11/19/2007

Upgrade your Nokia N800

For N800 owners, the upcoming arrival of Nokia’s N810 internet tablet may not be that exciting. It’s always great to see new technology, but when it comes at the expense of your device it’s just not as much fun. Even if you don’t plan on upgrading to the N810, which brings along a slide-out keyboard, faster CPU, and a better looking exterior, there is something to be happy about. That something is OS2008, the operating system that will be found on the N810 and is based on Maemo 4.0. The upgrade will be available on the N800 shortly (probably a few weeks) after the N810 arrives and it will definitely breath some new life into your N800.

The big news lately though is that a number of sites have posted on how to upgrade your N800 before the official release. Easy to follow instructions are available and all you need to do the job is your N800, an internet connection, and access to a Linux operating system. From my experience the upgrade is easy to do and takes under thirty minutes. The chance of bricking your N800 seems low, but problems like that are always a possibility so make sure to back up first and proceed at your own risk. You don’t need a dedicated Linux system, you just need to get at the terminal for a bit. You could use a Linux system, but if you don’t have one you could use a LiveCD or, as I did, VMware and a Linux image. I used VMware’s Player along with Debian, but that is just one possibility. Once you have this setup it’s just a matter of plugging in the N800 and typing a few commands into the terminal.

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