Nokia 770 internet tablet sees Nokia veer into non-phone territory

Props to Nokia for totally rescuing a slow news day by dropping this in our laps: the Nokia 770 looks sort of like a tricked out 7710, but the crazy thing is, it's not a phone. It's an internet appliance aimed squarely at your living room, designed to replace that "extra" PC you might be tempted to pick up for basic web surfing/news reading/emailing. At an expected price of $350, it may just succeed, at that. It's connecting to your home network via Bluetooth and WiFi and sports a nice, large screen at 4.13-inches and 800x480 pixels. It'll ship in Q3 2005 (yeah!) with the Opera browser and apps for RSS reading, internet radio, media players, PDF reader, and Flash plug-in, with software updates planned in Q1 2006 for VoIP calling and IM (not sure what the deal is on delaying the IM client, but whatevs). The whole thing is based on Debian Linux v2.6 and the Gnome UI (is that the sound of thousands of *NIX geeks rejoicing we hear?) — they're calling the platform "maemo" and are making it completely open, and will provide an SDK for developers. Smart, Nokia, very very smart. Horsepower will be provided by an ARM based processor, the TI 1710 OMAP, and will come with 64MB DDR RAM and 128MB internal flash memory, expandable via RS-MMC card (a 64MB card will be included stock). So color us thoroughly hot and bothered, though we would maybe have gone with SD instead of MMC and the 3 hour battery/7 hour standby life is perhaps sub-optimal. But hey, we can work with it, we can work with it.

[Thanks, zep and Simon]

[jg @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

damn this thing is sweet. i want it!!! nokia is making a strong comeback lately.

[YourTechSupport @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Canni Getta HELLS YEAH!!!
Canni Getta HELLS FRIKKIN' YEAH!!!
Canni Getta w00t w00t?
Canni Getta One Of These Early?

[Michel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Yet another PC device ready for the scropt-kiddies to invade with their hacks and viruses!

[Vic Matson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Where is the pre sales number? $350.00 sold!!!

Just think what Hack a Day will do with the OS!

[Nick @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Will there be a left handed version?

[LTM @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I'm sold. Price is right, functions are perfect for a 2nd PC surfing the web; checking e-mail through a wi-fi connection in the home.
Battery life the only let down in my eyes. Hope the finished product lives up to expectations.

[Lauri @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

You can already download the development tools from http://www.maemo.org/ .

[jg @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

must figure out an actual need for this thing!

[jg @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

must figure out an actual need for this thing!

[J @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Sigh.

I miss side talkin.

[Johnny Younes @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Looks nice. I just might pick this up. I just wish it had a phone too.

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Wow! Just wow.

Thats very cool.

Now make it dock into my car and play MP3's over a GOOD quality FM transmitter and give it more memory and I'm sold.

[lkluj @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

IMO Nokia has just created something COOL and the proce seems right. Maybe not a phenomen like iPOD, but somethnig that people will desire. My only concern is how simple will be the PC software side of this gadget. I don't want to have conflicts with firewall etc.

[jg @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

sounds like an earlier version of what microsoft is planning as a wider vision...
http://www.betanews.com/article/WinHEC_Brings_Longhorn_MiniTablet/1114445161

it sounds sweet though.

[jake! @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

With an addition of PIM software and a note taking app, I'm sold!

[Lauri @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

"My only concern is how simple will be the PC software side of this gadget. I don't want to have conflicts with firewall etc."

There wont be any pc software. This is standalone.

[cmoney @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Why can't this ship today!! I'm going on a cruise next week and the ship has wifi hotspots but obviously no cell phone access. This would be a perfect VoIP situation! Instead I'll probably be bringing my laptop and bluetooth headset or possibly a PocketPC and using Skype instead. This thing looks awesome and would be perfect for my family room. $350? Incredible price point and I'd probably still buy it at $500.

[StarLog @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This is almost as good as the Zaurus..
Maybe someone will hack a email client for it.
The price , if true, is well within most readers budget.

[Gordon Davies @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

On first glance, this device looks like an evolution of the Pogo, which was always much more of a browser tablet than a phone (with an ARM CPU and its own, non-Windows software & broswer).

