Introducing Tablet Scene, a website community for non-techie tablet users

By far the biggest online community for Nokia's internet tablets is the famous Internet Tablet Talk site with almost 20,000 registered members. However, it's got rather a technology-heavy atmosphere and most of the forums on ITT assume a lot of prior knowledge about computing in general. Some people may find it slightly intimidating, especially if they don't understand what people are talking about.

Nokia's tablets started off in 2005 as gadgets for technology enthusiasts, but lately they've moved much more into the mainstream. A lot of Nokia tablet users nowadays aren't hardware hackers or programmers but ordinary people who just enjoy surfing the web or checking their e-mail.

To cater for this new kind of tablet user, ITT and the Internet Tablet School have worked together to create a new Nokia tablet community site called Tablet Scene:

http://www.tabletscene.com/

The aim of Tablet Scene is to provide a set of forums where ordinary tablet users can hang out in a relaxed and casual atmosphere. No one is expected to have any knowledge about computing, the only topic is getting fun and usefulness from Nokia tablets. Everyone is welcome on Tablet Scene, no one will scream at you to use the "search" function (though of course you ought to use it anyway as it's jolly handy!).

If you are an ITT regular and worried about this new site splitting the membership, don't worry, because the Tablet Scene and ITT forums share exactly the same database. You can use your ITT username and password to log into Tablet Scene too, and you'll find all the same post counts, statistics and private messages that you currently have on ITT. ITT and Tablet Scene are really just two parts of a single site, and members can move between the two sections whenever they like.

See you on Tablet Scene!

Nokia N810 & N800: First steps with your new Nokia internet tablet

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If you wish to comment on this tutorial or ask a question, please click here to visit its comments thread on the Tablet Scene site.

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So, you've bought a Nokia N810 or N800 internet tablet and you're now wondering what to do with it. To help you out, here's a brief guide to the first things you should do after getting it home.


1. Check everything is in the box

The box should contain:

- The tablet itself (probably with a plastic film across the screen for shipping)

- Two styluses (one of them may be inserted in the tablet, the other is a spare)

- Battery (probably in a plastic pouch for shipping)

- Charger

- USB cable (miniUSB for the N800, microUSB for the N810)

- Possibly a memory card, the size seems to vary depending on where you buy it.

- A "Getting Started" pamphlet

- A pouch for the tablet

- 3.5mm earphones, which are actually a headset too as they contain a microphone in the large plastic section of the lead.

- The N810 includes a mounting kit for fitting it in your car, so you can use it for satellite navigation. The N800 does not have this kit.

If anything is missing and you've bought the tablet new, contact the shop you bought it from as it's their responsibility to supply a complete product. Do this as soon as you notice something is missing.

If you've bought the tablet second hand, you may need to replace any missing items yourself. We've done a couple of tutorials all about this:

Nokia N810: What comes with it, and how you can replace anything that's missing

Nokia N800: What comes with it, and how you can replace anything that's missing


2. Charge the tablet until it's full

Put the battery into the tablet, making sure the prongs of the tablet match up to the prongs of the battery.

Plug the tablet in to charge using the charger that comes with it. Alternatively you can use chargers for Nokia phones as they are all compatible with each other, though the phone chargers tend to be slower than the tablet chargers.

You do NOT need to drain the battery before charging. The tablets use modern lithium batteries which do not require draining at all. If anyone has told you to drain the battery, they're wrong, don't listen to them. Some laptop batteries may require draining, but tablet batteries do not.

Charging an empty tablet battery should take from 1.5 hours to 4 hours, depending on what kind of charger you're using and other factors. If the battery isn't empty, charging will be faster. It's absolutely fine to charge a half-empty tablet battery, because lithium batteries have no "memory effect".

When the tablet has fully charged, you will see a message on its screen telling you so. Unplug the charger, but do not switch the tablet on.


3. Update the tablet's firmware

Before you start using the tablet for the first time, it's important to update its firmware first.

There are many good reasons for this. If you've bought the tablet new, the latest firmware will be the most reliable and contain the most features. If you've bought the tablet used, updating the firmware will restore the tablet to factory condition.

If you're not sure what firmware is, or how you can update it, see our complete tutorial at the link below. Note that if you've just got your tablet you do not need to do any of the backup procedures described in the article, you can skip straight to the section on actually doing the firmware update. Anyway, here's the link:

How to update the N800 & N810 firmware


4. If you want to connect the tablet to the internet through your mobile phone, switch on its Bluetooth and make sure it's near the tablet

The Nokia tablets can connect to the internet through Wi-Fi and through a Bluetooth mobile phone. Your tablet can connect through your phone as long as it's within 10 metres / 10 yards, so for example you could keep the phone in your pocket or bag while using the tablet.

When you switch the tablet on for the first time after a firmware update, it will ask you about setting up this kind of phone connection, so you might want to have your phone ready with its Bluetooth switched on.

However, the phone connection is totally optional, you can just use Wi-Fi if you prefer.

If you don't want to use your phone to connect the tablet, you can skip the part about setting up a phone connection. If you later decide you do want to use a phone after all, you can easily go back to the set-up process.

We've done a tutorial on how to set up a mobile phone connection for the tablet:

Nokia N800 & N810: Connecting to the internet through your mobile phone (cell phone)

Note that phone internet connections can be very expensive or very cheap, depending on what your network operator charges and what kind of plan you're on. Contact your network operator and tell them you want to use your phone as a Bluetooth modem (that "modem" word is very important, don't just say you want to use the internet). Ask them how much this would cost and whether they have any special deals such as monthly flat fees. If it's too expensive for you, don't use the phone to connect your tablet.


5. Switch on the tablet and set up its internet connection

You're now ready to switch on the tablet for the first time!

On the first switch-on after a firmware update, the tablet will ask you the time and date, and then ask you about setting up a mobile phone connection. If you don't want to use your phone to connect the tablet to the internet, just press cancel when it asks about the phone. You can always go back to this setup process later if you want.

You will then see the tablet desktop, where we can set up the Wi-Fi connection (also known as a "WLAN" connection). You can find out more about Wi-Fi and how to connect your tablet via Wi-Fi in our tutorial on the topic:

Nokia N800 & N810: How to connect your tablet to the internet using Wi-Fi

Once you've got your tablet connected to the internet by either wi-fi or phone, you can try out all its main features.


6. Try out the tablet's main features to make sure they work properly

Now that your internet tablet has been connected to the internet, it's time to take it for a spin and see if everything is working properly.

The three icons on the left are the most important: the Web icon, Contacts icon and Applications icon.

- The Web menu lets you open a new browser window, or select a bookmark. The web browser is based on the same technology as Firefox, and should render web pages in a similar way to a computer running Firefox. The tablet browser has Flash, AJAX and Javascript support, so you can visit almost all sites that a PC can. Click here to find out more about browsing the web in our tablet browser tutorial.

- The Contacts menu is used to access the tablet's own built-in e-mail, internet phone, internet video and instant messaging applications. You can use other third party applications instead, but they will appear in the Applications menu rather than the Contacts menu. Click here to find out more about using the tablet's built-in e-mail application, and also click here to find out more about using the tablet's built-in internet video call application.

