Grr... Having to retype this because I took too long to edit.. I apologize in advance if my re-type seems a bit rushed.

I'm looking for a device that I think the empegBBS has the perfect combination of knowledge to help me find. You guys are good at knowing the cutting edge gear out there and knowing the good tricks to get older devices to do things they weren't intended to do..

Basically, I'm looking for something to browse the internet with while I'm around the house or outside in the yard. That's basically it. A laptop would be too big and wouldn't have enough battery life. Also, I don't want another PC to be running Windows Updates and virus software on. My needs are pretty basic:

1) Has to be readable. That means no small screens.
2) Has to have WiFi as a feature or option. 802.11g is preferred because of range, but 802.11b would be fast enough obviously.
3) Not more expensive that it has to be. Extra features would be "nice" but I don't want to drive the price up.

Because my "requirements" are small, my options are a bit overwhelming! mp3 player with browser? PDA w. WiFi? Smartphone? etc. Here are a few I'm looking at. I'm not attached to any of them. so feel free to offer up more solutions.

* Sony PSP 2001 $169 - New version just came out.
Pro: Can play games if I ever need to. Nice sized screen. Can be used as a media player. Cheapest optoin I've found other than Nokia N770. Battery life.
Con: Doubt I'll ever buy a game. Screen isn't very hi-res. 480x240 ish? No storage. UI would be a pain to enter text with.

* Apple iPod Touch 8GB $299
Pro: Accessories will be easy to get. Nice display contrast/resolution. Touch screen.
Con: Pricey for what I'm getting. Screen is nice but small.

* Archos 604 30GB $239
Pro: Nice 4.3" display. 30GB. Can be used as a media player.
Con: Still a bit small but getting close. Resolution isn't great. Would be doing a LOT of scrolling to read web.

* Archos 704 80GB $350 Would really like this one if cheaper..
Pro: See above. Mega 7" display! Hi resolution! Just perfect! 80gb.
Con: Expensive. If they had a 40gb version or 20gb version, that'd help.

* Archos 605 4GB $200
Pro: Price is better! 4.3" display now does 800x480! Touch screen. Does Flash now too.
Con: Not touch screen. 4GB isn't small, but you get used to higher capacities after reading other reviews!

* HTC Advantage 7501 $860
Pro: GPS, mega 7" display. Uses SIM card so I can browse away from home w. Cingular/ATT.
Con: Price. At this point you can almost get a UMPC.

* PDA w. Wifi or Smartphone. Cost varies.
Pro: Can do other stuff I suppose.
Con: A bit overwhelmed w. options. Tend to get pricey w. good displays. Even good displays are unnecessarily compact for what I need.

* Nokia N800 Internet Tablet $360
Pro: 800x480 on a 4.1" screen. Wireless g. Didn't even know "internet tablet" was a class of device!
Con: Price. A bit more compact than I need. Flash "works" but not well.

* Nokia N770 Internet Tablet ~$130 on eBay
Pro: 800x480 on a 4.1" screen. Wireless g. Now stands as the least expensive option.
Con: Again, is 800x480 on a 4.1" screen usable? Flash "works" but not well (not a deal breaker).

Is there anything else you guys can think of? Have any of you actually used any to browse the web? Any tips/advice are welcome!

thx

EDITED THE LIST A BIT

Naturally, you should factor in the fact that the smartphones are the price you list PLUS the monthly contract.

This won't come as any surprise, but I'd suggest the 30GB Archos 605. It's only a little more than the flash version, and you can transport a good amount of video easily. You can also use it to stream video anywhere in the house. I've used my 604 to do that plenty of times and it works really well.

I know for certain that in a month or two I'll be selling my 604 and getting the 160GB 605. I cannot wait to have all that storage on the go in my MP3 player. And they've improved the web surfing a lot. The flash compatibility is supposed to be really good.

Nokia were selling off the old 770 very cheap recently (£75), you might be able to buy it new somewhere, or they seem cheap on ebay now. The advantage with this device is that it is extremely hackable.

Good find! The Nokia 880 is too expensive IMO. Might as well get the Archos and get more functionality out of it. But the 770 is going for ~$130 on eBay now.

