be able to test Ubuntu mobile) and you can install plenty of 3rd party apps on it… even a web server. The N800 is just so much more practical and useful. The iPhone has more status attached to it, and is more shiney and has more ooooh-factor.

It probably depends on what is important to you. The N800 doesn’t have a GSM phone built in, does it? I suppose that will be quite important if you intend to use it as a primary phone.

Andreas Nilsson 9.27.07 / 7am

I own a n800 and have only played with a iphone on a short occasion. The iphone interface design was really impressive and did quite a lot of smart stuff. I wouldn’t switch it for my n800 any day though.
Running the Pimlico (www.pimlico-project.org) suite of apps on the n800 and it’s really handy for pinning down contacts to people and meetings. I just wish there was a handy way of syncing those with my laptop though.
Both contain quite a lot of non-free software, but at least Nokia is working on it.

Peter Brewer 9.27.07 / 7am

I am happy with my N800 but will probably get the consumer openmoko device later in the year as I am not happy with my phone.

sil 9.27.07 / 7am

I don’t have an N800 (we gave them all away :)) but I’m pretty happy with the browser on my Nokia phone; it’s Webkit, just like the iPhone, and I can also install programs on it too (and have done so; a book reader, the gmail J2ME client, games, lots of others). My particular phone (an E50) doesn’t have wifi, but I understand that later Nokias do…

dave 9.27.07 / 7am

You should probably read this,

http://www.russellbeattie.com/blog/its-okay-to-touch

It’s written by someone with an iPhone and a N800 who likes both and interestingly, likes his N800 more since he’s got used to the iPhone touch screen ‘paradigm’.

I’d underline the point made by others that the N800 doesn’t have a phone, so really you should be comparing the N800 with the Touch, or a N800 plus basic phone. From your brief list (web and wifi) and the fact I saw your comment on planet ubuntu, I’m guessing the N800 might be a winner.

Jerome Gotangco 9.27.07 / 7am

I have an E61 and an iPhone. I’ve played with a N800 unit for a week before I got the iPhone. It used to be king of the hill for me in casual surfing and stuff but when I got the iPhone, everything just changed.

I will most likely get the N800 for a play unit but it seems that even the iPhone has filled that niche in me (hacked, jailbreaked, unlocked, you name it). An iPhone is useful if you are an iPod user and do iTunes, and probably reserved Apple a place in your heart. If you are just dipping your toes for the first time - run away fast.

erigami 9.27.07 / 7am

What? Nobody’s suggesting to hold out for the <a href="http://openmoko.org">OpenMoko</a>?

Anonymous 9.27.07 / 7am

love my n800. i travel a lot and this has been really handy. having google talk/sip/skype has saved a bunch on absurd international cell phone rates too. absolutely no plans to replace this with an iphone. the free software/hackability aspect is too important. the only complaint is that i wish maemo was a bit more finger and less stylus friendly.

Joe Tennies 9.27.07 / 7am

The Nokia n800 is a pretty sweet machine, though I only have the 770. You can do Python, C, C++, Mono, Ruby, etc. They now have Skype though I’m a sucker for Gizmo Project. I also like the MP3tunes applet that lets you store your music in a central place and listen to it wherever you have Wifi. The only catch is that I can’t get my Ogg Vorbis files I uploaded to play on my 770 (does this work on the n800?). I have a couple MP3s I’ve gotten from AnywhereCD, eMusic, and AmieStreet that I’ve put on there and they work well.

Only real question I have is how are they going to treat n800 people when the next one comes out. They treated the 770 people like lepers like the DAY the n800 came out. I know they’re trying to recover from that, but it really is too late now. I’ve been hurt by the people I thought would help me.

My personal answer… I’m getting an XO Laptop. =)

Rich Craig 9.27.07 / 7am

I bought an N800 about a month ago because I never carried my laptop anywhere but still wanted to get online when I was within reach of a wifi hotspot, and I figured due to its diminutive size that I might actually carry the N800 with me, which has proven true. The problem is that the iPhone has one major advantage over the N800, which is the cellular data network. The N800 can’t just get online anywhere, and that’s really the main selling point of the iPhone. You could, of course, hook up to a data plan through a bluetooth phone, which may be an option for you. As far as performance, well no, the N800 isn’t as slick as the iPhone, and after having it for a while and getting over the "zomg new gadget I love you!!!!111" syndrome, I’ve found it to be quite useful but not nearly as impressive as the iPhone. As a casual Linux enthusiast, I’ve actually found that support for the Maemo platform, while decent, is not particularly polished. Nokia doesn’t release updates very frequently, their new "Tableteer" website that they touted so much hasn’t changed one iota since I got my N800, and generally the Linux experience reminds me of when I first tried to use SuSE about three years ago, meaning that I can flounder my way around, but when something doesn’t work quite right I have NO idea what to do, and often neither does anyone else. I guess the Ubuntu community spoiled me quite a bit… I can only hope that perhaps some day Ubuntu Mobile may be ported to the N800. Overall I’m quite satisfied with it as it serves my purposes, but comparing it to the iPhone is kinda like comparing apples and oranges… they have their similarities, but when it comes down to it, they really aren’t at all the same device.

