The Nokia N800 has already begun shipping in the U.S., and although we may have to wait a while before Nokia's latest internet tablet gets full Skype support, their announcement at CES that the N800 would add Skype calling to its list of features some time around the middle of the year is most definitely good news.
For those who have not seen it, the N800 is Nokia's upgrade to the existing 770 tablets, but with a seriously extended specification. It's designed very much as a 'lifestyle' devices and, to quote the release, "is built to be constantly in use", something that is very evident from the design.
For a U.S. RRP of $ 399.99, you basically get a fully-fledged, Linux-powered handheld PC which weighs just 206g all-in. The 256mb of internal memory can be augmented via two hot-swappable memory card slots which each take up to 2GB memory cards for extended storage (it comes with an extra 128mb card to get you going), and you can communicate with the outside world via the tablet's high-speed wifi and Bluetooth connections. It can also, provided you have a separate Bluetooth GPS unit, SatNav do when you're in the car.From an audio and visual perspective, the N800 has a touch-sensitive 800x480 screen, stereo speakers and a high quality mic, so hopefully Skype will work a treat when it is finally added.