The Nokia N770

Posted on May 4, 2008
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Announced on 25th May 2005 the N770 is regarded as the first Internet Tablet PC. It was - unsurprisingly - hardware and format derived from an earlier smart-phone - the Nokia 7710. There the similarity ends; the 7710 runs the closed-source Symbian Series 90 operating system, has a smaller, lower resolution, screen, and is of course totally incompatible at the applications level. Nokia has yet to launch a Linux based phone and - useful as they would be to developers - such open-source phones are currently as rare as the proverbial hen’s teeth. The N770 is of course not a phone!

The most obvious N770 feature is a rigid half-shell case designed to protect the screen from sit-upon accidents. This adds a bit to the size, but is nevertheless a worthwhile addition. What’s not immediately obvious is that this half-shell operates a hall-effect type magnetic switch in the device itself to signal to the operating system when it is fitted the screen-covering way around. In normal use it’s possible to leave the case off entirely or to fit the machine to the half-shell flipped horizontally, so fully exposing the screen. In this configuration it provides both something more substantial to hold onto, and extra shock protection on three sides ready to take an edge-on impact.

Touch Screen

The 800×480 resolution 4.5″ screen surface feels quite spongy to the stylus compared with later models. Regrettably it’s also the primary failure point of the device. Although I haven’t yet dissected one it feels like a quite thin sheet of plastic covering a flexible gel. Many people report a stock fault in at least one manufacturing batch resulting in a corrupted display. I’ve been lucky enough not to have experienced this problem first hand. The screen certainly works well enough, and is bright, sharp, and clear.

Consumables

The battery used is the large BP-5L 1500 mAh 3.7 V battery - exactly the same as the E61 “qwerty” keypad phone, E90 Communicator, and indeed the later N800 Tablet (though not the N810) - and is more than adequate for a day’s normal mobile use. The machine uses a reduced size MMC flash memory card (RS-MMC) for bulk data storage in common with Nokia phones of similar generation. It won’t accept the now much more common SD flash memory cards (of any size: Standard, Mini or Micro). This can be a bit of a pain at times as MMCs, particularly the RS ones, are now generally regarded as obsolescent. Nevertheless quality brands are still available at a reasonable price if you search the net and avoid chain-store mobile phone and camera shops where, if available at all, they are often grossly overpriced.

WiFi and Bluetooth

In common with all Nokia WiFi equipped devices it’s very sensitive; probably more so than your much larger notebook PC with its larger internal antenna(s). So, it makes an excellent and fully featured wireless hot-spot finder. If you’ve tried one of the many dedicated finder devices that disappoint you may conclude that owning an N770 is worth it for this usage alone! It has also acquired a bit of a reputation as.. ahem.. a wireless network hacker’s tool; this for the very same reason. Bluetooth is essential in a device like this, and that too is both sensitive and easy to configure.

Under-standing Difficulties

The real mystery behind the device is how to assemble the simple desk stand. But that’s only if you haven’t seen an assembled one before. It’s not immediately obvious that the two black plastic pieces pull apart, or that they slot into each other cross-wise to form an angled support cradle. Curiously there appears to be no illustration or photo of this in the accompanying manual!

The formal specification can be found here, so we’ll not dwell on info easily gleaned there, or indeed the features it has in common with later devices like the N800 and N810. The most recent production examples of the machine are shipped with the Gregale version of Maemo. Note that it isn’t possible to easily upgrade it to OS2008 (Chinook) chiefly due to memory limitations, though there have been some attempts at this with varying degrees of success. The 64MB of RAM memory is also the main reason you’d want to upgrade to one of the later marks.

Verdict: Given the well under £100 ($200) price of even brand new N770’s at the moment it’s still an excellent device to try out the Internet Tablet format for yourself before you commit more money to the concept. It’s certainly good enough to handle mobile e-mail; carry and view PDF documents; play audio tracks and amazingly good videos; act as a excellent GPS with a Bluetooth GPS head; and of course browse the Web whilst mobile. For the most part you will only run into memory limitations if you try to have several applications running concurrently. The 770 can still make a useful semi-dedicated device for cost critical applications like home control. And - as they are still sought-after - you should have no difficulty moving it on at nominal capital loss. ♦

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Internet Tablet Terminology (the jargon all in one place)

Posted on April 19, 2008
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Puzzled by that Internet Tablet term? This is the page to bookmark in your browser. If a term is relevant and not here, then ask (by using the leave comment link) ..and it will be!

