

Nokia 770 Alive and Well 171
anon mouse-cow-aard writes to tell us the Register is reporting that the Nokia 770, originally scoffed at by many as useless, is doing quite well. There is even an open source platform development site, maemo, that offers quite a bit. It uses wlan for connectivity and has 'cpu transparency' so you can build apps for normal Debian (albeit with a custom set of libraries) and then run a sort of 'checkout' for the ARM processor, and it will run on the handheld. There is ssh and VOIP coming soon. Overall it is shaping up to be pretty cool.
Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original...
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
For instance, your application would require a fridge equipped with an RFID reader, and all of the food to be tagged, or some other mechanism for determining its contents... perhaps a visual scan with a camera, and software for determining what the items are. After all of that's been done, a PDA could handle the rest nicely.
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
I tend to think that successful incarnations of such an item, in a ubiquitous computing environment, would almost by necessity be integrated into a wearable form-factor device.
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:4, Informative)
Because it sells direct from Nokia for $359.99. Link [nokiausa.com], you have to click continue to view the price. For some reason a direct link wouldn't work.
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
If I got a notebook that is an equivalent performer, I could afford those things easily.
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
At $800, you get 20 Gigs of HD, 802.11-B, and an X-Scale processor (and I think 256M of RAM). In other words, a crippled machine by todays standards. On Ebay, I could probably pick up 3 laptops with these specs for that, all of which would have real keyboards and large screens.
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=pepper+pad&bt
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
I'm warming to the idea of keeping these two devices seperate. :-)
If you like SonyEricsson phones... (Score:2)
I do have a P900 and is quite good. It has bluetooth and IR. I read books in pdb format (I've read more books in it in the last year and a half that I was used to before), it has nintendo emulators, the metro app to calculate routes, a HP48 emulator, pdf, word and excel applications, and (to me) it looks better than the Treo.
Ohh and it has Opera, so you can browse XHTML+CSS pages, see hotmail, and all that stuff.
The phone funcionalit
Here's some scoffing for you (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's another thing, too. Nokia has gone out of its way to explain to everybody that this is a brand-new product category. But it isn't really. We've seen plenty of products like this one before. We call them PDAs. Nokia trounced every PDA to date by including a noticeably far superior screen, but it left out the PDA software. With that big omission, we're all left wondering what exactly we're supposed to use it for.
Me personally, I can't find much use for it so far other than some light Web browsing (because "serious" Web browsing will crash it) and FBReader, the open source ebook software that was ported to it by a third party. The included e-mail program is awful. The PDF reader is totally unusable unless you turn off images. The RSS reader is interesting, but not really my cup of tea. The Opera browser mostly works, but is crippled by lack of memory and lack of ad-blocking features.
After all that, I'm still fascinated by the device. It's just too bad that this first generation is still more concept than reality.
Re:Some early reviewers scoffed (Score:2)
But why no cellular connection? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:But why no cellular connection? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:But why no cellular connection? (Score:2)
Re:But why no cellular connection? (Score:2)
if only...
Re:But why no cellular connection? (Score:2)
It would make far more sense to include a SIM slot and associated cell network goodies then get carriers to sell a 'VoIP where available, GMS when not' service.
Re:But why no cellular connection? (Score:2)
Re:But why no cellular connection? (Score:4, Insightful)
Add a cell to the Nokia, you're making it more expensive and giving it a shorter battery life. In addition, they'd have to make changes to meet FCC requirements and user needs.
The only way I'd want a cell phone link is if the form-factor stays exactly the same, and the only way you use it for calls is via a bluetooth earpiece and the battery life isn't impacted at all.
Good reasons for no cell phone embedded (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Good reasons for no cell phone embedded (Score:2)
Re:But why no cellular connection? (Score:2)
Adding functionality to make this a mobile phone itself would, for me, very possibly disqualify it from what I'm looking at. I don't have a cell phone service, and if I did, I would already have a phone. (In fact, I do have a phone from over summer when I had a pay-as-you-go service.) Adding the additional baggage to sup
In Canada we are left out in the cold M$ world. :( (Score:5, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:In Canada we are left out in the cold M$ world. (Score:2)
No surprise, looks like Manila DSL and wifi access at 256-384kbps is priced at the same level as US 3-4Mbps service, and that's dollars for dollars (~2000p/month ~= $35/month). Considering how much more of other kinds of services the US dollar will buy there, that's effectively like a 10x pricing premium over the cost in the US which is already pretty sucky compared to the developed asian countries.
