Nokia 7700 - "Multimedia Terminal"

howler.fi writes "Nokia today announced a Series 90 -based "multimedia terminal", the Nokia 7700. It's not really a phone or a PDA, but something inbetween. The device sports nicely sized 65k touch screen and the usual features you'd expect from a device like this. Should offer interesting competition for the Sony-Ericsson P900, though the 7700 is not expected to ship until Q2/04."

Comments

Debian boots on Nokia 7700!!

[Debian Troll's Best]

Due to my employer's close ties with the communications industry (and in particular cell phone manufacturers), we often receive prototypes and betas to play with months before they land in the hands of the average consumer. We took delivery of 4 Nokia 7700 handsets several months ago, and now that the NDAs are off, I can talk about the success we had in our labs getting Debian to run on this great phone! First of all, the Debian installer was great. It detected all the features of the phone with very minimal user interaction. We only needed to do a 'modprobe keypad' to get it to recognise the keypad, and then recompile with extra kernel modules to enable the dialling module, the SIM access module, and the battery module. This should be within the reach of any competent user.

Anyway, after a few weeks of getting Debian actually installed, it was time to start apt-getting! I know this is the thing that most Debian users love, so I apt-get install AddressBook from by Debian PC...and it worked! My address book was whisked across to the phone in no time flat! The next thing was to try and upgrade the OS to get some security patches, as we had been getting hacked during the week, and our phone was being used to host crank phone calls. Very embarrassing!! Anyway, a little apt-get dist upgrade magic did the trick, and the cell phone was now equipped with a patched version of some system libraries, and a new version of Mozilla too!!!

I used Mozilla to send an e-mail to Bruce Perens, another well known Debian user, since he can't afford a cell phone, and lives just near the Kinko's on the corner of 11th and Spencer St (I literally mean on that corner), so he checks his e-mail occasionally there, and sometimes the Kinko's manager gives him a ham sandwich. Sorry, I'm getting off track there, but Bruce was delighted to accept my invitation to see the Debian GNU Nokia 7700.

We spent the rest of the afternoon configuring new apt.sources files for the GNU/Nokia 7700. Wow! I can't believe how attached I've gotten to this thing after only a few weeks!!! It sure beat my earlier project of strapping a cordless telephone to the side of my full-tower Debian box. apt-get is soooo cool!!!

I don't want this.

[Anonymous Coward]

I just want a phone that dials numbers. A phone book is nice, but not essential.

Why the hell is Nokia coming up with gigantic devices like this?

For MP3s, I have an iPod.
For photos, I have an excellent camera.
For organizer functions, I have a PDA.
For games, I have a Game Park GP32 -- which is much better than the Game Boy Advance.

Frankly, I predict that this device will fail.

Re:Yet Another Do_It_All item

[dbarclay10]

bitch moan moan bitch toy bitch moan stuff moan moan bitch moan bitch not useful bitch bitch bitch bitch moan bitch phone moan moan bitch

competition for the p900?

[Ian-K]

Maybe.

But having switched from Nokia to SE recently, I doubt it. This may seem a bit off-topic, or maybe a bit of a rant, but lets see.

Nokia has long focused on style rather than substance. Just look at their range. Another example: if you want bluetooth to work, DON'T go for Nokia. And yes, I'm gonna shell out for the 7700 to just use the IR, right???

Nokias are better thought out in some areas (eg. data fields supported in the addressbook, some apps), but quite conservative in terms of technology & practical features (unless it will appeal to 14-17 year-olds).

Although the 7700 is loaded with nice 'features' and all, I am far from convinced. For one thing, why would I want a mini (maxi?) N-gage potato-shaped phone in my pocket? Hmmm.

On the other hand, the only thing I find annoying on the P900 is SE's stubborn flog-a-dead-horse decision to push for their beloved Memory Stick Duo. It's like the minidisk (or worse), Sony, wake up to it!

Once there was a survey by club Nokia, which I filled in and I pointed out how sick I was of their 'everything lifestyle' image and how I thought their chief designer must be *very* gay. It felt so good, esp. after you look at their range.

Trian

(previous owner of a 6150, a 6310i and now a SE T610)