Linux alternative to iPhone

Couldn't you make phone calls with skype to a landlane like you can with a computer?

Wow. Good timing since I'm debating about a getting an iPhone. I have a perfectly serviceable cell phone and I'm only partway through my contract (not AT&T), but I know that I would use the hell out of a lot of the iPhone's Internet features since my phone's features are lousy. I've been having a hard time justifying the expense of buying and activating one, though, not to mention paying the ETF with the carrier I have now. Seems like the N800 is a better way to go.

for Paul Fehr:
but don't you see the Skype icon in the picture at the top of this article? of course Skype is available on this device. And yes, you can make phone call to a land line or a cellphone everywhere in the world ( like on your computer ). I'm saying this because I have one and since all my family is in Europe I'm using it every single day. It is fabolous. I've tried the Iphone. The internet from ATT is terrible ( the old gsm connection was faster ), the phone is cool but it is not good for business. Only to play, surfing internet, send email ( not available with outlook that is the 98% used software ) or other Office application. So. It is just a nice toy for kids ( like every thing from apple ).

I actually just made this decision. If you have bluetooth DUN, it is a no brainer! Personally I use a Treo 700wx and the N800. The Treo is great for SMS/Goodlink/Phone and the N800 is great for VNC and web surfing. It replaces all those annoying "post-it" notes I have all over the place too!

I have one .... and I can say that it's the best thing that i buy

The N800 is very expensive though for what you get, at about £250 around here - and no iPhones on the market to make it look cheap.

The Nokia 770 which is the N800's underpowered predecessor can be had in the UK for around £70 which I think is an absolute bargain. No Skype on the 770, as far as I know, but most other apps are available including Google Talk and Pidgin.

The N800 is great for web browsing, probably better than the iPhone.

Wouldn't the Archos 605 Wifi compete directly with the N800 and the former is better priced with more storage!? Now if one can put Skype onto the 605 that would make it a killer gadget IMHO.

Here is a link to the features and spec of the 605.
I wonder if I could link it to my Treo 755P (Sprint) and use it that way to surf the internet?
http://www.archos.com/products/gen_5/archos_605wifi/tech_specs.html?country=global&lang=en

My friend just got a used 770 and fitted it with a geeky Star Trk thing. I think it is a little too much, but he is on cloud9 with it and takes it everywhere he goes hoping to get a wifi signal.

Here in the US, the 770 has been going for about $130. Fewer features, but a pretty cool gadget for that price. And it runs GizmoProject for a nice VoIP device with cheap call out.

For the guy who wrote response #2 - Outlook works fine in getting my email and syncing with the calendar in Outlook. There are specific directions in the manual.

just after seeing this post i just stumbled upon this hilarious page at http://funnyemails.uni.cc/content/view/203/27/ which is so funny about the zunePhone similar to the iPhone version. you got to see this if you haven't

www.openmoko.com

Open source cellphone. GPS, WIFI, 2.8" VGA touchscreen, accelerometers, bluetooth, microSD slot.

What more could you want??

The Specs are wrong, it will support upto 8GB HCSD cards not 2.

I don't think the Nokia N800 competes with the iPhone at all. It's a great device and all, but in a different market entirely, IMHO.

I think it rather competes with UMPCs and ultra-compact laptops.

I bought an n800 a month ago, and it was fun for two days until I realized that the audio jack didn't work.

I sent it to Nokia for repairs, and haven't seen it for three or four weeks. They also lost track of it at the repair facility so I don't know when or if I'll see it again. They were supposed to call me about it over the weekend and didn't.

n800 is great, just be sure to buy the product replacement plan from the store if you get one. The Nokia repair system is just god-awful and slow.

I bought one of these, and though it satiated my lust for the iPhone-quality browsing (better with flash support on the n800, for me) I didn't buy it as an iPhone replacement. I bought it since, for the size and price, it completely beat out any PDA on the market. Since I had long used my old PDA for movies and music, and the T|X I bought/returned for web the n800 was the perfect step up. Add in the great open source community and software updates that expand functionality and it's a nice package. The 770 is too if you have more modest intentions for such a device, but both have the same screen resolution and the 770 can be fitted with a Hacker edition of the n800's OS.

#3 How did you pair your 770 to your 700wx? I cant seem to get it to work with my sprint 700wx.

I am a somewhat-recent 770 owner as well, and let me remind people of one important stat that gets glazed over: CPU speed.

770: 252 MHz
800: 350 MHz
iPhone: 620 MHz (!)

Especially on the 770, you can feel the difference in processing speed. Waiting 20-30 seconds for some apps to start certainly isn't going to ruin your day, but when doing the same thing (web browsing, reading email) takes low single-digit seconds on your desktop/laptop, you notice. I haven't used an iPhone, so I'm not sure if Apple is using those extra cycles wisely (or just piling on the eye candy), but I have to imagine it feels more responsive. I like my 770, but I had to come to terms with its PDA-like response time, i.e. not fast.

Just be aware that you make the usual decision between a polished commercial product and an "open" product geared to hackers: slower, uglier, and customizable, or faster, prettier, and sealed up tight. Oh, and of course the iPhone is like 20 times more expensive (literally, when you figure in the cost of the contract).