One thing that has me a bit concerned about the 770/880 and the Archos 605 is that they squeeze 800x600 onto a 4" screen.. Yeah, I know I listed high resolution like that as a feature I'd like, but am I going to be squinting to read the things? I run my PC monitors (18" notebook and 20" CRT) at 1600x1200, so I don't mind small type.

One point for the Archos I forgot to mention is that if I can sell this as a video player to use on long car trips for our son, my wife might me more likely to support the purchase!

Don't go with the PSP if the main use is going to be web browsing. It's browser is a nightmare from a UI standpoint, and also has a hard time loading bigger pages due to memory constraints on the device.

Make sure you see the browser first on any device, especially if you lean towards the PDA or smartphone route. Lots of them too are garbage at browsing the web properly.

I did find a video on YouTube showing of music, video, photo, and web features of the iPhone (same as the iPod Touch for the 4 features shown) and the Archos 605. That should give you a good idea between those two devices, and also a feel for size.

Reviews of the Nokia devices seem good for the browser, but I haven't found any good videos in a quick search to see them in action.

Hopefully this helps to narrow it down a bit for you.

You could always go with a Sharp Zaurus, and keep with the Linux spirit.

I've been on the edge of buying one a couple times.

-jk

Here is a vote for the 770. I love mine. Make sure you add Canola if you decide to go that route. Great little app. I also have a great little script for creating proper movie sizes in Ubuntu for the 770.

Thanks for that link! I'm amazed by the Apple interface. The way the screen "bounces" when you scroll to the edges and the two fingered zoom kick butt! Sounds like the PSP is ruled out too..

Doug, I'd love to get more of your opinions on the 770. If I can get one at a decent price, I'm thinking it'll be the way to go. That plus a portable DVD player will still be cheaper than going with the Archos.

How well does it perform? Battery life? Decent range? Does the screen scratch easily?

Performance on the 770 is decent. It is a mobile device so I am a little more forgiving then some on it's computing power. For the most part it performs very well for what it was designed to do.

Battery life is excellent. MUCH better then I expected. Range in also excellent, again, MUCH better then expected. It actually will pick up WiFi signals my laptops don't see. I haven't had issues with the screen. I do not have a screen protector on it and have no scratches. It comes with a slide case which helps a lot when you put it in you pocket or bag.

I don't have a lot of experience with a lot of other portables minus Apple products which at this point I shy away from but that's another thread. Overall it does everything I want a portable device to do, music, movies, WiFi, IM. The browser experience is the best experience I've had with any portable device. Note: it does not do well with some Flash and Java which means YouTube is out, but for me that is OK.

Sorry for the jumbled mess above. I am in a rush as we all are.

This thread has sparked some interest in the 770 for me too. Where's the best place to get one now? There are a few unopened ones on ebay.

eBay seems to be the place to go now... most are used however. Looks like we missed the $120 deals a few months ago... ~$140US would be a good price point for me.

Some good news, it looks like this market is going to take off from what I've been reading. Asus, BenQ, Intel all have products coming out. Sony already has one (forgot the name, but it's not as nice as the Nokias) and Apple will likely "awaken" many consumers to the fact that they want such a device once the iPod Touch gets used by enough people. So... even though selection is low now, there is more to come in the next 12 months..

Link

Oh, and if you get a 770, check out Carman, a great tool for your car in combination with a bluetooth ODBII interface.

I've never seen these before:



http://tweakers.net/aanbod/advertentie/79416 (dutch)


And you can run linux on it too: http://opensimpad.org/

Just a little update.. I ended up getting a Nokia 770 off of eBay open box for $150 and am loving it! It crashes every once in a while but it does what I want and does it well! The price dropped on the Nokia n800 as well if anyone was more interested in that. Looks like Nokia has a third model coming out along with some competitors. The iTouch sparked the market it seems!

Make sure you run the latest firmware - the first versions were pretty buggy.

Agreed, but overall it works very well.

Ah.. I must have misunderstood the 802.11 then. I might make the 802.11b connection my default then.

I've read about a few hacks to get the thing to run faster... first, you boot off of the mms card, as mention in this thread previously. Then, you hack the kernel to get the mmc bus to read up to 4 times faster..

Seatbelt is also supposed to reduce crashes... haven't tested any of this yet.