Re:In Canada we are left out in the cold M$ world. (Score:2)
Quote:"
Dear Sir,
Thank you for contacting Nokia Online sales.
We are sorry but you order has been cancelled because we are not allowed
to send in Norway yet.
We are sorry for this inconvenience."
Why is this? Very strange, and not very good customer support. Just send me the friggin Internet Tablet. Since no shops sell the thing I cannot just go over the bord
Re:In Canada we are left out in the cold M$ world. (Score:2)
Re:In Canada we are left out in the cold M$ world. (Score:2)
With regard to your enquiry, please be advised that the release of Nokia mobile phones are market, country and region dependent. As such, kindly be informed that the Nokia 770 is not scheduled for release within the Asia Pacific region.
Outdated apps (Score:2, Informative)
Applications (in 2005 software edition)
* Web Browser (Opera 8)
* Flash Player version 6
* Email Client
* Internet Radio
* News Reader
* Media players, Image viewer
* PDF viewer
* File Manag
Re:Outdated apps (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Outdated apps (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Outdated apps (Score:2)
Does it really lack phone capabilities? (Score:3, Interesting)
It seems like a Bluetooth headset and a WiFi connection should allow it to do that, no? If so, that'd be rather a slick setup -- it's a bit larger than most of the PocketPCs that support Skype right now, but it also has a considerably larger, nicer screen than they do, making it considerably more usable for other purposes.
Re:Does it really lack phone capabilities? (Score:4, Informative)
Skype is closed-source. Until a binary is released that is compatible with the Nokia 770, it will not be possible to run skype on it.
Re:Does it really lack phone capabilities? (Score:2)
Re:Does it really lack phone capabilities? (Score:2)
*crickets*
Re:Does it really lack phone capabilities? (Score:2)
I Want One (Score:2)
Bluetooth at last (Score:2)
I don't think speed is that big an issue. You don't use s
Re:Bluetooth at last (Score:2)
I love mine (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I love mine (Score:2)
Re:I love mine (Score:1)
Re:I love mine (Score:2)
Re:I love mine (Score:3, Informative)
Now I will attempt to take a crack at your questions.
1. How well does it (or do you think it would) function as a PDA? Does it have calendaring apps and stuff? How well does it sync that sort of data with a PC? What sort of softw
Re:I love mine (Score:2)
Re:I love mine (Score:2)
Out of the box, it sucks. GPE [handhelds.org] PIM applications have been ported. They don't currently do very strong on automagical syncing front, the folks working on them posted a progress report and updates yesterday and mentioned it's the next step being worked on.
3. From the Maemo tutorials, it looks like it uses some mix o
Re:I love mine (Score:2)
Didn't reveal exact sales figures (Score:1, Insightful)
It really means nothing until Nokia reveals how many units are sold.
Using mine to post this... (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Using mine to post this... (Score:2)
Seriously folks, the handw
Re:Using mine to post this... (Score:2)
It was still quicker to tap the kb.
I imagine for people with existing keyboard skills, that will always be the case.
Re:Using mine to post this... (Score:2)
Nokia, add a thumbboard and call it the Nokia 771, and I'll pick one up in a snap.
Nokia 770 reponse from OWNER (Score:5, Interesting)
1. It doesnt have SIM!!!
No.. because there is no need. That's and extra added expense that not everyone will be able to use. If you want cellulare internet use its bluetooth connection.. that's why its there!
2. Ugly UI.
Only a MAC user would say that. I don't know about you but I think the UI is perfect, its slick, polished and no fuss no muss. I think AQUA is ugly.
3. VoIP/Phone capability.
It wasnt meant to be a phone... look at it, its too big! It's a PDA, it's an Internet Tablet. It will have offical VOiP support from Nokia in the 2006 series firmware. That's great and all.
4. Third party apps/support
Right now this is the amazing part, there are tons and tons of applications for it for free obviously. It's so easy to get going with the official SDK. This device is simply amazing on the third party front.
5. Screen quality
The screen is 800x480, any website that was meant for 800x600 (allmost of them!) can be viewed without side scrolling on this beautiful screen. It's great having such a high res screen.
The best thing is... its not a PSP thats been HACKED 6 ways from sunday to have some sort of functionality. It natively runs Linux and has corporate support. Nokia is committed to this device, and it has sold like hot cakes everywhere. The 770 can only get better, and who knows what the "880" will hold!
Any doubts you may have, go to a CompUSA and try it out at the Nokia display, it really is the greatest thing since sliced bread
Re:Nokia 770 reponse from OWNER (Score:2)
I would contend that VoIP on a device like this is essential.
But what's to stop you running Linphone ?