I thoroughly enjoyed using the Pogo (even if few others did) for exactly the kind of use Nokia are targeting, so am glad this kind of design is getting another outing.

[Jason @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Same price as a Palm T5 but with 3x the resolution, Wifi+BT, and Linux OS... SOLD!

[TheZodiac @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This thing needed one of those Toshiba 0.85" Hard drives... then... it.... would.... ROCK. Stick rocks though, just needs more memory :) Hm..... VoIP in 2006, nice. Wonder if it will be Skype - since its coming to S60 soon, maybe it will be one big rollout. I hope so. I wasnt digging this at first when I read it on mBurn, but now I am digging it.

[my moustache @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

nokia has been veering into "non-phone territory" for quite a while - they make a slew of media players and set-top boxes, just not for the u.s. market.

[yuppicide @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Wow! That thing is sweet. $350?! Mark me down! What would be nice if it worked with your wifi hotspots, but if it also worked to surf the web via GSM or whatever. So, when I want to take the unit with me and I'm not in any wifi area, I can still use it.

I'd gladly pay a monthly fee for one of them unlimited data only plans as long as it's not expensive.

Man, if this had a pop out keyboard it would be even sweeter.

[Lester Jones @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

i have been waiting for u all my life baby... come to papa... goodbye life drive...

[yuppicide @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

What?! No hard drive?! That sucks. Can't store movies and stuff on a flash card.

[peel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

What about IR/RF? This thing would be perfect as a whole house remote as well. I'm sure it could be hacked to do so but the lack of built in IR is a real bummer. Between that and the lack of memory I think this thing just missed being near perfect.

[christopher @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Instant failure. No HDD.

-C

[Raul @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I'm not sure. Why wouldn't I just get a full PDA with WiFi for about the same price? I would be able to do everything this does and more. Skype is already available for PocketPC, so you even get VoIP and IM right away. The only plus I see to this is it's screen.

[egarc @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Looks awesome! If Nokia would have put at least two buttons on the right side of the screen, it'd make a great gaming device.

I can't wait until version 2 comes out with better battery life, more storage and hopefully right side buttons.

[jb @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

No keyboard support?

[OddManOut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This thing looks pretty cool technologically.
Amazingly cool in fact.

"Instant failure. No HDD."

That definitely is a drawback, what with the LifeDrive and Zaurus C-3000 out there cutting a path to expanded storage in handhelds. But it DOES have an MMC slot. 1gb will probably be sufficient for most people since it sounds like this thing isn't really meant to leave you house (though the hackers and enthusiasts will undoubtedly soon have it running kismt and ethereal and whatall...).

What gets me is the price point. $350 !?!?!?!
That is an astoundingly low price for what you get, and with Linux underpinings and a devkit already in the wild...'what you get' is actually 'anything you want'.

Aside of course from hardware tweaks/additions (HDD, CF, IR, VGA out, etc..)

This just might be a hit. I personally have used my old ROM hacked Mobilepro 780 much as this thing sounds like it's to be used. With a simple $11 wifi PCMCIA card it becomes a little internet appliance that roams effortlessly about the house, far more easily than a laptop would (not to mention 5 - 6 hours battery life). It makes looking things up on the internet while watching TV in one of the NON computered rooms, or when chillin' with friends/family in the living room or out on one of the decks, or when working on the car/project in the garage a snap.

It's a nice thing to have lying around...

But 'jb' makes a good point. One of the best features of the MP780 is it's near full size keyboard, really makes entering google search parameters and URLs much eachier than pick-boarding it. A flip out keyboard or an OQO style sliding thumboard might have been nice...but there goes that amazing price point...

In any case, this looks like a cool bit of tech at a fabulous price.

Good Job Nokia!

[yem @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

23: I agree with you on this one. I got really excited reading this at first, and then when I realized it wasn't a phone as well, I got kind of disappointed. Sure, it would be sweet to have a Linux powered mobile device like that, but it's missing a few key PDA features that would sell me on it. And without GSM capability and GPRS/EGPRS (EDGE), it's pretty much just a glorified PDA without some of the functionality of a PDA. I do like the screen and the RSS capability, though. Also, the idea of what could be done with it since it's running on Linux. I think it's a solid move for Nokia, but they would've had to stuff more features in it to make it truly desirable, even if it's at a higher cost.

