I rode up to the Nokia Store in Manhattan this evening to pick up the N800 Internet Tablet. I had the predecessor, the 770, for several months and have become a big fan of it’s open nature and loads of applications.

The N800 improves on the original in a number of crucial ways. General look and feel, the addition of stereo speakers, a nifty pop-out camera, and a stylus that won’t slide out of your fingers as easily as the first. Additional CPU speed and memory are certainly welcome, but I don’t count them among the chief drivers for my decision to upgrade so quickly.

The other noteworthy bit so far is the inclusion of the bluetooth keyboard driver that was a community addition in the 770. I was able to pair my VKB Virtual Keyboard immediately and without difficulty. I consider the BT keyboard driver a key part of my basic 770 experience, and it’s good to see it included here.

More to come.

Be sure to add the Maemo 3.0 ‘bora’ SDK Repository before adding applications:
http://repository.maemo.org/
distribution = bora
components = free non-free

(Disclaimer: I’m testing these in a hurry. A more leisurely look this weekend.)

Tested Working Apps So Far:
1. GAIM Works w/OSCAR plugin
2. VNC Viewer
3. x11vnc (http://mike.saunby.googlepages.com/x11vncfornokia7702)
4. XChat IRC Client

Tested Broken Apps So Far:
1. osso-xterm

More info available from http://maemo.org/maemowiki/OS2007_Tested_Applications