The guys over at WomWorld have been extremely generous with me over the past months, and even if it’s getting friends a little jealous because of me trying some cool “toys”, people a bit suspicious about the whereabouts of my relation with “Nokia”, and my father a little too familiar with the DHL guy, I can’t complain. I have enjoyed the N95 8GB and N81 8GB Special Edition a lot, but I have to admit that it took an N810 to get me over-excited. With the N95 and N81, I knew what I was expecting and how it usually worked. With the N810, I didn’t even have the slightest idea. The Internet Tablets are not available in Lebanon so I hadn’t even seen one in real life.

Upon opening the box, I loved the N810 presentation. It’s pretty much like all Nseries but seeing that great screen and QWERTY (qwertz actually but let’s not get into that debate now) makes it really special. The box contains the usual gear (usb cable, charger, earphones, manuals), with 2 nice adds: a carrying case and a car holder. Amazing idea, so how about applying it to all Nseries, huh, Nokia?

I have to give it to Ricky though, the color choice over the carrying case is dreadful : light gray and turquoise, what a twisted sense of style is that? I know these are the two colors of the N810, but how about using the dark metallic silver instead of that weary gray and the true tone of blue and not that turquoise? Oh and next time you’re at it, why not add a small pocket for the cleaning tissue so we don’t worry about losing it all the time?

Back to the N810 now, the built-quality is impressive. It’s not a fingerprint magnet in any way, the metal case feels rock solid, and although the slider isn’t as smooth as the N81 (one of the greatest sliders I’ve tried), it still feels great! All buttons on the device are easy to push and give nice feedback. Add to that a great design. The N810 is eye-friendly and spells glamor. Everyone laying eyes on it will know that it’s not an ordinary device. The color choice is absolutely right. In short I am seriously impressed with the overall look and feel of the device. If Nokia can do it with the N810, why not do it with other Nseries?

Firing the N810 for the first time, I was wondering how it will work and how much time it would take me to get familiar with the system. To my surprise, I was feeling totally at home in about one hour. I don’t think I’m more intelligent than the average person so I’d have to say that the learning curve with Maemo is really reduced. Basically, what you see is what you get here, unlike S60 where things are hidden all over the place. Maemo is the opposite, with everything being pretty much straight-forward. For once, I didn’t think it would take a geek to configure a connection or to write an email. Gotta love Maemo for that!

Oh and this whole post was written on the N810, and posted on my laptop! Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to discover the hidden world of applications and see what I can get outta this beauty!

Categories: Reviews
Tags: n810