Nokia Announces 7710 PDA/GPS/Internet Phone

Tufriast writes "The Register has an interesting article on Nokia's internet ready/GPS/PDA ultra phone. It boasts music playing capabilities and features the Series 90 Software. Its attractiveness, and 'No side-talking' (NGage) capacity alone makes it a handy utensil."

Comments

"Europe, Middle East, Africa"

[xNoLaNx]

Figures it's not something we'll see here anytime soon...

Re:"Europe, Middle East, Africa"

[Johnboi Waltune]

Read the specs, it's 900/1800/1900Mhz. Will work fine in the U.S. I'm sure they'll be selling on eBay shortly.

Re:"Europe, Middle East, Africa"

[evilned]

The only carrier who will touch 900/1800/1900 phones is T-Mobile. Cingular/ATTWS haven't used a non-850MHz phone for a long time. So while you might see it here, the chances of picking it up at the reduced price that carriers charge for phones is slim.

Re:"Europe, Middle East, Africa"

[Thuktun]

Cingular/ATTWS haven't used a non-850MHz phone for a long time.

Er, huh? My AT&T Wireless GSM phone (Nokia 6800) supposedly only works on the 900/1800 MHz frequencies. I daily use both ATTWS/Cingular and T-Mobile GSM towers.

First Prime Factorization Post

[Anonymous Coward]

7710 = 2 * 3 * 5 * 257

Nokia 6190

[rosewood]

I guess this is my last phone "phone" :(

I love my 6190! It is a great regular phone with amazing super powers. Good size, good features, and it probably is the best phone I have ever had. I would feel weird with something with that big of an LCD in my evil pockets.

Re:Nokia 6190

[m2pc]

"...with amazing super powers", like what, levitation? I get tired of holding my cell between my shoulder and ear, so that would be a nice feature! :P

Re:Nokia 6190

[rosewood]

Basically - since it has bluetooth and I can use a wireless headset, I often leave my phone on the charger all day.

Phone?

[3770]

The only thing on that main page that lets you know that it is a phone is the name, the smartphone.

All the features mentioned has nothing to do with phones.

I guess it is obvious, but it drives home the point that the "phone" part of a cell phone really isn't the selling point anymore.

Re:Phone?

[M51DPS]

I guess it is obvious, but it drives home the point that the "phone" part of a cell phone really isn't the selling point anymore.

How many times have you heard this from someone:

I don't know about you, but the only reason I buy phones anymore is because I have become a hardcore gamer. Bring on the miniscule screen and crappy graphics, let's see how many fps we can crank out of this baby.

Re:Phone?

[NanoGator]

"I guess it is obvious, but it drives home the point that the "phone" part of a cell phone really isn't the selling point anymore."

Der. It's called 'diminishing returns'.

Lets go back to the days of HUGE cell phones

[lNxUnDeRdOg]

I'm all for cool gear, but let's face it. A cell phone that can make you a mixed drink is cool, but not if it is the size of two-three average cell phones. just my two pesos...

Re:Lets go back to the days of HUGE cell phones

[nbert]

Furthermore those mixer/phone devices usually don't perform too well in both fields...

Re:Lets go back to the days of HUGE cell phones

[Mousit]

You're kidding, right? I mean, what do you define as the size of the "average cell phone"? Small enough to need the label "May be a choking hazard" perhaps?

TFA says the phone is 128 x 69.5 x 19mm (5.0 x 2.7 x 0.7in). That's pretty damn small, and there are numerous phones on the market the same size or bigger. As reference, I have a Nokia 3650 phone, at 5.1 x 2.24 x 1.0in. It fits quite well in a pocket or on a belt clip. The smartphone is 'round-about the same size, and even manages to be thinner! It is, admittedly, over two whole ounces heavier than my phone, not that I've ever found the 3650 anything but light.

Personally, I don't want a cell phone so small I have to worry about losing it in my ear canal, or has buttons so tiny I need a toothpick to press them. Just my two wooden nickels..

Re:Lets go back to the days of HUGE cell phones

[Snaller]

Hear hear - one reason i've been putting of buy a new phone is that the new ones are so damn tiny! That's fine if you are a little girl but otherwise its a damn nuisance...

How many of you..

[MisanthropicProgram]

saw the headline and thought "I don't care. I just want a basic cell phone." ?

My phone is getting outdated and I cannot get a basic cellphone anymore. It sucks! No, I don't want to take pictures, movies, or jack-off with my phone.

Re:How many of you..

[Pxtl]

Idunno, my T720's pretty sparse on cruft, and it gets the job done nicely for me.

Re:How many of you..

[drinkypoo]

I want to take pictures and make movies with my phone, manage contacts, handle appointments, listen to music... Because it is most convenient to have all that stuff in one device if you'd like to be able to do it all the time. Otherwise, just buy a normal phone and stop bitching about convergence devices :P

Re:How many of you..

[gl4ss]

***My phone is getting outdated and I cannot get a basic cellphone anymore.***

that argument is getting tired.. been hearing that for 2 years.

and during that whole time, just phone phones have been available and still are. fine, just buy a normal _lowest of low_ end phone.

or wouldn't you consider something like 1100 basic? vote with your wallet if you want.

