So what exactly does Nokia think we are going to do with internet tablets? well lets set some things straight here. First up the Nokia 770 internet tablet is not a tablet PC, in fact it's more akin to a PDA except with a much larger screen and this device is clearly pitched at web browsing either around the home or using WiFi hotspots.

That's made very clear when you hear that Nokia have not put any form of mobile phone technology into the 770 tablet, there is no GSM, GPRS or 3G the 770 relies entirely on it's WiFi 802.11b and g and Bluetooth 1.2 to hook up to the outside world. A strange move from a mobile phone giant especially when we are told that VOIP and instant messaging support will be introduced in early 2006, why not just give it 3G or GSM capability now?

At least it's a good device? based around a TI 1710 OMAP (ARM based) processor, it has 64MB of DDR RAM, and 128MB of flash memory and runs Debian Linux V2.6 with a Gnome based user interface. Great! so that's avoiding Windows but instead pitching a device that's on the edge of being obscure into the world of open source software and beards.

Perhaps we are being a touch unfair as the 4" 800 x 480 resolution screen makes an ideal surfing platform and the Opera based browser handles almost every page we tried, we'd like to see anyone achieve that on a mobile phone or PDA. Getting around the 770 is easy enough with a combination of stylus driven text entry and handwriting recognition plus a very useable 5 way D pad, operating the tablet one handed is possible and almost natural, Nokia have done a good job with ergonomics and the UI is very intuitive.

Applications are limited to web browsing and media playback, many of the expected PIM applications are not provided by the 770 there is no calendar and no to do list, instead it's expected that open source developers will pick up the challenge using the SDK and start to develop applications for the platform.

There are some things that are impossible to tell at a trade show so we'll just have to take Nokia's word that the 770 will run for 3 hours in full brightness mode and give 7 days on standby. The backlight is very strong and if you are one of those who worry about extracting the last ounce of battery life the brightness can be tuned right down, but the screen backlight cannot be switched off.

Storage beyond the 64mb free on the internal flash memory is left to a reduced size MMC card slot and the 64mb card supplied with the internet tablet, it's probably not enough for most people causing an immediate upgrade but this seems to be common practice in the industry. Other nice touches include the provision of a proper 3.5mm mini jack and not insisting we use the pop port which is commonly found on Nokia devices, also pleasing is the USB connectivity and the decision to give us 802.11g not just the older b standard.

Performance is difficult to gauge as Nokia are still " tweaking" the firmware before its let lose on the public, but even on a trade show floor the Nokia 770 was slow to load applications with it taking some 10 seconds to open the browser. Once running the applications are plenty quick enough and the browser and email client were fine for our tastes. We also noted that video playback was dubious with the picture stalling while audio continued and this was on the sample video files not even something streaming overt he wireless connection.

Measuring 141 x 79 x 19 mm and tipping the scales at 230 grams it's not exactly pocket sized, it sits somewhere between a micro laptop and a PDA, a sort of gadget no mans land. Build quality seems top notch with all the keys and the overall unit feeling sturdy if not a little lardy, finished in a black and grey plastic it looks pretty snappy but that did seem at odds with the Nokia PR bumph that said " brushed metal" maybe on the inside hey lads!

The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet seems to be a well built and reasonably performing tablet web browser, it's limited by both the availability of software many of us Pocket PC users take for granted and there are certainly doubts over it's power to run further 3rd party applications. Then we have to look at just why you would want a Nokia 770? another way to browse the web perhaps, but then a 3 hour battery life isn't much for the UK's broadband home and using it with hotspots means you've lugged it's bulk around with you when it's just too big for a pocket and yet compromised in not having a full keyboard.

Expected to cost around $350 or more likely £250 when it hits the UK it'll be pitched against our favourite iMate Jam which is currently masquerading as the TMobile MDA or one of the many many PDA's and small footprint laptops.

From our time with the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet it pains us to say that this looks like another bit of weirdness from Nokia, perhaps it will find favour as a high end remote control for a home entertainment system or something along those lines, because we just can't see where you'd use one.

Published - 21/08/2005

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