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Once again, ThoughtFix has interesting news about the evolution of the Nokia 770. He’s found information (and a photo) of the next generation Nokia 770! (Which will be named the 870 or 880, apparently.) No news on when it will be released, but the hardware information was all submitted to the FCC for approval.
And to add more punch, FreeCiv has been ported to Maemo. Pure awesome.
ThoughtFix contrasts the ease of the Nokia 770 vs. the pain of Microsoft’s latest boondoggle, the UMPC, for in-car use.
He also refers back to an earlier post discussing the ease of installing a 770 in an auto-voiture (“car” if you haven’t watched O Brother, Where Art Thou).
Among the cool things he mentions is the famous Maemo Mapper application, which allows the 770 to be used as a geographical mapping system for navigation.
ThoughtFix has hacked his Nokia 770 to make it into a miniature, rugged laptop. With video! Something like this should go into manufacture for widespread sale because it is awesome.
Since the Maemo platform is open source, it should be easy for other manufacturers to make devices that can run it… which would broaden the market, pique the interest of more developers, increase the overall value as more apps and third-party hardware is developed, and help Nokia as well as other participants in the growing ecosystem. ThoughtFix, you should hop on a plane to China and start a company to build these things!
It’s a good day for both Mac and Maemo users!
Apple released the much-anticipated MacBook today, to replace the iBook and 12″ PowerBook. It sports a 13.3″ widescreen, Core Duo chips, great software (of course), and is available in white or black.
Nokia updated the 770‘s OS to Internet Tablet 2006, which includes the jabber-based Google Talk and support for additional SIP-based VOIP programs in the future (specifically mentioned was Gizmo). It also includes a new on-screen keyboard for better text input, and some behind-the-scenes improvements to the OS, too.
Wow! I had this same idea last week–it looks like I am on the Google wavelength:
The Seattle P-I writes “Google teams with Nokia for Wi-Fi mobile phone service.”
“Google Inc. is making its first foray into mobile telephone calls in a partnership with Nokia Corp., the largest maker of hand-held mobile devices… The agreement calls for Nokia to introduce a hand-held device that comes loaded with the Mountain View, Calif., company’s Google Talk, an instant messenger and Internet calling service.
Cellular signals will not be used for the calls. Instead, the calls will be made using a wireless Internet network…”
The story is also picked up by Slashdot.
Now I just need to talk to Google about my idea for the Google Vending Machine…
Newsforge discusses the state of applications available for the Maemo platform in “Linux-powered Nokia 770 handheld applications.”
Rob Reilly gives Maemo a thumb’s up:
“Judging from the number of current extra packages available, it looks like there’s a fair amount of developer interest in the 770 platform. Downloading the binaries is easy and painless.
Past attempts to market Linux-based handheld computers have not been very successful, a prime example being the Sharp Zaurus. The 770 may do better, because Nokia has funded the tool-up for the hardware and set up a development environment that encourages experimentation and customization. Companies and vendors that want to leverage handheld, wirelessly-networked, server/client technology should definitely be interested in the 770.”
Adam Wolf reviews the experience of reading ebooks on the Nokia 770. And it’s good.
Here is what Wolf has to say:
“I’ve read ebooks on a Palm IIIxe, a Palm IIIc, a Treo 600, a Treo 650, and a Nokia 770, and the 770 is the best ebook reader I have ever used. I would have bought it simply as an ebook reader. I’ve used the Nokia 770 to surf to Baen Free Library, grab an ebook off there, and read it, all without an extra computer.”
“The 770 is better in almost all ways than a paperback. I never lose my spot. I don’t need to turn off the light to go to bed, as the screen is backlit. I can fit more paperbacks than I could fit in a house on a single memory card. The 770 fits in a single hand, and I can change pages with the same hand. The screen is beautiful. The only real downsides are the fact that the Nokia 770 uses electricity and costs more than a single paperback.”
The Guardian seems to understand the Nokia 770, as shown by this review.
“If you want something that is lying around the house, or by your bedside, for instant use when needed, then this is for you. It could come of age during an era of omnipresent Wi-Fi, enabling anytime, anywhere access to the web for everything from word processing to blogging and video sites.”
“Previous attempts to sell internet tablet computers have failed despite massive accompanying hype. This one has two things in its favour. It is tailor-made for the cloudburst of web applications we are promised and, being based on open source, it can call on a volunteer army of Linux enthusiasts to write programs for it.”
Indeed, programmers have been jumping aboard. See for yourself on the Maemo Wiki’s Application Catalog!
A wiki for the 770, including links to many other useful sites, lists of applications, etc.
Brighthand.com’s thorough review of the 770, back before it was available on the market.
Internet Tablet Talk is a blog dedicated to the Nokia 770.
Perhaps most importantly, planet.maemo.org is the Maemo developers’ planet. (A planet in this context is a collection of blog feeds from people working on a common project, all presented chronologically on one page.)
Want to keep track of all the cool new programs being written for Maemo, the platform that powers the Nokia 770?
Here’s the Maemo Wiki’s Maemo Applications Catalog.