Nov/Dec 2005

Nokia is attempting to push the boundaries of wireless email access and Internet browsing PDAs in two ways at the same time with its new 770 Internet Tablet. The form factor - it's like a mini-tablet PC - is an innovation in itself, but so is the adoption of Linux as the operating system.

In hardware terms, the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet features a high-resolution wide-screen 4.12in display with zoom and on-screen keyboard capability. It features built-in Wi-Fi Internet access, and can also use Bluetooth wireless technology to connect to the Net via a compatible mobile device.

From the usability point of view, the 770 features a Web browser with Flash player, email client, Internet radio, news reader, file manager and media player.

The 770 runs on a platform called Nokia Internet Tablet 2005 software edition, which is based on desktop Linux and open source technologies. The company is encouraging developers to collaborate with it on future devices and OS releases in the Internet Tablet category, and pointing them towards the maemo web site (www.maemo.org), where tools are available.

 

How far the 770 will succeed in its bid to challenge Windows Mobile as a PDA platform is not clear. For mobile phones, users have proved to be less wedded to the Microsoft environment than in computing, and the BlackBerry has shown that they are also prepared to forsake Microsoft for mobile email if the alternative is compelling enough. But Microsoft still rules the roost in the PDA world. It remains to be seen how far Nokia's new device will tip the balance.