November is almost upon us, and it promises to bring some advancements in tiny computers–larger than smartphones, but much smaller and lighter than notebooks. If you haven’t looked into these yet, do so.

At the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, Nokia has officially launched its new n810 Internet Tablet—a much discussed product (shown above and below). The n810 is only a little bigger than the size of your hand, and if you were already familiar with the previous n800 tablet that Nokia did, the big addition in the new version is a full QWERTY keyboard that slides down from the bottom of the unit. The fact that the keyboard slides means that the overall size of the unit can stay down, and it can fit in a coat pocket.

The n810 is brand new, and I haven’t gotten my hands on one yet, but I own one of the n800 tablets, and I’m not surprised that Nokia chose to add a keyboard. The n800 relies primarily on a stylus for input, although there is a software-based keyboard you can pop up. After using the n800 for a while, I’ve found it most useful for entertainment applications such as watching videocasts, but the same device with a keyboard might entice me to get business tasks done. The n810 uses the same TI OMAP 2420 CPU found in the n800, but it’s much faster at 400-MHz.
Nokia’s n810 also has built-in GPS, Wi-Fi and a camera built into the front of the unit that can be used for videoconferencing or taking pictures. It’s Linux-based, but there is a large community of developers for the n800 already in place. Do note that the n810 is slated to cost $479 upon its release in November—about $100 more than the n800, which, at under $400, qualified as an impulse buy.
Meanwhile, a much awaited product that will also arrive in November is the HTC Shift which is also much tinier than a notebook, with a 7-inch screen, but it runs Windows Vista (see below). It has Wi-Fi as well as 3.5G connectivity, and a touch-sensitive display. For business use, this device and another pocket-sized computer—the OQO Model 02 (which I wrote about in a previous post)–look like top choices among totables that are smaller than notebooks. The OQO Model 02 also runs Windows, and both it and the HTC Shift have full QWERTY keyboards. The OQO Model 02 is now shipping for $1,299.

One of the really nice features about the HTC Shift is that it stays in instant-on mode, so you don’t have to wait for it to boot up. Its predecessor, the HTC Advantage is also worth a look if you want a system smaller than a notebook that you can tote in a pocket.
Do you have any good tips on miniature computers?
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