Tablet School

Okay, let's start from basic notions - why would someone want to connect a thumb drive to a Nokia tablet? USB flash drives, which are sometimes referred to as thumb drives are basically flash memory cards with a USB connector. They could be easily carried around and can store up to 64GB of information. Most of my friends use these to make backups of important files or to carry needed files with them. The N800 and N810 both come with built-in memory card slots, but both these data storage devices work identically but flash drives are capable of storing larger amounts of information. The only difference is in the the plug, the USB plug in this case. Well, when I started writing this blog posts, I didn't know that a similar article already existed, so please refer to this article to find out how to connect a USB drive to a tablet by using a USB cable: http://trixboxer.com/blog/nokia-n800-n810-how-to-connect-a-usb-flash-drive-to-your-tablet-using-the-usb-cable/ Thanks...

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Unzipping files on your tablet Tablets, as well as smartphones, support various file formats and .zip archives is one of them. If you download a zipped file and moved it to your tablet, you may have noticed such problem - there's no way to unzip such file and view its contents. But I’ve got a solution for you - there is one piece of software and it’s called Unzip. Unzip is completely free and can be easily installed onto your tablet. Once it's been installed you can unzip any .zip files (you just have to click an them in the File Manager) Installing Unzip on tablets 1. First of all, in your tablet click on the globe and select "Open New Browser Window". 2. maemo.org/downloads is your destination page 3. Enter "unzip" search query in the top right hand corner. 4. Find Unzip application. 5. Click "Click To Install" arrow. Say yes or OK to all of the boxes that appear. 6. When Unzip has installed successfully, close the Applicati...

In my previous blog posts I featured maemo.org/downloads, which is a superb source for various applications and games for your Nokia tablet but today I have even more news for you. From now on, maemo.org downloads section has one more section - on this website you will be able to find various Windows PC and Macintosh software, which has help you manage your tablet even more. By visiting maemo.org/downloads and clicking "PC" button you will gain access to a huge amount of software and downloads. Just to give you a tip, on this site you will be able to find 770Flasher. THis is anunofficial program for the Macintosh with the help of which users can update tablet firmware.

Why the polarisation? Perhaps the biggest problem is that it's difficult to know who exactly the Nokia tablets are primarily aimed at. Are they for the casual user who just wants to look at some websites while lounging on the sofa, or the enthusiastic user who wants a pocket-sized alternative to their laptop with a full range of computing features? Obviously both of these people would get a lot out of the Nokia tablets right now. The tablets have an excellent and easy to use browser which can display almost all websites, even Flash and AJAX ones, but they also feature an open software platform that can give you most of the functions of a full-size computer. However, going on from here, which direction should the tablets go in? Until now, Nokia has favoured the more computing-oriented user as they've spent years courting the open source community, and deliberately made the tablets very open and "hackable" to appeal to serious hardcore computer users. The Nokia ...

Video calling is very, very cool indeed The Nokia N800 and N810 internet tablets both have built-in webcams: the N800's hidden in a round pop-out section on the left of the tablet, and the N810's mounted on the front. They're there to let you make video internet calls where you can speak and hear the other person in real time, just like a videophone. This feature might sound very technical and nerdy, but it isn't at all. If you'll forgive the sentimentality, video calling is actually one of the most emotionally fulfilling features of the tablet. Being able to see someone's face when you talk to them makes the conversation feel far more intense, and gives you a feeling of almost being there with the person. Because the tablet is portable, they can carry you with them as they walk round the house or wherever they happen to be. One especially nice feature is that you can show the other person the world around you very easily, as if they were seeing what you w...

Some hints and tips for using the web browser on the Nokia N800 & N810 The web browser is the most important feature on the N800 and N810 internet tablets as it lets you look at websites, which is the main purpose of the tablets. The browser is fairly easy to use, especially if you're used to using web browsers such as Firefox or Internet Explorer on computers. However, there are still a few quirks and features which may not be immediately obvious, and that's what we're going to look at in this tutorial. For those who are interested, the browser used in the N800 and N810 is called MicroB, and is based on the same Mozilla technology that Firefox uses. It is compatible with all the major advanced website standards such as Flash, Javascript and AJAX, and is possibly the world's best web browser on a pocket-sized device. The tablets are compatible with far more websites than the iPhone or iPod Touch because Apple's gadgets cannot display Flash-based sites. ...

The Blinking Light The N800 and N810 internet tablets have a bright light built into their top left corner (on the N810 it's at the very edge of the corner, on the N800 it's under the direction pad). This light can be made to blink during certain events. One of the most useful events is when the tablet is switched on but the screen is off, because the blinking light helps you find the tablet in a dark room. Others find this light very annoying and wish they could switch it off! Fortunately this tutorial tells you how to switch it on and off. It's very very very very very easy, you just have to know where to look. How to switch the tablet "night light" on or off 1. Click on the sun icon in the status bar at the top. 2. Select "Display Settings". 3. Click on LEDs. 4. Tick the "Device On" box if you want to switch on the night light, untick it if you want to switch it off. 5. Click on OK. That's it! Getting the light ...

