I am really excited....just bought a like-new N810 in it's original box with all accessories, etc. I paid a bit under $200 so I think it was a good/ok deal. I hope at least?

My decision: I was going back and forth between: N800, N810 and Mylo-2.
I eliminated the N800 as I really wanted a keyboard and in the end I stuck with the N810 because of really two choices;
a) I have no Linux experience and thought it would be fun to get some, and
b) It seems like the N800/810/770 community is made up of people that are rather pleased with their device(s)
(See you are all party responsible!)

It is at my home now..but I am travelling and won't get to SEE it until next week (argh!) so...a few 'get me ready' questions;

1) What Operating System should I put on it?
It has not been updated since it was originally purchased.

2) What are the top-five applications you'd recommend getting?
(I am your regular geek who is into email (which app is best for multiple accounts?), instant messaging, sci-fi, movies, books, etc)

3) What are the top-five games you'd recommend getting?
(I like WoW (did I mention I'm a geek...?), Plants vs Zombies, etc)

4) Is there a need to, assuming it has never been done, to upgrade the firmware on it? How can I tell?

5) Is there anyway that I can place, and listen/view podcasts (audio and video) on it?
I use my Zune (hate iPods) for that now and I would love to, if possible, view my podcasts on a larger screen.
If it can be done;
a) What app/service do I use to grab/download/sync the podcasts TO the N810, and
b) What app would I use to play/view the podcasts?

Thanks a lot in advance. I am SO excited !! :-)

Gpodder and Panucci seem to be the best combo for downloading and listening to podcasts. Gpodder does the downloading, and you use Panucci for the playback (primarily for its ability to resume playback and the ability to bookmark spots in podcasts).

Thanks, I was just sitting and going through the homepage of Canola 2 at http://openbossa.indt.org.br/canola2/index.html so thank you SO much for providing me with options for both how to get podcasts TO the N810 and for how to play them. I'll be checking them out tonight

I use a combination of canolan 2, upnp, subsonic media server and the default media player. it works very well and I can access my entire music collection from any wifi point.

Games are lacking,, I'd recommend battle for wesnoth, puyo pop, super mario war or scumm vm.

keep the default os, maemo, but update it of course. google it once again.

Thanks,
not sure if I added but for podcasts I listen/view both audio as well as video podcasts. It doesn't seem as if Panucci supports video but not 100% sure. Thanks for the list of other apps in that area (and the games) that I can look up though.

OS: It appears to me, now, that OS 2008 has actually two 'versions': Chinook and Diablo. So...'Diablo is..uh...just the latest "patch" to OS 2008? Did I get it right?

Hello !
Good choice, because the Mylo is not so good anyway !

- Diablo is the latest version of OS 2008. Definitively a must have ! There are ways to install Ubuntu or community driven Maemo successor : MER, but it's still not 100% usable, i would recommend to use diablo, at least for the beginning.

- FB READER is very very good for reading eBooks on N810, you can rotate the display, configure the keys, the color ... and you know, N810 screen is reflective, that means that you can read it in full bright sun, and then power off the backlight to spare battery time

- CANOLA is great for music, not so much for video. I keep using the default player for video.

- QUIVER is the best picture viewer, fast, good ergonomy ...

- SCUMMVM works like a charm ... i'm playing the hilarious Day Of The Tentacle these days ... otherwise ... well ... gaming is not the strong part of N8xx

- GPE calendar, todo & ERMINING are the best PIM I found, with Google agenda sync

- EVINCE is the best PDF viewer

- XOURNAL is a wonderfull notebook

HAVE FUN GUY !

Bad choice, especially when you named gaming. Outside of some downloadable Flash games... you're going to miss out. Gaming on the N810 is sorely missing. Quake 2 - isn't it 10 years old by now? - is as good as it gets.

But the Mylo would have been a worse choice.

Thanks again for quick and informative replies

a) I'm "happy" that the N810 may well be a better choice than a Mylo, but
b) I'm a tad disappointed in the games I've seen available for the N810 - but I'm pretty sure I can live with that taking all the other positive things about this device into consideration.

Hmm...if only one could port "Plants vs Zombies" to the N810....

Yeah, N8xx are not very gamer-friendly, but you know, it would have bee worse on Mylo ... For gaming, a DSi would be better ...

Gaming:
- VGBA for quick classics
- ScummVM for extended fun (I was ill back in March and spent 2 days in bed playing through Flight of the Amazon Queen. It was perfect)
- Numpty Physics for a fun new concept