- The Applications menu is used to access the tablet's other built-in applications, third party applications (such as Skype) and all of the tablet settings. If you install extra applications these tend to appear in the "Extras" section of the Applications menu. Click here to find out more about installing additional applications, and also click here to find out more about installing and using Skype.

Try out the different features, especially those that are important to you.

If you find something that doesn't seem to work properly, post about it on the Tablet Scene or Internet Tablet Talk forums, and people should be able to help you. Click here to find out more about how to do this.

If the people on the forums tell you it's a physical problem with the tablet hardware itself, then you may have to get the tablet repaired or replaced under the terms of the guarantee (Nokia provides a 1 year guarantee on all new tablets, but this doesn't apply to tablets bought second hand).


7. If it works, enjoy. Here's how to get the most out of your tablet.

If all of the above works, then great!

If you want to get the most out of your tablet, beginners should check out the Internet Tablet School's index which contains lots of easy-to-use step-by-step tutorials covering all of the basics and a few unusual topics too. Pay particular attention to the "Important Announcements" section as it contains fixes to common problems:

Internet Tablet School - Complete list of tutorials

If you're a beginner or a non-nerd user of the tablets, you may also want to visit the Tablet Scene forums, which try to be as friendly and non-technical as possible:

Tablet Scene Forums


If you're an advanced user who wants to get really technical, you should head on over to the Internet Tablet Talk forums instead, which are packed with experts discussing how to push the tablets to the limit and beyond:

Internet Tablet Talk Forums


It's worth remembering that the tablets provide something for people of all skill levels.

You don't need to do anything nerdy to get a lot out of the tablets, their built-in applications are good enough for most people's internet-related needs.

But the tablets are designed in a way that also leaves the door open for those who do want to mess around "under the bonnet", so it keeps them happy too.


8. If you want to listen to music or watch videos on the tablet, buy a bigger memory card or cards

If you want to use your tablet for music and/or videos, you should buy a bigger memory card than the one that comes bundled with the tablet.

The N800 can use SD cards and SDHC cards up to any capacity, the official limit is 8 gigabytes but unofficially much bigger cards work too. It can also use microSD, microSDHC, miniSD and miniSDHC cards as long as they have an adaptor to make them physically SD-sized. The N800 can hold two memory cards at once.

The N810 can use miniSD and miniSDHC cards, or microSD and micrdSDHC cards with an adaptor to make them miniSD-sized. As on the N800, the cards can be any capacity, with the official limit being 8 gigabytes but unofficially bigger cards work too. The N810 can only hold one memory card at once, because it has a non-removable 2 gigabyte memory card built into itself.

You do NOT need to use Nokia-brand memory cards, any manufacturer's cards will do. We would recommend Sandisk cards as they seem to be very reliable, but most cards are okay as long as you buy them from a reputable electronics shop. Don't buy memory cards from eBay as they're sometimes substandard fakes which don't last long.

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If you wish to comment on this tutorial or ask a question, please click here to visit its comments thread on the Tablet Scene site.

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Nokia N810 & N800: How to use the tablets with Fon routers (La Foneras)

(Thanks to Benson on the Internet Tablet Talk newbie forum for coming up with the method used in this article - click here to read the original message.)


There's a public network of wi-fi routers called Fon. The idea of Fon is that everyone who owns a Fon router (also known as a "La Fonera") can use other Fon owners' routers too, with the ultimate aim of building a worldwide network of free wi-fi access points.

However, if you try to connect a Nokia N810 or N800 internet tablet to a Fon router it probably won't work. The reason for this is that Fon routers don't support power-saving measures used by the tablets and many laptops.

There is a way to get your tablet to work with a Fon router, by switching off the tablet's power-saving wi-fi mode. If you do that though, the tablet's battery will run out very quickly while using such a connection.

IF YOU ARE OKAY WITH A SHORT BATTERY LIFE WHILE CONNECTED TO FON, here is how to make Fon work with the Nokia tablets:

1. Disconnect the tablet's current internet connection by clicking on the connection icon in the status bar (the curvy lines going upwards next to the battery icon) and selecting "Disconnect".

2. When the tablet is disconnected, click on the connection icon again and select "Connectivity Settings".

3. Select "Connections".

4. Click on the connection you use to access the Fon router and then select "Edit". If you haven't set up a connection to the Fon router, click here to see our tutorial on setting up wi-fi connections.

5. Keep selecting "Next" until you get to the box that says "Connection Setup Complete". Do NOT press Finish, but instead click on the "Advanced" button.

6. Click on the "Other" tab.

7. Select "On (Intermediate)" from the power saving dropdown menu.

8. Select "OK", then "Finish", then "Done", then "OK". You should now be back on the tablet's desktop.

9. Click on the Connection icon in the status bar, then "Select Connection".

10. Select the connection you use to access the Fon router, which should now work. As noted above you will have a very reduced battery life when connected to Fon because power saving isn't at maximum.

If the tablet still can't connect to the Fon router, repeat the above process but at step 7 select "Off" from the power saving dropdown menu. This will switch the power saving completely off, and make the tablet's battery life very short when using the Fon router.

Note that these settings above only apply to the connection with the Fon router. Any other Wi-Fi connections you have will be untouched, and they will have full power saving.


Why can't the tablets connect to the Fon routers with power saving fully on?

Because Fon's routers are a bit old-fashioned and won't allow power saving wi-fi connections. There's absolutely nothing Nokia can do about this.

What needs to happen is for Fon to bring out a new router, or new firmware for existing routers, which supports power saving wi-fi connections. That hasn't happened yet.

This isn't just a problem for Nokia tablet users either, some Dell laptops won't work properly with Fon routers for exactly the same reason.

Nokia N810 & N800: How to add a calendar (and a to-do list, and other PIM apps) onto your tablet

One of the main requests heard again and again about the Nokia tablets is that they should have a calendar. It's actually rather odd that the tablets don't have one, because almost all of Nokia's phones and smartphones do.

Well, if you are looking for a calendar there's now an extremely easy way to add one to the tablets. In fact there are two methods, and they're both completely free.


Method 1: Use Google Calendar

The easiest method by far is to open a new web browser window on the tablet and go to:

http://calendar.google.com/

You can log in with your Gmail username and password, or if you haven't got one you can register on the logging in page of Google Calendar.

You can use the same site on both your PC and your tablet, and because Google Calendar's information is stored entirely online there's no need to synchronise it with anything.


Method 2: Install GPE Calendar

For those who want something that actually stores its information on the tablet, there is now an easily installable calendar app called GPE Calendar.

However, before we can actually install GPE Calendar we need to activate a certain part of the Application Manager called "Maemo Extras", which we'll detail below.

Once it's been activated, you can use the App Manager to easily install a large number of useful and fun applications and games for your tablet, and you only have to do the activation once:

1. Make sure your tablet's firmware is the latest version. Click here to see our firmware tutorial if you're not sure how to do this, or if you're not sure what firmware is.