Word Processing on the Nokia N800 & N810 There are two main ways to do word processing on the internet tablets: using a word processing application installed on the tablet, or using a word processing application hosted on a website. This tutorial will look at the two easiest options: the built-in Notes application, and the online application Google Documents. Some general hints on entering text on the N800 and N810 - You can enter text on the tablets using their on-screen keyboards (a small one for styluses, a big one for fingers), or the built-in physical keyboard of the N810, or using a wireless Bluetooth full-size keyboard. The best option for large amounts of typing is a Bluetooth keyboard as it has proper full-size keys. Click here to read our tutorial on using Bluetooth keyboards with tablets. - You can activate the large on-screen keyboard by clicking on the text entry area and then pressing the button in the middle of the direction pad. - Whatever application o...

Since the Internet Tablet School launched last year, it's had an ever-growing audience and it seems that many people appreciate a tablet site aimed at beginners. As a bit of an experiment, we've done something new: a book (just a short one though). A portion of the cover price goes towards keeping the Tablet School going. If you want to show appreciation for what we've been doing, then click on our bookshop link below and buy a copy! :-) The book is called The Internet Tablet School Companion, and it's been designed to complement the Tablet School website by providing tablet-related reference material which beginners can understand. The idea of the book is that you can look at it while using the site's tutorials or visiting other tablet sites. Most of the book is devoted to a Glossary section which lets you translate any weird tablet-related words you can't understand into plain English. The book also has some features discussing the past and future of the...

The N810 built-in memory card bug There have been several reports of a bug on the Nokia N810's built-in 2 gigabyte memory card. If you use the built-in memory card, you may want to read this post as it will tell you how to fix the bug. It's very easy to fix, so don't panic. What is the bug? What problems can it cause? The built-in memory card on some N810s was incorrectly formatted at the factory. This may cause files stored on the card to become corrupted, which means you wouldn't be able to open them. If your N810's built-in card has this bug, even if it works fine now, it may run into problems later on. For this reason, it's a good idea to fix this bug now before those problems happen in the future. Does Nokia know about this? Have they fixed it? Yes, Nokia now knows about it, they've documented it on their official bug-reporting website. They have presumably fixed the formatting process in their N810 factory, but there is nothing they can d...

The Nokia N800 and N810 internet tablets can be attached to a Windows, Linux or Macintosh computer using a USB cable. In normal mode this lets you transfer files to and from the tablet's memory card (or memory cards if you have more than one). You can also use the same cable to update the tablet's firmware when it is in update mode. Unlike Nokia's phones, the tablets do not have a PC Suite mode. They will not work with Nokia PC Suite at all. How to transfer files onto and off the tablet's memory card or cards using the USB cable The main thing to bear in mind about this process is that the computer never actually accesses the tablet itself. All it does is access the tablet's memory card or cards. Another thing to bear in mind is that you can transfer absolutely any kind of file on and off the card or cards: music, video, text, anything at all. Not all file types will work on the tablet, but all file types can be placed on the tablet's memory card or car...

The N800 and N810 contain a large number of built-in step-by-step tutorials and a complete user guide, but a lot of tablet owners seem to be unaware of their presence. Here's how to find and access them. How to browse through all the built-in help files Very very simple, just click on the Applications icon (the green squares on the left) and then click on help. You'll then see a long list of all the topics covered by the tutorials. Double-click on the topic you want to know more about, then click on the specific tutorial you want to read. When you've finished reading a tutorial, just click on the X in the top right hand corner to close it. How to get help for the feature you're currently using Again, easy-peasy. Just click on the menu for the application you're currently running (this will be a grey bar at the top of the screen). One of the options will be Help, just click on it. Applications runs separately from their help files, so you can close a tu...

If you're a fan of the TV and film series Star Trek, you may be familiar with the "PADD" portable computer tablet that many of the characters used. Well, if you install an unofficial theme pack called "LCARS", you can turn your internet tablet into something that still works just like an internet tablet, but which looks and sounds like a PADD from Star Trek. How to install LCARS on your N800 or N810 The installation process is very simple: 1. Click on the Globe in the top left hand corner, open a new browser window, and go to this address: maemo.org/downloads/OS2008 This is the official website for installing Maemo applications, and Maemo is the software platform used by Nokia's internet tablets. Incidentally, maemo.org is sometimes a very slow site even when you access it on a desktop computer. If it's too slow when you visit, try going back later. 2. On the Categories section on the right of the screen, click on "Desktop Environment...

The Nokia N800 was introduced in early 2007 as a replacement for the Nokia 770. It had a much faster processor, double the amount of RAM, and many other significant improvements such as a built-in camera for video calls, built-in stereo speakers, two SD-sized memory card slots and a built-in stand. It also had what many people considered to be a more attractive curvy steel-and-plastic casing. To put the icing on the cake, Nokia took the internet tablet range within its Nseries sub-brand, usually reserved for its high end expensive smartphones. The N800 also had a new operating system, Internet Tablet OS 2007, which replaced the 770's OS 2006. There was no version of OS 2007 available for the 770, and software written for the 770 would not work on the N800. 770 owners, many of whom had only just bought their tablets in late 2006, felt abandoned by Nokia as the support for their tablet disappeared. In late 2007, Nokia announced the N810, which was nominally the replacement for th...