Re:Nokia 770 reponse from OWNER (Score:2)
But there is plenty of software support.
Re:Nokia 770 reponse from OWNER (Score:2)
Unexpected demand (Score:3, Informative)
I called Nokia USA and they told me that my credit card company was rejecting my charge. So I call my credit card company to ask why they are rejecting it. They asked who was running the charge, and I answered "Nokia". Well, nobody named Nokia was trying to charge my card -- but there was another copmany with a generic counding name that was trying to charge my card, for the same amount as my 770. I call Nokia back to ask if they are charging under that name and they tell me yes. But now my order is delayed until January 10th.
All in all, they have way more demand then they anticipated, and they really don't have their act together with production, shipping, even charging people's cards properly.
However, I am glad that there has been a literally overwhelming response -- I have always wanted a true tablet computer, but I didn't want to shell out $2500 for a table "notebook" that really wasn't using a pen-based GUI. I'm an obsessive note-taker, and if I can take down notes or draw sketches directly into digital, hooray! I hope Nokia pursues this line and develops a reasonably priced tablet computer with an OS that is truly driven by the stylus.
Re:Unexpected demand (Score:2)
The website originally said it would ship by december third.
Now it says:
"Important: If you placed your order on or before 12/16/2005, we expect to ship by January 6, 2006. You will receive a shipment confirmation email at that time. If you have questions about your order please call 1-888-256-2098."
Well, today is January 8th and the website hasn't been updated. On top of this, their customer service reps are completely clueless a
Re:Unexpected demand (Score:2)
Lo and behold, demand is through the roof and Quick! get together a call center so we can take orders and Quick! get those things over here from Singapore so we can start shipping them and Quick! start producing more so that we can meet demand.
Well, a
Re:Unexpected demand (Score:2)
Ooops. I meant it said it would ship on the thritieth when I ordered it. I wasn't expecting same day service
Still, The date has already been pushed back. I just don't want to be lied to for a third time.
Re:Unexpected demand (Score:2)
So much to do! (Score:4, Informative)
http://thoughtfix.blogspot.com/ [blogspot.com]
Posts today:
- Using the device's USB host mode without soldering a special cable
- Using an iPod nano as external storage
Lots of other things too, like enabling sshd and other thoughts and wishes.
Re:So much to do! (Score:2)
eBook (Score:2)
After having the Zaurus for a year or so, I realized that most of what I used it for was ebook reading and occasional surfing while on the throne. The 770 has a smaller footprint, and a larger, higher resolution display.
The only drawback is, the 770 only has RS-
Re:eBook (Score:2)
I'm going to port pygps [pygps.org] to the 770, but it uses pixmaps, not vector maps. Then again, I WANT pixmaps and not vector maps.
-russ
Re:eBook (Score:2)
Maybe you mean something other than what I think you mean. :) But there are a few pieces of highway navigation software that are open source (for the US, that is):
Roadnav [sourceforge.net] and RoadMap [digitalomaha.net] come to mind.
Re:eBook (Score:2)
My wife and I are planning a length Europe excursion (1-2 months) and we plan to tour the major touristy spots, which means London, France, and Rome at the very least. A GPS with complete maps of those cities that I could carry with me/in a rental car would be a godsend.
Nabbed the last one at Fry's (Score:2, Informative)
GPS Navigation? (Score:3, Interesting)
It just needs a good software package, like the TomTom software available for several PDAs and their own Linux based device.
Navigation systems are becoming more popular. A device that combined good nav, with wifi / www functions would be very interesting.
Almost but not quite (Score:2)
Pros:
As close to an open hardware platform as currently possible. It appears to be at least as open as Linksys access points.
The screen is majorly hot. Just reading the specs on the screen makes me want one. Perfect would have been putting in the extra 52 pixels to allow DVD quality playback without scaling, but I'm not greedy. I suspect overscanning 26 pixels off each side would work pretty well anyway.
The fact that it ISN'T a cell ph
i'm returning mine (Score:2)
overall the hardware is great use-wise. nice build quality, good size screen. could use scroll buttons. i'd much rather have sd over rs-mmc. charger works well.
cold booting to a functional desktop takes a painful 45 seconds. since the battery life is great, most people leave it on permanent standby for 'instant on'.
the ui is a bit kludgy, and the software generally spartan. a lot of this doesn't matter to
Unexpected sales? (Score:2)
I have one, here are my thoughts (Score:3, Informative)
Here is what I like about it:
1. I commute by train, so if I have a few minutes to wait I get a coffee in the cafe at the station and jump on somebody's open wireless network (the hotel next door, maybe?) and check my RSS feeds, do my email, browse the web, open up GAIM and chat, etc. When you've got a wifi connection (and since I live in an urban area, there's open wifi networks all over the city) it's a great.