2. Click on the green squares on the left of the screen.

3. Click on Settings.

4. Click on Application Manager.

5. Click on the grey menu marked "Application Manager" at the top of the screen.

6. Select Tools, then Application Catalogue.

7. Click on Maemo Extras, then the Edit button.

8. Untick the "Disabled" box, i.e. remove the tick, then click on the OK button.

9. Click on the Close button, and let the app manager update itself. The Application Manager has now had its "Extras" section activated, you don't have to repeat the above steps after you've done them once.

10. Click on Browse Installable Applications, then click on All.

11. You'll now see a very large list of applications which you can install onto your tablet.

12. Scroll down until you see the app called "gpe-calendar", then click on it and click on "install", then click on "OK" to everything that the tablet asks.

13. Let the GPE Calendar application download and install. When it's finished you can close the Application Manager by clicking on the X in the top right hand corner.

14. To access the calendar, click on the green squares at the left and then Extras, where you'll find the Calendar option to click on.

...and that's it!

You may find that GPE Calendar works best in full screen mode, so press the tablet's full screen button before using it.


Hey, what about the to-do list and the other applications?

You can install other apps, including a to-do list, from the same list as the calendar. Simply go back to the Application Manager, click on "Browse Installable Applications" again and select whatever you want to install. You can find out more about each app by clicking on it once and then clicking on the blue "i" icon at the bottom of the screen.

The to-do list application can be found under the name "gpe-todo". The other GPE applications also offer useful personal organiser features, so try them out and see what you think. The "gpesummary" app is particularly interesting as it displays a summary of your upcoming appointments and to-do list items on the desktop of the tablet.


That's great, but how do I use the GPE Calendar? How do I use the To-Do List and other GPE apps?

You can find user manuals for all the GPE apps (including the calendar and to-do list) at the following site:

http://gpe.linuxtogo.org/usermanual/usermanual.html

The manuals were written for a slightly different device, but most of the information is relevant to the tablet versions of the applications.


What if I don't like an application? How do I get rid of it?

If you want to remove an app from your tablet, go back to the Application Manager, click on "Show Installed Applications", click on what you want to remove and then click on "Uninstall" at the bottom of the screen.


Help! Some of the applications on the list look really complicated and technical!

Yes, some of the apps are indeed a bit obscure and only really meant for technology enthusiasts. But don't worry about them, just ignore them and concentrate on the stuff that's useful to you.


Can I find out more about using the Application Manager?

Yes indeed, we've already done a tutorial dedicated to installing apps on the tablets using both the maemo.org website and the Application Manager, which you can read by clicking here. (Unfortunately a temporary glitch in the latest tablet firmware means that you may be unable to install some apps using the maemo.org method.)

Nokia N800 & N810: How to crochet a lovely tablet pouch

A slight change of direction now. The Internet Tablet School proudly presents a guide to crocheting a wool pouch for the Nokia N800 and N810 internet tablets.

The model for the pouch was an N810, but the N800 will fit just as snugly. It's not a high tech slim streamlined case, but it's thick and cuddly and looks very nice.

Here are some photos, click on them to see the full size versions:







How to make your own Nokia tablet pouch - the "source code"

In the spirit of open source, here are the complete instructions on how to make your own tablet pouch:

Use thick wool, "bulky" or "super bulky", 3.5oz/100g = around 65 yards/60m , 7 sts x 9 rows = 4 inches/10cm. The thickness of the wool should let you make the pouch very quickly. We used a 15/P/10mm crochet hook, but you can use a larger one if you prefer. If you use a smaller hook the pouch's surface will be denser.

Crochet 13 chain stitches, and then join the final chain stitch with the first one using a slip stitch, to form a ring. Mark the join with a stitch marker, do this with every row, and use it as a guide to where the next row has to finish. Make sure you keep the first chain stitch ring straight.

(The following is written using American crochet notation as most visitors to this site are from the USA. If you're British be careful not to take it at face value, for example "single crochet" in America means "double crochet" in Britain.)

RND 1: *1 sc at the end of each st*, repeat *-* until the pouch is about 6.5 inches / 16 cm.

RND 2: *1 chain stitch, turn, 5 sc*, repeat *-* back and forth until the cover is about 2 inches / 2 cm.

RND 3: 1 chain stitch, 1 sc, skip 1 sc, 1 chain stitch, 1 sc on the last two sts. You should now have your buttonhole. Fasten off (remember to leave enough yarn for it!), sew a large button onto the main part of the pouch, sew the bottom of the pouch shut. Congratulations, you now have a tablet pouch!

If you want to give your pouch a tail as shown in the photos, leave about 6 to 12 inches of yarn hanging free from the first stitch. When you sew the bottom of the pouch shut, you can let the yarn hang out of the middle of the bottom of the pouch. The beads of the tail can be kept in place by tying simple knots along the length of the yarn, and the end of the tail can be fluffed up to give a more animal-like effect.

For a really professional touch, you might want to investigate adding a lining to the pouch too.

Before putting the tablet in the pouch, make sure the screen and keys are locked. You can see a complete guide to this in our screen-locking tutorial.


Washing instructions

Handwash at about 30 degrees Centigrade / 86 degrees Fahrenheit with washing liquid.

Nokia N800 & N810: How to set up and use e-mail (including Gmail / Google Mail)

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that all tablet owners have upgraded to the latest version of OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your tablet, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, please post in the comments section at the end. If you have any questions or problems regarding your tablet, please post about them on Internet Tablet Talk's Newbie Forum.

How do I access my e-mail on the N800 and N810?

There are two ways to use e-mail on the tablets, webmail and the built-in e-mail application. Webmail is where you access e-mail through a website, while the built-in e-mail app lets you look at mails on the tablet itself.

The built-in e-mail application requires some setting up to get it working, but many people prefer to use it because they feel it's quicker and more flexible than webmail.


How to use webmail on the tablets

Webmail is by far the easiest to use, there's no set-up process at all.

You just open the tablet web browser and go to your usual webmail site (for example gmail.com). The site works just as it would do on a PC, you just log in and use the site as normal.

Incidentally, if you're a Gmail user and your tablet is on a slow connection, you might want to use the simpler version of the Gmail site by logging on as usual and then clicking on the "HTML" link at the bottom of the page. If you're on a VERY slow connection, there's an even simpler version of Gmail which you can access at the address m.gmail.com


Do you often use Gmail through your tablet web browser? If so, read this

If you use Gmail through the tablet's web browser, you might like to install the Gmail notification application called "Mnotify", which automatically checks your e-mail at regular intervals and displays a white envelope at the top of the screen when you have unread mail. Clicking on the envelope lets you go straight to your Gmail inbox in the web browser.

To install Mnotify, go to the application menu (the green squares on the left), then Settings, then Application Manager, then "Browse Installable Applications", then "All", then scroll down the screen until you find Mnotify. Click on it, and then click "Install" at the bottom of the page.

After you've installed it, click on the envelope at the top of the screen (which will have a yellow exclamation mark on it). Click on settings, pick the interval at which you want it to check for new mail (the more often you do it, the more it uses the battery), then click on the "Gmail Account" tab. Enter your Gmail username and password, then click OK.

