It’s very tempting to focus on the new processor, memory and flash specification that doesn’t really show much of an improvement over the N800. Especially when you consider that the last N800 was pretty good, except for the processing power. You wonder whether Nokia’s tablet team has been told that it’s time move to the mass market and establish some high-ground before Internet devices built on Intel’s x86 platform turn up on the battleground. I’ll reserve final judgement until I’ve tested it because its possible that the software has been well streamlined but I won’t be expecting that 9-second Internet speed gap to be closed up completely! Mind you its attractive isn’t it. I feel the need despite the possible lack of speed!

More after the break…

Specification highlights.

Reading the specs I see that they’ve changed the software significantly. The browser engine changes from Opera to Mozilla (That’s a kick in the teeth for Opera. I wonder whether it supports plugins) They’ve included SIP voice over IP support (which I like but it’s hardly consumer friendly!) and added pay-as-you-go navigation as per the E90. There’s also a wider range of Bluetooth profiles supported. On the hardware side, the N810 now uses MiniSD (with SDHC support), includes GPS (I hope its faster than the one on the E90), the keyboard and an ambient light sensor. The screen is also said to be brighter but its still 800×480 despite it looking, to my eye, a little bigger in the vertical ratio. Battery life is similar to the N800 with a quoted 4-hours wifi-on time. Not bad at all from a battery that’s 1/5th the size of most UMPC batteries!

An interactive comparison chart is available here.

Pricing and availability

The N810 should be available in November at $480. There’s no word on availability and pricing for the rest of the world yet.

I’ve updated the N810 product page and will continue to track news and specs there. Nokia have published the specifications here.

• Nokia N810.’MID’ unboxing.
• Maemo 5 SDK is Now in Beta. Get developing!
• Watch out for #mozmae this weekend.