-yem

[Samuel McConnell @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Here where I work we have Nokia-branded Internet Gateways and Firewalls. That sounds like non-phone territory to me.

[Seba @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I would rather just pay $150 more and get a lifedrive. Atleast with it I could actually GET SOME WORK DONE for my money. Totally agree that it's just a PDA w/o some PDA functions. Cool little device, but $350 so that I can post in forums from my bedroom? I don't think so, I've got better things to do in there.

[jfb3 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This is the device I need to keep in the living room. Guess what my wife is going to get for Christmas?

[David @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

If they could increase the battery life, this would be awesome as a networked portable media player.

[Melanie @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

#21 - Lester:

If you have a central home automation/media server , you don't need RF/IR for this - the WiFi is perfect. If the server is running something like Lantronix SyS (or whatever it's called now that it's been bought), you can write custom interface pages in HTML. Just access the sexy interface page over wifi, and let the server do all the IR-emitting junk. Then pop back over to web surfing without a second thought :)

This is the final missing piece in a great home automation setup - the only options thus far have been windows CE-type devices and clunky ugly outdated linux panels.

I'll take two, thanks.

[ntj65 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Something to tie everthing in my hightech abode all together...

I have some universal remote contrlng, note taking, and battery juice with it, to go please.

[From the land of Nokia @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

If the memory card can be used like hd that is good enough to me. Small nice looking device with Wifi, Linux and stereo audio out! Great!!!! And 350$? Hell yeah!!!

[FreeStyle @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I just hope it supports WPA instead of just WEP. Sweet device. Love the screen and the resolution and I am already sold!!

[MD500 Driver @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

This is gonna be killer if it works! Sign me up!

[MrFloppy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

AWESOME!!!

I want one :D

[Green Light Guy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Very cool! I think this will be a lot of fun to have the internet handy around the house. But the screen size is the big selling point to me. I will be trying to add an ebook reader app to mine asap.

[Vincent Oberle @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

23: Who cares about a hard-drive in such a device, you don't want to show it off in the subway, you will use it to read Engadget from your couch or Skype from your backyard.

And Nokia just got it so right with such an open approach with software. The Zaurus got a lot of community support, but this device is much more sexy, I expect it to become a bigger community success than the Zaurus.

I posted more comments on my blog:
http://www.oberle.org/blog/2005/05/25/nokia-770-it-just-feels-right/

[downtown dan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

I don't understand the big deal here. I can do everything AND MORE that this thing does on my shirt-pocket Treo650, and I can use it anywhere, and I can type on it so the Web access is actually usable, and I can have my PIM, email, photos etc.

The street price of the Tungsten 5 and the nokia 770 are about the same. So this thing has a better screen? That's it?

And another thing: don't these devices just sound great when no one has actually been able to get their hands on one:)

I'm a one-device guy, and that device is the Treo 650.

Enough said.

[Ummmm @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Almost perfect. I'll buy it anyway, but how about an IR port and two buttons on the right, you know somebody can hack this into an ubergameboy or nes.

[Lester Jones @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

#32 Melanie
a girl that knows about setting up home automation
i think i am in love... holla at me [e-mail]...
i am going to setup a local home webserver and with some php to generate playlists on the fly... i will be the king of the world...

[Matthew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

@ #41

Your treo also costs $550+ ($750 unlocked), requires cell phone service PLUS data plan, (which is at least $100 a month) has no wifi, and sucks for general browsing.

[James @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

FINALLY.

i have been waiting for something like this to come out for a long time.

Browsing, checking email and reading ebooks.

I don't get why people complain when it doesn't have absolutely every feature on it. ITS NOT DESIGNED TO. It's not a media player, its not a PDA.

You dishwasher doesnt bake food.

Get over it.

[mollyhackit @ Dec 19th 2005 1:21AM]

Yes, it does James ;-)

http://www.salon.com/nov96/salmon961118.html