If Mnotify is set up correctly, the yellow exclamation mark should disappear and be replaced by a white envelope (if you have unread mail) or a dark one (if there's no unread mail). The white envelope will flash if you have brand new unread mail. Clicking on the envelope brings up a menu which includes a "View Inbox" option that opens a new browser window and takes you straight to your Gmail inbox. You can also select "Check Mail Now" if you want to manually check for new messages, though the app will automatically check at regular intervals anyway.


How to use the tablets' built-in e-mail application

IMPORTANT NOTE: This tutorial assumes you've updated your tablet to the very latest firmware. If you haven't done this in a while, do the update and then come back to this tutorial. You can find more about how to update your tablet by clicking here.

ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: If you want to use Gmail or another webmail provider with the built-in e-mail application, you may have to switch on their POP or IMAP service first. You can see an example of how to activate the Gmail POP service in the video at the beginning of this tutorial.

Webmail is very easy to use, but some people prefer the tablets' built-in e-mail application. Many feel that the built-in app is faster to use and more flexible, and that's what we're going to look at now.

Some of the benefits of the built-in app include the ability to write e-mails while the tablet is disconnected from the internet, and also an on-screen notification icon which flashes when you receive new mail (it also makes your tablet's light flash).

Here's how to set up the application:

1. Click on the contacts icon (the orange icon on the left).

2. Click on "View E-Mail Inbox".

3. The app's account setup wizard will automatically appear. Click "Next".

4. Select your country from the dropdown "Region" list.

5. Select your e-mail provider from the "Service Provider" dropdown list.

6. If you want, give the account a name (e.g. "Gmail" or "My email" or whatever, it's not important). You can just leave it as "Account" if you want.

7. Click on "Next".

8. Enter the name you want to appear on your e-mails.

9. Enter the username of your e-mail account (write it in full including the part after the @ sign, e.g. example@example.com).

10. Enter the password of your e-mail account.

11. Enter the address of your e-mail account (e.g. example@example.com).

12. Click on "Next".

13. Click on "Finish".

The e-mail app should now be set up for use with your e-mail account. It will now automatically try to check your inbox, and if it succeeds then you have set everything up correctly.

Don't worry if you get a security warning about an "unknown certificate", just click on OK. It will only show you the warning once.

Once the app is set up correctly, you can read e-mail in your inbox by double-clicking on it to see it in a new window. Close the new window to get back to the inbox. You can see more of the inbox by dragging the central line to the left.

You can write a new e-mail by clicking on the contacts icon (the orange icon) and selecting "Compose E-Mail Message". The icons next to the "To" and "CC" fields let you select recipients from your tablet's contacts list, and the icon next to the subject line lets you attach a file from the tablet's memory. When you're ready to send the mail, click on the envelope icon in the bottom left of the screen.


How to make the built-in e-mail app tell you when you've got new mail (and also how to turn this feature off)

You can optionally make the built-in app check for new mail at regular intervals. If it finds new mail, it will display a flashing envelope icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. It will also make the tablet's light flash.

One important thing to note is that this feature works even when the e-mail app isn't running.

To switch this feature on, click on the contacts icon, then "View E-Mail Inbox", then the grey E-Mail menu at the top, then Tools, then Settings and then tick the box marked "Update Automatically". You can choose from the dropdown menu whether it only updates when connected to Wi-Fi (WLAN), or whether it can use other types of connection too. The update interval is also important because the more often it checks for new mail the more it will use the battery. Once you've chosen all the appropriate options, click on "OK", then close the e-mail application using the X in the top right corner.

To switch the feature off, use the method above but UNtick the box marked "Update Automatically.


How to use the tablet's contacts list

The tablet has a built-in contacts application which is an electronic address book.

The built-in e-mail application lets you make use of this contacts list, with icons on the e-mail composition screen that let you add addresses from your contacts.

By default the contacts list is blank of course, but you can add names and addresses very easily:

1. Click on the contacts icon (the orange icon on the left).

2. Click on "View Contacts".

3. Click on the + sign at the bottom of the screen.

4. Enter whatever information you want to, and if you want to add a new category of information click on the "Add Field" option. You can also add an image for that contact by clicking on the "Browse" button and selecting the appropriate image file from your tablet's memory.

5. When you've finished adding info about the contact, click on OK.

...and that's it, the contact is added to your tablet's list.

The N800 and N810 get a new firmware update called "Diablo"

Nokia have just released an updated version of the N800 and N810 firmware, with the codename "Diablo" (the previous version was called "Chinook", and the one before that "Bora", they're alphabetical).

The Internet Tablet School advises people with an N800 and N810 to update to this new version because it brings two VERY significant improvements, as well as the usual tweaks and bug fixes to make it more reliable. However, please read the important note below before updating.

You can find out more about what firmware is, and how to update your tablet's firmware, in our tutorial on the subject: How to update the N800 & N810 firmware

IMPORTANT NOTE: One of our readers has reported that certain third party tablet applications may not install properly on the new firmware, due to technical difficulties which should be resolved over the next few weeks. If you use unofficial third party applications on your tablet you should probably wait a while before carrying out the update.


The two big improvements we've noticed so far:


1. Much easier firmware updates in the future

After you've installed this "Diablo" update, future updates can be done entirely on the tablet without a computer. When the next update becomes available, the tablet will display a message on the screen telling you about it and asking if you want to install it. If you say yes, it will simply install it directly onto the tablet without any messing around with cables or PCs or anything else.

For future updates you won't even need to back up any files, the updates will leave all your settings and data intact. Note that you do still need to do backups before this "Diablo" update!

In short, the "Diablo" update is the last time you'll ever need to use your computer for a firmware update, and it's the last time you'll ever need to back up files before an update.

This new updating process will also work for any applications you've installed, if there's a newer version a message will appear and ask if you want to update them. If you say yes, the update will install automatically straight onto the tablet.


2. Much easier to set up an e-mail account on the built-in e-mail application

On the older firmware version it was quite tricky to set up an e-mail account on the built-in application, because you had to fill in all kinds of technical details about whoever provides your e-mail services (for example Google, AOL etc).

The new update makes it much easier because you simply choose your e-mail provider from a list, and it automatically fills in all the technical details for you.

The list includes major global mail providers as well as major providers from your country, so be sure to choose the right country when setting up the e-mail account.

The actual e-mail application has also radically changed, so if you didn't like the old one give the new one a try.


Other improvements?

There may well be other major improvements, but these two are probably important enough that everyone should update at their next opportunity.

Don't worry if you can't get the update to work today, the update servers are always crowded on the first day of a new version being available. If you can't get it to work, try again tomorrow or the day after.

Nokia N800 & N810: How to attach an HDD (aka hard disk or hard drive) to your tablet using the USB cable

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that N800 owners have upgraded to OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your N800, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, please post in the comments section at the end. If you have any questions or problems regarding your tablet, please post about them on Internet Tablet Talk's Newbie Forum.

Why would you want to attach an HDD to your tablet?

