I had high expectations for the web browser of the Nokia N810. Of course, I thought that this would be one of the main focus areas of Nokia’s Internet Tablet range.
The N810 also has the Flash 9 plugin within the browser which allows you to play most flash enabled content on webpages, and I couldn’t wait to see how well it worked on the device…
To access the web browser is really simple. Just click on the globe at the top left of the standby screen and open a new browser window. The address bar to type in the site you wish to visit is always located at the bottom of the screen whether you are in the normal or maximised view along with quick access to your RSS feeds and forward and back icons.
You can also zoom into a web page here as well as by using the volume rocker at the top which I think makes really good use of the keys available to make browsing easier!
To the bottom and right hand sides of the viewing area are scroll bars to navigate around the web page. You can also navigate around a page by touching and holding the stylus on the display as you move around. It is great that you have these two options available to you for ease of use and is a recognisable feature for new users. Another alternative is to use the navigational pad when the slide is open.
Nokia N810 Browser Maximised
You can input text in three different ways, the hardware keyboard, on-screen keyboard (when the slider is in the closed position only), or by using the handwriting recognition feature so there is great flexibility and you can choose what best suits you. I personally prefer the hardware keyboard but the on-screen keyboard is quite usable. I felt that the handwriting recognition program was too fast/slow even if you adjusted its speed. Perhaps its just me!!! 
I found the web browser of the N810 great and pages appeared exactly as they would on a PC. Another thing I really liked is the fact that because of the high resolution of the screen, you don’t have to scroll around web pages anywhere near as much as on an S60 device with its QVGA screen resolution.
The flash integration is a fantastic feature that has been implemented in the N810. This will allow you to play/run Flash 9 compatible media on the device.
YouTube videos can be displayed directly from the website without the need for a seperate application. This is great and again, the high resolution of the screen comes back into play and allows you to view the video comfortably on the page instead of having to open the video in a maximised view which i think is a big improvement. It would be great however to have a full screen option.
Videos played using the flash plugin can be prone to lag on occasions when you start to play before it has finished downloading, however it is very smooth when complete and generally the experience is very good. Sound quality through the stereo speakers are also very good.
The official Nseries website: http://www.nseries.com also runs quite well on the Nokia N810 and many other flash based websites should be the same. You would have no chance of running a flash based website like this on current S60 smartphones with the Flash Lite player.
I think with some flash intense sites however you will experience slow load times and ‘jolty’ transitions.
The flash plugin is not perfect by any means, but all things considered on a device you could easily carry around with you, it is fantastic and I think could replace a portable computer to browse the net easily for short periods of time!!!
Overall, I think the N810’s web browser is great. It is perfect for a person that is always mobile and wants a full internet browser that will allow you to view most websites just as they would look on a PC comfortably and would highly recommend it. Apart from a lag with flash video playback, I think the main downside of the experience is not the browser itself, but connectivity.
You can connect via WLAN but on the move (unless there are nearby hotspots) you are stuck unless you want to pair it using Bluetooth to a compatible device with a data plan…
Do you have an N810? What are your thoughts about the web browsing experience???
Filed under: Technology | Tagged: Review