Weeber 9.27.07 / 7am

As a FLOSS advocate that I think you are the answer is clear. Apple is _always_ looking how to lock you in their devices and software (iPod/Phone+iTunes for example). A few days ago this I read this post about the effects of an iPod/Phone software update from Apple that broke third party software compatibility.
http://ipodminusitunes.blogspot.com/2007/09/apple-cuts-us-off.html

If you buy the iPhone you should know that you will have compatibility issues and may end up using iTunes in a close source environment since -I believe- there’s no FLOSS third party software to manage the iPhone just yet or it will not work properly as it happens with the iPod. I bought one and I regret that decision.

mikko 9.27.07 / 7am

About the n800 not being polished… The linux platform does however ensure an evolution, while the iphone is up to intelligent design, so to speak.

cbx33 9.27.07 / 7am

N800. Hands down. Python, apt, what more can I say.

Tim 9.27.07 / 7am

I was very close to getting an N800, but the fact that it does not have a phone built in put me off. The iPhone is most certainly cool, but very unfriendly towards developers and openness. I’m supprised that so few people suggest waiting for the openmoko. I’m sure it will be along soon. It’s scheduled for October/November, so only a few weeks away, and is completely open. From the software to hardware as far as is legally possible (gsm is highly regulated). It’s quad band, touch screen (and has a crystal clear screen), has one of the worlds best gps devices built in, can detect motion, has wifi, bluetooth, mini usb, and is extendable via micro sd cards. The development version can be purchased now, but is not as good as the consumer released that’s coming in the next weeks. The consumer release will get the 266mhz cpu upgraded to 400mhz, and will also get 3d hardware accelerated graphics! Some details here: http://openmoko.com/products-neo-base-00-stdkit.html
The community site here: http://openmoko.org/
Some marketing vids here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=472DE700A3CC70A4
And the phone costs $450, is completely open(and unlocked), has developer tools, supports the standard languages, C, C++, python etc…
I will buy it the second it’s available. I honestly think it’s the best, coolest and wisest investment for a phone, ever.

Casey O'Donnell 9.27.07 / 7am

i got an n800. its pretty neat. though im not so happy with the stock browser and mail client.
it plays music great (or you could run an mpd client) and you can get ssh so many a terminal app which you cant be bothered porting can be used.

some bluetooth phone app things would be great so you could type up txts, havent looked at this i might get a cheap bluetooth phone, mobile net data costs too much anyway for surfing.

harkonen 9.27.07 / 7am

I know you are asking for feedback from N800 owners, but here’s my two cents as an iPhone owner:
You will grow to hate your iPhone if you get one. I got an 8gb version, and right away was profoundly disappointed. Once you get past the neato touch and pinch interface, you realize quickly that it just doesn’t DO that much. It barely syncs with even a Macintosh, and what does sync only does so via a locked-down strict iTunes integration. To get notes that you’ve jotted down, you have to email them to yourself. Even with the nullriver hack, which I’ve installed and am much happier with (finally, a terminal!) there is no easy, fluid way to access your data. The iPhone is not a mini-computer like Apple claimed in marketing. It is not revolutionary. It is a badly programmed gimmick that has little functionality and no expandability. You can only touch and pinch so much before you start to wonder where your money went and why you feel like you still don’t OWN the device. Avoid. Anyone want to trade a Nokia N800 for an iPhone, please respond to this post and we can talk. (no, I’m not kidding)

ricegf 9.27.07 / 7am

My original, beloved N770 passed away only a couple of weeks ago from a fractured screen, leaving me with a choice (after a suitable mourning period) of N800, iPhone or OpenMoko.

I’ve decided to borrow my wife’s old Treo 600 until I can try out the OpenMoko - but unless I’m overwhelmed, the N800 will win hands down. It’s an easy choice, actually - the glitzy iPhone is great as long as you don’t mind Apple telling you what you can and can’t do with it, while the N800 just does whatever I want. Plus, the N800 runs the same applications as I run on my (Ubuntu) desktop, so it feels like home. Plus, I can program it in Python (and is anything you can’t program in Python really worth having?
So, no iPhone for me. I prefer liberty to glitz.

tabrez 9.27.07 / 7am

If I were basically looking for a media player which also supports features like wifi and touch screen, I would go for an iPod Touch(low maintenance). If I want a phone too and if iPhone supports the service of my preference, then that too closes the deal in Apple’s favour.

N800 on the other hand is primarily a great device for browsing the web. But it plays more audio/video formats and more number of games than iPod, it supports UPnP streaming of media, can tune to local FM stations, act as an EBook reader, Feed reader, VoIP/SIP phone. I use it for audio/video chatting too. I like that no iTunes or Nokia PC Suite kind of software is needed to use it.

For the geeks, the maemo platform is completely open for third-party application development. It provides ssh and vnc access in both the directions. Terminal is also available! ThoughFix has a nice <a href="http://tabletblog.com/2007/09/ipod-touch-vs-nokia-n800-filling-other.html">comparision</a> of N800 and iPod Touch. I glorify the N800 <a href="http://beans.seartipy.com/2007/06/25/why-nokia-n800-is-an-ideal-device-for-me/">here</a>.

John 9.27.07 / 7am

Read that article from Gizmodo: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/iphone/iphone-revisted-verdict-dont-buy-302075.php

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