Nokia 770: Review

Key features:

• Large color screen with a resolution of 800x480 pixels.
• Touch screen with stylus input. You can draw characters on the screen, or tap a virtual keyboard on the screen.
• Wi-Fi connectivity to the home network and to the Internet.
• Packaged software includes an MP3 player, video player, RSS news reader, PDF reader, and email application.
• The device can play MP3, Real Audio, AAC (not iTunes), WAV, and AMR music and MPEG1, MPEG4, Real Video, H.263, AVI, and 3GP videos.
• Bluetooth for connecting the device to a phone for Internet access where Wi-Fi is unavailable.
• Regular stereo jack for headphones.
• USB cable for PC connectivity. The memory card inside the Nokia 770 shows up as a disk drive on a PC when the cable is connected.
• 64MB of RAM memory for running applications and a 64MB RS-MMC memory card included.

When you think about Nokia, you probably think about phones. The Nokia 770 is an exception - there is no phone in the product at all. Instead, there is a built-in Wi-Fi connection for fast Internet access. In theory, it is possible to install a software application on the Nokia 770 that enables computer-to-computer phone calls (similar to Skype), but the application is not included with the product.

If it's not a phone, what is it? We believe the Nokia 770 has a minor identity crisis. It's only a minor crisis because the product could easily be made better by including more software applications with it. Also, if you are tech-savvy and know Linux, you can install additional essential applications on the device yourself.

We regard the Nokia 770, a handheld device that has been optimized for viewing information, not for storing or creating information. Its beautiful screen, stylus input, limited memory capacity, and fast Internet access all favor viewing media, not storing it on the device. However, in order to view Internet pages or multimedia, two issues need to be resolved before the device can be used efficiently:

1. In order to properly view many Internet pages, you have to install additional applications, such as Flash player. For example, on a Windows PC, this installation process is pretty well automated; however, the Nokia 770 is a handheld Linux computer. You have to figure out yourself how to install Linux software on the device.

2. You probably want to get access to the photo and music library stored on your home computer's hard disk. Again, because the Nokia 770 is a Linux computer, you have to figure out how to access your Windows or Mac computer from the handheld device. This task requires setting up a web server, or running software like Orb on the computer where your media library is located.

Let's make one thing about the Nokia 770 absolutely clear. You can use the device without having to know anything about Linux. You'll never see a glimpse of Linux anywhere in the system. Only when you want to install or tweak the system will you have the privilege of stepping into the world of geeks.

Although the Nokia 770 is a handheld device, we found it quite convenient to use it when the unit is laid on a table. You have to have fairly large hands to comfortably holding the unit. It is difficult to hold, not because of the size of the device, but because of its shape. It is somewhat difficult to get a good grip on the unit because there are no dedicated handholds.

When you are listening to music through headphones and you want to move around, you can stick the unit into your shirt pocket. That's how small and thin it is, especially when you use it without the included aluminum case.

The Nokia 770 comes with limited memory capacity for running applications and for storing information. You can always buy a larger RS-MMC memory card for storing videos and music, but you can't do anything about the small RAM memory space (that's where the applications are running). Typically, you can have three to five applications open - or application windows (for instance, web browser windows) in the memory at the same time. The device lets you know when the memory is about to run out, but the remedy is easy. Close one or two applications and continue what you were doing.

Having an RSS newsfeed reader with the product is an excellent feature, but there is an annoying problem. The application doesn't accept the same newsfeed addresses that newsreader applications on a PC do. Some addresses are fine, but many are rejected by the newsreader application on the Nokia 770 .