More Testing with Mozilla

I think I have installed the latest update. So far I have found that there are performance problems when zoomimg beyond 100%. At anything beyond that scrolling by dragging a page up and down is slower. It also seems to have problems with Facebook, a couple of times thw browser just shut down when loading a Facebook page.

Testing The Mozilla Browser

So, I figured out what hoops I had to jump through to get the Mozilla browser installed on my N800. One of the reasons I wanted to try it out is its support for Ajax, which is needed for Google Notebook. After installing the browser I opened Google Notebook, and it does work, sorta. I can enter something in a notebook, but eventually the browser shuts down with an error, so it isn’t working entirely good enough.

 BTW, it may just be me, but it seems that since I installed the latest version of the Tablet OS software that the device has run slower than previously.

Installing Applications

One of the things I find most frustrating about using the Nokia N800 is the process for installing applications. In short, it seems to never work as described on the web sites. For example, I am trying to install the recently-released Mozilla Browser. The instructions on the web site tell me to click a link with the page open on the N800, then select “Open” from the “File download” dialog. That starts the Application Manager, and what is supposed to happen is that the repository is added and then the application is supposed to install. This is where things break because I keep getting a dialog saying that the application list cannot be refreshed and then nothing happens. The application doesn’t install no matter how many times I try to get it work. What I have to do is manually go into the catalog, which tells me hasn’t been refreshed since April, and manually find the install file which I have to ascertain from the link that I clicked.  I’ve hardly had problems installing applications in Windows Mobile, but almost everytime the process for installing applications on the N800 does not work as instructed.

Updating The N800

Nokia released an update to the N800 late last week and I just installed it on my N800. I was impressed with the install process that went pretty smoothly, prompting me to backup and restore the device so that I don’t lose my data. Unfortunately, the backup does NOT include any applications that were installed on the device so gone are GAIM and Gizmo Project and any other apps that I may have installed, resulting in a disappointing upgrade experience.

Nokia is not alone in this type of thing, every Windows Mobile update results in a complete wipe of the device and you can’t restore, but I don’t understand why these companies find this to be acceptable. How hard can it be to find a way to backup and restore applications as well as data? At the very least it would be nice if the device could store a catalog of the apps that I did have on the device that could be backed up so that it could provide me with guidance on what to install.

Since I just performed the update I haven’t had a chance to check out most of the new features, however I did try Skype, which is probably the main “new” thing included in the update. Well, the update really just includes an icon to the Skype install, which started the app manager but never really kicked off the install. I had to scroll through the app library, find Skype, and install it. Granted, that’s easy enought to do, but still not a very smooth install process. Skype appears to be working, but noone on my contact list is available at the moment so I haven’t head a chance to really try it out.

Word Prediction

The N800 has the ability to predict letters as you type, but I don’t like the way you have to select those letters because it isn’t close to my fingers to speed up entry.

Switching Browser Windows

The Opera browser supports multiple windows, but I can’t find a way to switch windows when browsing in full screen.

Questions

• Can you install applications to storage cards, and if so, how do you do it?
• Can the N800 connect to a share on a Windows PC or server?

Posting From N800

I thought I would try entering a post here using the N800. I am typing this using the large finger keyboard, which is similar to what the iPhone will have. It works but I have to type slow to insure that I hit the right keys. I wish that this device had good handwriting recognition, maybe Phatware can port Caligrapher to the N800.

Improve Web Browsing

One of the problems I have with the N800 is that it is not very intuitive to use; it is very much a geek’s toy. Here is an example of what I mean. The N800 uses the Opera browser by default, and there are neat buttons at the top of the device for switching the browser to full screen, zooming in, or zooming out. Since the screen resolution is 800 x 600, most pages render well but the text can be small and hard to read. So, you press the Zoom Plus button to zoom the view, and then you are stuck with left and right scrolling, which is not a good experience. Now wouldn’t it be nice if the browser would reformat the display so that you don’t have ot scroll left and right as you zoom?

Well, the browser does have such a setting. At the lower right of the screen you see an icon of a magnifying glass with a plus sign on it, tap it. Next tap Optimized view on the pop up menu. Optimized view is the setting that you want to have the page reformat whe you zoom in or out to prevent scrolling left or right. Sure would be nice if it this was on by default, but apparently not. This one little setting has significantly improved the browsing experience for me.

First Note

I recently aquired a Nokia N800, and as I learn how to use this device I thought it would be a good idea to write down what I learn and share them in case someone else finds them valuable. So, here you will find my notes on using the Nokia N800.