Hard Disk Drives (HDDs), more commonly known as hard disks or hard drives, can store enormous amounts of data, usually far more than memory cards can. Although many HDDs are built into computers, the kind of HDDs we're talking about are self-contained external devices which you can attach to a computer using a USB cable, just like attaching a printer or a mouse.

This makes HDDs very useful as storage libraries for things like video, music, photos and other files. Because their capacity is so huge, you can put all your multimedia files in one place, and then load specific items onto the tablet as and when you need to.

Of course you could already do this with your computer as it has its own HDD. But the beauty of using an external HDD is that you don't need to switch the computer on, and you can take external HDDs with you on journeys. Modern external HDDs are very durable and they're also very small, about the same size as the tablet itself.


Three things you need to do before the HDD can be connected to the tablet...

As the video above says, you need to do two things before you can connect an HDD to a tablet: install the free "USB Control" application on your tablet, buy a Female-Female USB adaptor, and connect your HDD to an external power supply.

HDDs will only work with the tablets if they have their own power supply, because the tablets are pocket-sized devices that cannot provide enough power for a full-size HDD. Make sure you've plugged your HDD into its power supply before connecting it to the tablet.

F-F USB adaptors are extremely cheap, they only cost a few dollars or euros because they're basically just a conveniently-shaped bit of metal. You can buy them in any major electronics shop or website, and you can also find them on eBay.

Installing USB Control is much less complicated than it sounds, and we're going to go through it step by step.


How to install and use USB Control on your tablet

1. Click on the globe and open a new browser window. Go to maemo.org/downloads

2. Click on the search box in the top right hand corner and enter "USB Control". When the search results appear click on the title that says "USB Control".

3. Click on the green installation arrow on the right side of the screen, which will launch the automatic installation process. Say OK, Yes and I Agree to all of the questions that appear.

4. After USB Control has been installed, close the Application Manager using the X in the top right hand corner. You now have USB Control on your tablet.

5. Open USB Control by clicking on the Applications menu (three green squares), then Extras, then USB Control.

6. Click on the "Host" button at the bottom of the screen, and then close the application using the X in the top right hand corner. The tablet is now ready to be attached to your HDD.


How to attach the HDD to your tablet

1. Plug your tablet's USB cable into the tablet's USB socket. Leave the other end of the cable not plugged into anything.

2. Plug the other end of the tablet's USB cable into the Female-Female USB adaptor.

3. Attach your HDD to its USB cable.

4. Plug the HDD's USB cable into the other end of the Female-Female USB adaptor.

The HDD is now attached to the tablet, and the tablet should automatically launch the Application Manager which will let you transfer files onto and off the HDD. The App Manager will automatically show you the contents of the HDD on the right side of the screen.

Don't worry if the tablet says "Device not supported", you can ignore this message.


What do I do when I've finished using the HDD?

The one thing you should NOT do is unplug it straight away. Just like on a PC, you have to make the HDD safe to remove before you unplug it, otherwise you may damage it.

To do this, close any applications using the drive (such as File Manager), then click on the USB icon (the three-pronged arrow) in the status bar at the top of the screen. Select the "Disable" option, and wait for a message telling you that you can disconnect the USB cable. After the message appears, you can unplug the HDD.

Note that if you intend to attach your tablet to your computer using the USB cable, you will need to take it out of "Host" mode first. You can do this by opening the USB Control app, clicking on the "Peripheral" button, and then closing the app.

"Host" is the mode for using add-ons like the HDD, and "Peripheral" is the mode for attaching the tablet to a computer. You can use USB Control to switch between these modes, and the tablet will remain in that mode until you change it. You can close the USB Control app if you want, the tablet's USB mode will remain whatever you set it to.

Switching the tablet off and then on again will automatically put it in "Peripheral" mode, so try to avoid this if you want to use the HDD regularly. As has been mentioned elsewhere on this site, you shouldn't really switch the tablet off anyway because computers use far more energy starting up than they do staying on.


I've tried doing this but nothing happens when I plug the HDD in!

First of all, have you attached the HDD to an external power supply? You HAVE to do this if you want it to work with the tablet because the tablet cannot supply enough current for something as power-hungry as a full-size HDD.

If you're sure the HDD has got a power supply, check that all the connections on the HDD, adaptor, cable and tablet are secure, then try connecting the HDD again.

If that doesn't help, open USB Control again, click on the "host" button and close the app. Try connecting the HDD again.

If none of this helps, click here to see our tutorial on dealing with tablet technical problems.


Why does the HDD need an external power supply?

When you attach a USB accessory to a computer, it draws a certain amount of current so it can function. Some accessories such as keyboards draw very little current, but others such as HDDs draw a lot.

On PCs this doesn't matter, because they have more than enough current to supply any USB accessory.

On tablets though, the situation is very different because the power resouces on pocket-sized devices is much more limited. The tablets can only be connected to USB accessories which draw relatively little current, such as keyboards and some Flash drives. An HDD on its own will not work at all with the tablets.

However, if an accessory has its own power supply, it doesn't need to draw any current at all from the computer it's connected to. This means if an HDD has its own power supply, it CAN be connected to the tablets.


Can I use this method to attach other USB accessories?

Yes. As mentioned above, you can also connect keyboards and USB flash drives, and in theory other accessories such as mice could be connected if Nokia or other people write tablet software that supports them. At the moment though you can only use keyboards and storage devices like flash drives and HDDs.

We've done tutorials on attaching keyboards and flash drives to the tablets:

How to connect an ordinary computer keyboard to your tablet by using the USB cable

How to connect a USB flash drive to your tablet using the USB cable

If you are going to connect HDDs or flash drives, remember to make them safe before disconnecting them!

Nokia N800 & N810: Has your tablet web browser's Flash stopped working? Does it ask you to install Flash? Here's how to get Flash working again.

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that N800 owners have upgraded to OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your N800, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, click here to visit its comments thread on the Tablet Scene site.

Help! My tablet's web browser won't display Flash websites any more! How do I fix it?

If your Nokia N800 or N810 internet tablet's web browser doesn't display Flash sites any more, or if it's telling you to install Flash, don't worry!

You do NOT have to install anything, and there's a very VERY easy way to make Flash work again!

Here's how to fix it:

1. Click on the globe and open a new browser window.

2. Click on the magnifying glass icon in the bottom right hand corner.

3. Click on "Components".

4. Make sure that "Shockwave Flash" is ticked. If it isn't ticked, click on it to make it ticked. (You might want to make sure the other option is ticked as well).

And that's it, Flash should start working again!


Why does the tablet browser's Flash sometimes switch itself off?

All computers, including the internet tablets, use a special kind of memory called RAM to handle the applications that they are currently running. If you run lots of applications simultaneously, or if you open lots of browser windows, you'll take up a lot more RAM than if you just run one application at a time.

When the amount of available RAM on a computer gets too low, there's a risk that the computer will crash.

If the tablets run low on RAM, they automatically switch off certain non-essential applications to free up more RAM and prevent a crash happening. One of these non-essential apps is the web browser's Flash plugin.

