by Joe Brown
Every now and then, it's time to take stock of what we have kicking around the Gadget Lab, asking the tough questions: Do we really need this samurai sword? And what is that giant bag of marshmallows for anyway? Same goes for our, ahem, satellite offices. Since I'm working from home this AM, I decided to take inventory. My eyes fell upon the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, which I've been holding onto for six months now. I usually try to send things back after a month, but sometimes I'll call up the company and ask nicely for an extension. Is this such a case? Is it a must-have component of my gadget arsenal, or, as many critics have said, a solution without a problem? Here’s how I use it:
- Its form factor is perfect for the kitchen counter, so I use it to hop on my home Wi-Fi network and read the NY Times while eating breakfast. Beats wrastlin' another editor for one of the few copies we get at the office.
- I Bluetooth-pair it with my cellphone and catch up on my RSS feeds while riding the bus to work, simultaneously impressing all the ladies with my gadgetman mojo.
- I call my buddies in Ireland using Gizmo Project VOIP, which is like Skype but with better sound quality. It lets me really hear that Guinness-induced slurring.
- Since its little kickstand lets it sit upright, I balance the N800 on my workbench and cruise the guzzitech.com forums for advice while working on my less-than-reliable classic Italian motorcycle.
Quite frankly, I could do all of these things with a laptop. But a laptop is too large to throw in my bag everywhere I go, a feature I'll be mentally high-fiving tomorrow at the DMV. Add to that a modern laptop's propensity to get front-of-pants-scorchingly hot (no thank you) and suck a battery dry in less time than it takes me to make my way to the food section, and the N800 seems a lot less like a niche device and more like a luxury item to which I've become dangerously accustomed. So, uhm, Nokia: do you mind if I hold onto this thing for a little longer?