2. Hook it to my stereo in the living room at home and stream internet stations or podcasts. I love doing this. I get Soma FM's "Drone Zone" going when I can't sleep. And this month is old-timey country month on Radio David Byrne!
4. Stream podcasts using the little built-in speaker. The little built-in speaker isn't great, but if you're listening to a podcast where it's just voice and not music, it's great. If I'm cooking in the kitchen I'll set it on the table and fire up a podcast.
5. Use the internet from bed, or the recliner. I admit it. I have no shame.
6. When there's no network connectivity, for instance when I'm on the train or in the middle of nowhere, it makes a great e-book reader using FBReader. Or if you've downloaded some music or podcasts and have some headphones, you can listen to those.
OK, now here are the things that so far I have disliked about it:
1. Handwriting recognition isn't that great, so I use the little virtual keyboard instead. You can see a longer post I wrote about the handwriting recognition here [slashdot.org].
2. While the Opera browser that comes with it is great, it does seem to have some problems with pages with a lot of DHTML on them. For instance, if you start loading Gmail or Bloglines, and then switch to another window while they're loading, and then come back, you'll see they didn't load properly. For some reason when loading those pages, I need to keep that window in the foreground for them to properly load.
3. The Opera browser doesn't have a way to change the font size. If I'm reading a page where the font just shows up too small, I can't increate the font size, all I can do is use the ZOOM IN feature, which creates a horizontal scroll bar in the browser. This is actually rarely an issue, though, since the display is so crisp and easy to read.
4. Running the Nokia-distributed version of the operating system, there's no way that I can see to remove the icons for the Mail and News readers from the left-hand-side menu. I don't use them, I just use Gmail and Bloglines in the browser, so I don't want those two icons taking up space in my menu. (Apparently it's possible to install the Maemo operating system directly, instead of using the Nokia'd-up version, but I haven't tried this.)
5. No network file browsing! So if I'm in the living room, I can't browse the music on my desktop computer over the network and play them. I have gotten around this by installing SlimServer on the desktop computer and connecting the Audio Player in the Nokia to that, but this is sort of clunky. I'd rather just have SMB support in the nokia.
6. Videos have to be sort of low-quality to play smoothly, I think. At least, I've downloaded a couple of videos to it, and they were choppy. This isn't an issue of the display, I think, it's an issue of the processing power.
Re:I have one, here are my thoughts (Score:2)
Siemens SimPAD (Score:2)
Might be worth checking out for those on a budget. I'm wanting one to play with, myself, assuming I can find it cheap somewhere.
It's only 359? (Score:2)
http://www.nokiausa.com/add_nonactivated_phone_to
nice but sluggish (Score:3, Interesting)
What is not so good is that the device is sluggish: a 250MHz processor ought to feel zippy, yet the 770 does not. I suspect the culprit is the Gtk+ toolkit. Nokia needs to do more work on pruning it down, maybe throwing out some functionality and visual features.
Re:UI looks amateur (Score:5, Insightful)
PSP screen resolution: 320 x 240.
Nokia 770 screen resolution: 800 x 480.
Re:UI looks amateur (Score:4, Informative)
The confusion comes from the firmware-limited video capabilities of the PSP. In 4:3 mode, it supports up to 320x240; and up to 368x208 in 16:9 mode.
Yes, the Nokia still beats it. And the PSPs browser has no Flash support either...
Re:UI looks amateur (Score:2)
You say that like it's a bad thing. I have a 770 and a Nokia 7710 (the Series 90 phone to which the 770 is distantly related). Both have Flash, and I have yet to fond a Flash implementation on the Web which is at all usable on either. The slow OMAP processors absolutely kill the performance, and disabling Flash makes everything better.
Wrong! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:UI looks amateur (Score:1)
Re:out of memory....a lot (Score:2, Informative)
My experience with upgrading:
http://thoughtfix.blogspot.com/2006/01/update-and- upgrade-plus-gps-wishes.html [blogspot.com]
A link to setting up a swap (not for noobs)
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showpost. php?p=4013&postcount=13 [internettablettalk.com]
Hope that helps.
Re:out of memory....a lot (Score:2)
Thanks for the info!
I've been waiting on mine from Nokia for over a month. And I live only about 15 minutes from Fry's at Arizona Mills.
Re:Sweet VOIP and SSH (Score:2)