In theory the tablets are supposed to switch these components back on again when the danger of a crash has passed, but due to a bug the Flash sometimes stays switched off, which is why you sometimes have to switch it back on again.

Nokia knows about this bug and they are working on it, but for the moment if you find Flash off you can switch it back on manually using the method above.


Has website Flash got anything to do with flash memory? And what about "flashing" a tablet?

Flash is a way of displaying animations, games and videos on websites. It's sometimes also known as Shockwave Flash. There are other methods for displaying this kind of content, but Flash is by far the most commonly-used standard on the web.

Flash memory is something completely different, it's a way of storing computer data on small plastic cards with microchips inside them. Memory cards for cameras, phones, tablets or computers all use flash memory, and they're sometimes known as flash cards.

The verb "to flash" in a computing context usually means to install new firmware on a device. You can read more about firmware in our special tablet firmware tutorial.

Nokia N800 & N810: How to connect a USB flash drive to your tablet using the USB cable

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that N800 owners have upgraded to OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your N800, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, please post in the comments section at the end. If you have any questions or problems regarding your tablet, please post about them on Internet Tablet Talk's Newbie Forum.

Why would anyone want to connect a flash drive to an internet tablet?

USB flash drives, sometimes known as thumb drives (and sometimes incorrectly as memory sticks), are basically flash memory cards with a plastic casing around them and a USB connector built into them. You can plug them straight into the USB port of any computer and the computer will treat them as an external drive which can be used for storing files. Many people use them for storing backups of important files, or for carrying files with them for use on another computer.

The N800 and N810 both come with built-in memory card slots, so in theory you don't really need to attach a USB flash drive, you could just use tablet-compatible memory cards. From a technical point of view a flash drive's memory and a memory card's memory are absolutely identical.

However, in real life many people prefer to use USB flash drives because they are larger and more durable if you want to carry them separately. They can also be plugged into a computer without a card reader, whereas memory cards always require a compatible card slot.


How to connect a USB flash drive to your tablet

As the video above says, you need to do two things before you can connect a flash drive: install the free "USB Control" application on your tablet, and buy a Female-Female USB adaptor.

F-F USB adaptors are extremely cheap, they only cost a few dollars or euros because they're basically just a conveniently-shaped bit of metal. You can buy them in any major electronics shop or website, and you can also find them on eBay.

Installing USB Control is much less complicated than it sounds, and we're going to go through it step by step.


How to install and use USB Control on your tablet

1. Click on the globe and open a new browser window. Go to maemo.org/downloads

2. Click on the search box in the top right hand corner and enter "USB Control". When the search results appear click on the title that says "USB Control".

3. Click on the green installation arrow on the right side of the screen, which will launch the automatic installation process. Say OK, Yes and I Agree to all of the questions that appear.

4. After USB Control has been installed, close the Application Manager using the X in the top right hand corner. You now have USB Control on your tablet.

5. Open USB Control by clicking on the Applications menu (three green squares), then Extras, then USB Control. Click on the "Host" button at the bottom of the screen and close the application using the X in the top right hand corner. The tablet is now ready to be attached to your flash drive.


How to attach the USB flash drive to your tablet

1. Plug your tablet's USB cable into the tablet's USB socket. Leave the other end of the cable not plugged into anything.

2. Plug the other end of the tablet's USB cable into the Female-Female USB adaptor.

3. Plug your USB flash drive into the other end of the Female-Female USB adaptor.

The flash drive is now attached to the tablet, and the tablet should automatically launch the Application Manager which will let you transfer files onto and off the drive. The App Manager will automatically show you the contents of the drive on the right side of the screen.

Don't worry if the tablet says "Device not supported", you can ignore this message.


What do I do when I've finished using the USB flash drive?

The one thing you should NOT do is unplug it straight away. Just like on a PC, you have to make the flash drive safe to remove before you unplug it, otherwise you may damage it.

To do this, close any applications using the drive (such as File Manager), then click on the USB icon (the three-pronged arrow) in the status bar at the top of the screen. Select the "Disable" option, and wait for a message telling you that you can disconnect the USB cable. After the message appears, you can unplug the flash drive.

Note that if you intend to attach your tablet to your computer using the USB cable, you will need to take it out of "Host" mode first. You can do this by opening the USB Control app, clicking on the "Peripheral" button, and then closing the app.

"Host" is the mode for using the flash drive, and "Peripheral" is the mode for attaching the tablet to a computer. You can use USB Control to switch between these modes, and the tablet will remain in that mode until you change it. You can close the USB Control app if you want, the tablet's USB mode will remain whatever you set it to.

Switching the tablet off and then on again will automatically put it in "Peripheral" mode, so try to avoid this if you want to use the flash drive regularly. As has been mentioned elsewhere on this site, you shouldn't really switch the tablet off anyway because computers use far more energy starting up than they do staying on.


I've tried doing this but nothing happens when I plug the flash drive in!

First of all, check that all the connections on the drive, adaptor, cable and tablet are secure, then try connecting the flash drive again.

If that doesn't help, open USB Control again, click on the "host" button and close the app. Try connecting the flash drive again.

If it still doesn't work, there's a possibility that the flash drive you're using is trying to draw too much current from the tablet. If that's the case, the tablet will never let it connect. Try using a different flash drive if you can, and avoid using a drive with a built-in LED light. If all your flash drives have a built-in LED, try to use the drive with the smallest LED.


So some USB flash drives won't work with the tablets? Why?

The USB standard allows accessories to be powered by the device they're plugged into, but the device usually has a limit on how much current it will give out to an accessory. Because the tablets are pocket-sized with a fairly small battery, they have quite a low limit on current for USB accessories.

Keyboards will work because they don't draw much current, and USB flash drives will work too as long as they don't go over the limit either. Unfortunately some drives do go over the limit, especially those that have large LEDs which light up during connection. We managed to successfully connect the tablet to a drive with an LED in it, but it was quite a small LED and it didn't stay lit up permanently.

If you're unsure about whether a USB flash drive will work with your tablet, the best thing to do is try connecting the drive and see what happens. If it won't work, nothing will happen because the tablet will simply refuse to connect. If it does work, the tablet will connect to the drive and bring up the File Manager application showing the drive's contents.

It's possible that the current drawn by a drive may be right on the tablet's limit, in which case the tablet will start connecting but won't go through the whole process. Such a drive won't work with the tablet, as the drive is still going over the limit eventually.


Can I use this method to attach other USB accessories?

Yes, some other USB accessories can be connected, although as noted above you cannot connect anything which draws too much current from the tablet.

Ordinary computer keyboards will work, and you can find out more about connecting them to your tablet in our keyboard connection tutorial by clicking here.

External HDDs (aka hard disks aka hard drives) will also connect successfully if they have their own external power supply (so that they don't draw too much current from the tablet). You can see our tutorial on connecting an HDD to the tablet by clicking here.

In theory USB computer mice can be connected too, but the tablet doesn't currently have any mouse drivers installed, so even if you connect a mouse successfully it won't actually do anything. Some tablet enthusiasts have written applications which use any connected mice, but they're still at the experimental stage and not anywhere near finished yet.

