Finnish mobile giant Nokia showcased a Linux-based pocket-sized Web browser for wireless broadband networks. Surprisingly, this device, dubbed as Nokia 770, is without the customary mobile phone.
Nokia spokeswoman Laurie Armstrong, said, "It's not a PDA or a PC, it's in that midrange where there's definitely a market out there for it. It's something people can use when they're frequently away from the desktop or in the backyard or a cafe or whatever the case." Janne Jormalainen, Nokia's VP of Convergence Products, said, " With the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet consumers can access broadband Internet services away from their desktop, for example in the backyard or at a café within a Wi-Fi hotspot."
The 'Internet tablet' measures 5.6 inches in length and has got a 4.1-inch high-resolution display. Users can also connect to the Internet using Bluetooth technology. In a major departure from tradition, the Nokia 770 operates on Linux software, as compared to its other ‘smart’ products, which operate on the Symbian platform. Nokia bosses hope that this move to Linux will prompt users to develop new software for the device.
Michael Gartenberg, an analyst with Jupiter Research, welcomed this move to Linux and said that the move was Nokia's way of giving customers another hassle- free way to access e-mail and the Internet. Chris Sessing, an analyst with Crowell Weedon & Co, was puzzled at the non-inclusion of a phone in the device; "It just doesn't make sense to me. It makes sense to branch out, but it seems like they've cut themselves off from the tree," he said.
The device has not got a hard drive but has 128 megabytes of onboard flash memory and a memory card slot in addition to a USB port to connect with a PC and a Bluetooth transmitter. The transmitter can be used to connect with a mobile phone that has cellular online access.
Janne Jormalainen revealed, "This is the first step in creating an open-source product for broadband and Internet services. We will be launching, regularly, updates of the software. The next software release planned for the first half of next year will support more presence-based functionalities such as VoIP and instant messaging."
The Nokia 770 is expected to hit markets across Europe and America in the third quarter and will be priced at $350 excluding VAT and at 350 euros including VAT.