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A Short Introduction to Internet Tablets

Posted on April 11, 2008
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An Internet Tablet is a small, pocket-sized, personal computer based on mobile phone technology, with a primary purpose of surfing the Internet without the mobility constraints of a normal personal computer. This implies that it has at least WiFi technology for on-site connectivity, and Bluetooth technology for connecting to data services provided by a separate mobile phone.

It\'s NOT a phone!

You could get tired of having to explain that it’s not a phone. Using it for VoIP calls - for which it’s eminently suitable - will make this an even more difficult explain.

It’s not a PDA either!

An Internet Tablet differs from a PDA in that the screen is a bit larger, generally of the resolution of a 1990’s desktop computer screen, and horizontal rather than vertical. Even top of the range PDAs make poor web browsers, and one often has to resort to painfully slow screen flipping and frequent font size changes to make sense of many ordinary web pages. An Internet Tablet can be used as a PDA, though nowadays top of the range smartphones are filling this slot. The learning curve of doing this is far steeper than most users will tolerate, and you are essentially on your own and won’t get any instruction from the device manufacturer. I guess this is the difference between a device and a general purpose tool. This is one of the reasons that Internet Tablets have already acquired a reputation as gadgets for computer geeks. Another powerful reason is that they run -gasp- the Linux operating system rather than… well, you know what!

But.. what does it DO!

To some people this specification spells a device that is neither a mobile phone or a usable computer - a pointless device solely for gadget freaks. What - you can’t even make phone calls on it! - Far too small a screen/keyboard to be of any practical use! - Neither one thing or the other, is it? I wondered why explaining this brought on a sort of deja-vu feeling until I cast my mind back to the late 1970’s and the feeble attempts to convey to mildly amused visitors what possible use a personal computer could be in an average home. Then home-brew machines often used a dozen or so large boards and booted the operating system into RAM - just as your PC does today. Despite the knowing nods you could read what they were thinking: all those boxes and fans and whirring disks [8″ floppies holding a massive 70KB!] and cables all over the place and you can’t even send a letter without having to tear strips of holes off the paper - all that will never ever replace the typewriter!

A few years later the self-same people were shelling out the price of several portable typewriters (and far more than they would ever spend on themselves) on a pre-packaged ROM based system with little RAM and no real storage. The rationalisation for this was to teach their kids to program computers, and in some yet-to-be-specified way “to help with their homework”. Almost without exception these were used by said kids exclusively for playing games, often to the detriment of their school work. For many this was first acquaintance with one of the unwritten laws of computing: Expensive universal machines seldom get used for what they were purchased for, and with uncomfortable frequency don’t get used at all! If this fate befalls your own Internet Tablet then sell it quickly, and accept that you’re not a member of this group.

A real PC for the pocket

To the other - and it has to be said much smaller - group of people. the Internet Table is the ultimate in computer portability, and one of the most convenient and useful devices devised by the human mind. The format also lends itself to doing many other things that other devices - even dedicated ones (e.g. in-car GPS; pocket audio and video players; and mobile phones handling e-mail) are often quite poor at. That’s because of their propriety closed technology and their take-it-or-leave-it software. With an Internet Tablet if you don’t like how things work then you, or someone else, can change it. In all probability someone already has! These someones tend to be real users with the same sort of requirements you have, and not employees with limited time, fulfilling an agenda dictated by a marketing department. There’s one extremely persuasive argument for at least trying this software - it can be downloaded and installed in minutes by the device itself and on the device itself, and as a general rule it’s entirely free! Yes, even the computer games!

In the next exciting installment..

If by this point you are still with this text then you likely fall into the second group and should bookmark this site. In the next part we will look at currently available devices and their relative strengths and weaknesses. Then the blog will then follow the authors attempts to tailor such a device to his own precise requirements. In so doing there is bound to be plenty of spin-off for other Internet Tablet owners, computer geeks or otherwise! ♦

Please let me have your comments (use the link under the title). It will provide some encouragement to share further thoughts and experiences, and could easily help correct my blunders. I’m also happy to field any questions you may have regarding Internet Tablets. Maybe over time we will build a useful public resource here? OK, no maybes then!

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