Nokia N800 & N810: How to connect an ordinary computer keyboard to your tablet by using the USB cable

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that N800 owners have upgraded to OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your N800, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, please post in the comments section at the end. If you have any questions or problems regarding your tablet, please post about them on Internet Tablet Talk's Newbie Forum.

How to use a normal computer keyboard with your N800 or N810

It's been quite well publicised that Nokia's N800 and N810 internet tablets can be used with wireless Bluetooth keyboards, but Bluetooth keyboards are pretty expensive compared to normal keyboards. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just plug your PC's keyboard into your tablet? Well, you can!

All you need is a very very cheap little add-on called a Female-Female USB adaptor. They cost just a few euros or dollars, as they're basically just a bit of metal which lets you plug one USB cable into another. You can get them at any major electronics shop or on eBay.

Once you've got the adaptor, you'll need to install a free application called "USB Control", and then attach your keyboard's cable to the tablet's USB cable. Don't worry if that sounds complicated, it isn't, and we're going to cover it step-by-step in this tutorial.


How to install and use USB Control on your tablet

1. Click on the globe and open a new browser window. Go to maemo.org/downloads

2. Click on the search box in the top right hand corner and enter "USB Control". When the search results appear click on the title that says "USB Control".

3. Click on the green installation arrow on the right side of the screen, which will launch the automatic installation process. Say OK, Yes and I Agree to all of the questions that appear.

4. After USB Control has been installed, close the Application Manager using the X in the top right hand corner. You now have USB Control on your tablet.

5. Open USB Control by clicking on the Applications menu (three green squares), then Extras, then USB Control. Click on the "Host" button at the bottom of the screen and close the application using the X. The tablet is now ready to be attached to your keyboard.


How to attach your keyboard to the tablet

The vast majority of computer keyboards nowadays come with two kinds of plugs: USB and PS/2. USB plugs are about half an inch wide and quite flat, while PS/2 plugs are round and usually violet-coloured. Some keyboards have just one type of connector while others have both.

If you want to attach your keyboard to your tablet you'll need to use the keyboard's USB plug, but don't worry if your keyboard doesn't have a USB plug. You can turn a PS/2 plug into a USB plug by buying a cheap PS/2-USB adaptor, which costs just a few dollars or euros and can be bought in electronics shops or on eBay (you can see an example in the video above). You don't need to buy the more expensive "converter" kind of PS/2-USB adaptor, the cheaper "passive" type works fine.

Now, let's get on with the actual attaching...

1. Plug your tablet's USB cable into the tablet's USB socket. Leave the other end of the cable not plugged into anything.

2. Plug the other end of the tablet's USB cable into the Female-Female USB adaptor.

3. Plug your keyboard's USB plug into the other end of the Female-Female USB adaptor.

Your keyboard is now attached to your tablet, and you should be able to use it to input text. To test it out, open an app where you'd normally use text, for example the Notes application in the Utilities section.

Don't worry if an error message appears when you attach the keyboard (e.g. "Device is incompatible"), just ignore it.


The letters on the screen don't quite match my keyboard's letters. What's going on? How do I fix this?

The tablet's default setting for keyboards is the US layout, which means if you plug in a non-US keyboard you may notice some on-screen letters and characters don't match what you typed.

This is very easy to fix using the tablet's Control Panel application (to open it click on the three green squares, then Settings, then Control Panel). Double-click on the Bluetooth Keyboard section, and select your keyboard's language from the "Keyboard Layout" menu. Click on OK and the problem should be solved.


What do I do when I've finished using the keyboard?

You don't have to do anything in particular, you can just unplug it and plug it back in when you next need it.

However, if you intend to attach your tablet to your computer using the USB cable, you will need to take it out of "Host" mode first. You can do this by opening the USB Control app, clicking on the "Peripheral" button, and then closing the app.

"Host" is the mode for using they keyboard, and "Peripheral" is the mode for attaching the tablet to a computer. You can use USB Control to switch between these modes, and the tablet will remain in that mode until you change it. You can close the USB Control app if you want, the tablet's USB mode will remain whatever you set it to.

Note that switching the tablet off and then on again will automatically put it in "Peripheral" mode, so try to avoid this if you want to use the keyboard regularly. As has been mentioned elsewhere on this site, you shouldn't really switch the tablet off anyway because computers use far more energy starting up than they do staying on.


Help! I can't get it to work

Don't panic! :-)

First of all, before you start typing make sure you've clicked on the area of the screen where you want to enter text, so that a blinking cursor appears.

If that doesn't help, check that all the cables are securely and correctly plugged in.

If it still doesn't work, try opening USB Control again (in the Apps menu's Extras section) and click on "Host".

If you still can't get the keyboard to work, try with a different keyboard if you can.

If absolutely nothing helps, click on the link on the right of the Internet Tablet School site regarding tablet technical problems.


I thought you had to have a powered USB hub to get this to work? I thought you had to modify cables by hand?

Nope. This method works without any hubs, and you don't need to modify anything either.

Some older, cruder methods used hubs and/or modified cables, but those methods have been made obsolete by the release of the USB Control application and other similar apps.


Can I use this tutorial's method for attaching other USB accessories, such as flash drives and external HDDs?

You can use this method to attach USB flash drives (sometimes known as thumb drives or memory sticks) to your tablet, and you can find out more by going to our USB flash drive connection tutorial.

HDDs (Hard Disk Drives, aka hard disks or hard drives) will also work with the tablet as long as the HDD has an external power source such as a power adaptor that plugs into a wall socket. The tablets cannot provide enough power by themselves for an HDD to work. To find out more, click here to see our tutorial on attaching an HDD to a tablet.

If you do use a flash drive or HDD, make sure you disable it before unplugging it from the tablet. You can do this very easily by just clicking on the USB icon (the three-pronged object) in the status bar at the top of the screen, and then selecting the disable option.

USB accessories which draw lots of power will not work, the tablets are pocket-sized devices and do not have a battery large enough to support high power accessories. Low power devices should work in theory, and that's why keyboards and flash drives work, but there are exceptions such as computer mice (the tablets do not contain any mouse drivers so mice don't do anything).

Nokia N800 & N810: How to unzip .zip files

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that N800 owners have upgraded to OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your N800, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, please post in the comments section at the end. If you have any questions or problems regarding your tablet, please post about them on Internet Tablet Talk's Newbie Forum.

Unzipping files on your tablet

If you download a zipped file (one that ends in .zip) onto your tablet, you may have noticed that there's no way of unzipping it so you can have a look at its contents.

There's a very easy solution to this problem though, it's called Unzip. Unzip is completely free and can be easily installed onto your tablet. Once it's been installed you can unzip .zip files by just clicking on them in the File Manager, as shown in the video above.


How to install Unzip on your tablet

1. On the tablet, click on the globe and select "Open New Browser Window".

2. Go to maemo.org/downloads.

3. Search for "unzip" in the search box in the top right hand corner.

4. Click on the title of the Unzip application.

5. Click on the green "Click To Install" arrow, which should automatically launch the Application Manager and start the installation process. Say yes or OK to all of the boxes that appear.

