What a perfect test it was to be away from home for 5 days. I took the Nokia N8, the Galaxy Tab and my Gigabyte netbook with me for Christmas in England and all three were needed. Convergence doesn’t exist.
The N8 makes a perfect phone. Voice calling is strong and reliable. It’s a perfect pocket, internet-connected camera too. In typical low-light, moving kids scenarios it beat my old N82 hands down. Video footage has been great too. I’m confident that there isn’t a better personal camera out there. Try having a compact camera ready for all the moments I captured! As for maps, well it wasn’t the best. I didn’t have to do much with turn-by-turn and when I searched for an address offline. I couldn’t find it. I had to go online to resolve that problem. Clearly I need to download the local map again but with Google maps supporting caching now, the advantages for OVI maps are fading. MP3 capabilities are good, the always-on clock is useful and timed profiles are a winner. Structurally I feel its going to last and although internet is relatively slow compared to my Galaxy Tab, it’s there if needed in an emergency. I used Gravity quite a few times.
The Gigabyte netbook came out twice in the last 2 days and I’m glad I had it because I had a server issue. Try ssh, server testing, ping, traceroute and submitting a ticket on the Tab. Under pressure, it’s no use in these scenarios at all. For admin work, there’s no way you can survive without windowing, a full browser with mouse and keyboard. No way!
As for the Tab, it became my buddy. Used way more than the phone or netbook it was used for comment handling on my blogs, emails, chat, sms, Facebook, Twitter, maps, contacts, calendar, ebooks, casual web, RSS reading, games, photo presenting, pdf reading (stored itinerary) and this – blog writing. I even used it for remote access to my PC although that was more of a more webcam experiment than anything else.
I knew there was a space. Carrypads are here, are valuable and show just how much fits into the ‘tweener’ space. The Origami concept of 2006 was spot on. Shame they didn’t have the technology to actually make it happen back then!
Anyone else out there, enjoying the three-device strategy?
You’re right, Chippy – there’s no such thing as single-device convergence. For some jobs, the speed and ease of a physical keyboard and mouse are the only way to get them done.
I’m waiting on delivery of a G-Tab right now. It’s really what I hoped the Dell Streak would be six months ago – but the Android 1.6 experience for this Android-virgin was just too much to bear for an i-User such as I … so back it went to O2.
I have a 3GS with a 15-GB allowance permanently mounted in the car through an aux stereo, for internet radio duties.
A good old Nokia N95-8GB for calls and texting.
An iPhone-4 for pocket browsing.
A trusty Fujitsu P7120 10″ fanless netbook for non-demanding, semi-mobile stuff … what a stonking all-rounder it is – and it’s got a DL DVD-RW.
An Acer C110 10″ tablet (not used as such) for very light, secondary desktop duties – because it outputs 1920 x 1080 to my desk monitor – which also hosts an overclocked, Abit, Athlon XP-M home-build from the Neolithic era that serves as my “heavy-duty” workhorse.
I have high hopes for the G-Tab because for all the iPhone-4’s beauty, a 3.5″ screen is never going to be able to deliver a usable web-experience.
Yes, the G-Tab’s no iPad – but its pixel density and one-handed wieldability more than make up for the sub-iPad touchscreen performance.
And if we’re brutally honest, Apple touchscreen devices will continue to pound the opposition until they can attain the level of touchscreen performance that makes Stevie babe’s iDevices so world-conquering.
So I have three devices I use on the go – and three I use at home.
I suspect that the G-Tab will be one that gets used in both.
(Loving your video reviews, Chippy – particularly the live ones with JKK. Shame you two can’t get together and do something along the lines of TigerTV’s com.puter.tv’s shows with Bauer and chums)
IPhone 3gs solely for internet radio duty’s? It sounds like a bit of a waste of potential. Surely your n95 would cope with that well in the car.
Unless you have bags of money, and another 3gs by the bed used as alarm clock? :)
I have a spare N82. That would also work well as a radio streamer and MP3 player, emergency maps in the car. Good idea!