6. When Unzip has installed successfully, close the Application Manager and web browser window by clicking on the X in the top right hand corner.

And that's it!

You can now unzip any .zip file by just double-clicking on it in the File Manager, as shown in the video above (note that the .zip file itself may contain its own folders and sub-folders as well as the packed files themselves).

Nokia N800 & N810: Using Last.fm to make your own customised internet radio station

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that N800 owners have upgraded to OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your N800, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, please post in the comments section at the end. If you have any questions or problems regarding your tablet, please post about them on Internet Tablet Talk's Newbie Forum.

What is Last.fm?

The short answer: Last.fm is one of the most addictive services on the internet, once you start using it it's very hard to stop, especially if you love music.

The long answer: Last.fm is a music website which has a very special kind of internet radio station. Instead of using a playlist, you can choose the artist or tag (a fancy name for a keyword) that it uses as a starting point. When you press play, the station chooses tracks related to that artist or tag. You can skip past tracks you don't like, you can tell it which tracks you DO like by clicking on a heart icon, and you can ban it from playing tracks you really hate by clicking on a traffic sign icon.

This sounds complicated, but once you try it out you'll see the service is very simple and very addictive. Last.fm has two great strengths: it lets you set the theme for your radio station on the spur of the moment, and it lets you discover new music related to that theme.


How much does it cost to use Last.fm?

Nothing, it's free. It operates under the same kind of licence that a normal radio station uses, so they can broadcast music for free.

There is an optional subscription plan which lets you listen only to tracks you've marked with a heart, which you can find out more about on the Last.fm website.


How do I use Last.fm on the tablets?

There are two ways to do it: go to the Last.fm website on your tablet's browser, or access Last.fm through an application installed on your tablet.

The browser method is the easiest, just enter "www.last.fm" in the browser's address bar, register for a Last.fm account if you need one (the link is in the top right corner). It looks and works just like Last.fm on a PC browser.

Alternatively, you can use Last.fm by installing an application called Canola on your tablet. We'll discuss installing that below, and then discuss how to use it.


How to install Canola on your tablet

1. Click on the globe icon and open a new browser window on your tablet.

2. Go to the address maemo.org and click on the "Downloads" link at the top.

3. When the downloads page appears, click on the search box in the top right corner and search for "canola".

4. In the search results, click on the link that says "Canola2".

5. Click on the green "Click To Install" arrow, then click on "Open". This will automatically launch the installation process which will put Canola on your tablet.

6. Click on OK to all the questions.

7. When Canola has been installed successfully, you can close the Application Manager by clicking on the X in the top right corner.

Now you've got Canola installed, but don't start it up yet! You'll also have to install its Last.fm plugin so that it can access the service. However, this is very easy to do, so don't panic.


How to install the Last.fm plugin for Canola

1. On maemo.org's Canola download page, click on the "Homepage" link in the page's Links section. This should take you to the official Canola website.

2. Click on the "Add Ons" link at the top of the page.

3. Click on the "Install Now" link in the Last.fm section, and select "Open".

4. Click on OK to all the questions.

5. When the plugin has been installed, close the Application Manager using the X in the top right corner.

You've now installed the Last.fm plugin, so you can now use Last.fm with Canola on your tablet, just like in the video above.

However, before you close the Canola website's browser window, you might want to install some of the other plugins too. We can strongly recommend the YouTube plugin as it makes YouTube extremely quick and easy to use on thet tablets.


How to use Last.fm on your tablet with Canola

Before you use Last.fm with Canola for the first time, you need to enter your username and password:

1. Start Canola by going to the Applications menu (the three green squares on the left), selecting Extras and selecting Canola.

2. Once Canola has loaded, click on the Settings icon on the main page.

3. Click on "Internet Media".

4. Click on "Last.fm".

5. Click on Login to Last.fm and enter your Last.fm username and password. (If you don't have a Last.fm username, you can get one by going to the www.last.fm website on your tablet or PC browser and clicking its Register link in the top right corner.)

6. If the tablet says "no such user", check that you've entered the correct username, re-enter your password, and try logging in again.

7. After you've logged on, click several times in the left half of the screen to close the settings menus.

The above steps only need to be done once. When you next use Canola you can skip straight to the steps below.

8. Click on Audio, then Last.fm.

9. You can now start listening to a custom radio station by click on "Search By Artist" (which plays tracks related to a particular band or artist) or "Search By Tag" (which plays tracks related to a particular keyword). If you know the name of someone else's Last.fm station you can also use "Search By Radio".

10. When the station starts, you can skip to the next track by pressing the fast forward icon on the right of the screen. The column on the left controls the volume, and you can ban a particular track using the "traffic sign" icon under the name of the track.

11. After you've done a few searches, you can go back to these in the "History" option.

12. If you want to exit Canola or see previous menus, press the back arrow in the bottom left corner. When you press back on the main menu page you will exit Canola.

That's about it for this tutorial. There are lots more options in Last.fm which you can explore on its official website, and you can use the same account on both your PC and tablet.

Perhaps the most prominent topic is "scrobbling", which you can do in Canola by switching it on from the Last.fm section of the settings menu. It looks at what kind of music you like the most, and helps Last.fm make links between related tracks. You can find out more about it on the Last.fm website's FAQ page.


Don't like Canola? Try Vagalume.

You can also use Last.fm on your Nokia tablet by installing Vagalume. We haven't used it in this tutorial because it's not quite as easy to use as Canola, but it's still a perfectly decent application.

You can install Vagalume the same way you install Canola, by going to maemo.org's Downloads section on your tablet's browser and searching for "Vagalume". Click on its title and then click on the green installation arrow at the side. Click on "Open", then click on OK to all the questions that appear.

Nokia N800 & N810: How to switch the tablet's blinking light on or off

To get the most out of this tutorial, watch the video above and then read the text below. The tutorial assumes that N800 owners have upgraded to OS 2008. If you want to find out more about upgrading your N800, click here.

If you want to comment on this tutorial, please post in the comments section at the end. If you have any questions or problems regarding your tablet, please post about them on Internet Tablet Talk's Newbie Forum.

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 to blink on other occasions

You'll notice from the LEDs menu mentioned above that there are many other opportunities for the light to blink.

However, these will only work if you are using the built-in applications which came with the tablet. For example you can only get the light to blink on new e-mail if you're using the tablet's own E-mail application.

If you are using the built-in apps, simply tick the boxes on the LEDs menu that you want to activate and click OK. To deactivate them just untick them and click OK.


Does the blinking light use much battery life?

No, not very much. It only flashes very briefly and it's just a small LED.

Nokia N800 & N810: How to use the tablets to make free video calls over the internet

(Apologies for the lack of video this time round, the complete process of video calling is actually a bit tricky to film so this is a text-only tutorial. You can watch a video demo made by tablet expert thoughtfix by clicking on this link. The demo is rather old and the software has changed somewhat since then, but it gets across the general principles of the service.)

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 th