Re:How many of you..

[slashdot.org]

saw the headline and thought "I don't care. I just want a basic cell phone." ?

Good point, this probably makes sense for a lot of people. I personally look at these things as a portable internet terminal. You kinda need the cell-phone part for your connection. To me that's a more useful device than a cell-phone, but since you are carrying it around anyway, it's nice to have it be a cell-_phone_ at the same time.

But, I'm not sure this is 'the' one. The GPS is not built in, and it's questionable whether the browser supports JavaScript. I personally would like a small qwerty keypad.

Re:How many of you..

[Unknown Lamer]

Motorola V180, Siemens CF62T, Nokia 3595/6010 (if you are in North America).

OK so they have color screens and have the ability to run J2ME apps but they are as basic as it gets. The Nokia 3595 has been replaced by the 6010 but I'd recommend searching for a 3595 somewhere because it'll last forever.

I know these things because I work at a cell phone store and we have people come in who have had their 3595's for years and have beat the shit out of them and they are still working perfectly fine.

The other phones are basic flip phones that everyone loves and are usually free if you sign up for cell service.

You can still find basic phones. You just can't find them for money anymore.

Re:How many of you..

[rodgerd]

Whereas I want a device that has organiser capability, at a minimum. If it's going to have my addressbook, why not my to-do list? And why should I lug around a Palm and a phone?

It looks, in fact like a better Palm than anything Palm makde. Higher res screen, better form factor, and with a built in phone.

Re:How many of you..

[Total_Wimp]

***My phone is getting outdated and I cannot get a basic cellphone anymore.***

that argument is getting tired.. been hearing that for 2 years.

and during that whole time, just phone phones have been available and still are. fine, just buy a normal _lowest of low_ end phone.

or wouldn't you consider something like 1100 basic? vote with your wallet if you want.

Hell, with most basic cell phones the wallet doesn't even need to be involved. Most carriers will just give them to you. It the guy doesn't like a fancy phone he has, literally, nothing to complain about.

I've used smart phones for years now and love 'em, but I'm certainly not going to shove them down anyone's throat. Maybe the guy just likes basic value and should be reading "Consumer Reports" instead of "news for nerds".

TW

Re:How many of you..

[RealAlaskan]

One of the big reasons that I still don't have a cell phone is that most cell phones aren't a phone, they're a package. They're a contract, with minutes and special terms and cameras and side-talking and I-don't-know-what-all. I want a phone that's nothing but a phone, free local calls, and I want a simple, no-surprises monthly bill that's not too high. Right now, the only way I can get that seems to be via land line.

When the phone companies start offering just plain phone service that I can use with a cheap, basic just-plain-phone wireless phone, I'll think about going wireless. When I can buy a wireless phone at a garage sale, punch in my number or my card and get a wireless dial tone, just like I can do with a landline phone, it'll be a no-brainer. Until then, I just don't need the hassle.

My first degree is in electrical engineering, and I don't think I'm a technophobe, but I want my phone to be a phone, and gadgetry isn't for me.

You would think that the phone companies would eventually realize that they've already gotten all the gearheads and early adopters signed up. If they want to get the rest of us, they'll have to start offering services and phones that the rest of us want, and that starts with simple and no hassle.

Re:How many of you..

[anpe]

I'll second this, I don't want to be carrying a phone, plus a mmedia device, plus an organizer. So I could fall for this one, but I'll examine carefully the data transfer issues (it needs to be evolution friendly)

Re:How many of you..

[UWC]

it's questionable whether the browser supports JavaScript

While I guess I'm not sure about the included browser (if there is one), I know the Nokia Series 60 phones have Java support, so I would assume that the Series 90 ones do as well, though I guess Java != JavaScript. As for the browser thing, I'd assume that Nokia is still using the Symbian OS since they recently bought Symbian, and last time I checked there was a version of the Opera browser available for Symbian devices (I ran a copy of Opera a couple of years ago on a 33MHz ARM-based PDA thing with Symbian).

Re:How many of you..

[rodgerd]

The Symbian Nokias support SyncML, so it ought to be.

Re:How many of you..

[dykofone]

I completely agree with you, and the typical answer is "well just get the bottom line phone, ya know, the one they give away for free with service. All it does is make calls."

But I don't want necessarily the cheapest, because from my experience it means crap ass signal, horrible color LCD screen, small buttons, and a pain in the ass interface.

I was extremely excited when Motorola came out with this the i530. Built to military spec, simple screen, strong signal. The only problem is they don't have a GSM version out yet. I have seriously thought about going to Nextel just to get a decent phone like that.

Re:How many of you..

[centauri]

It used to be that getting a cameraphone meant you were getting a crappy camera and a crappy phone. Now it seems like most cameraphones are better cameras than my camera and better phones than my home phone.

Re:How many of you..

[tepples]

I think MisanthropicProgram's point is that nobody seems to sell "normal phones" anymore.

Re:How many of you..

[shut_up_man]

I don't want a web browser, organiser, games system, movie camera or LED wave messaging in my mobile phone, but I do want a digital camera. I won't be texting pictures to people (waste of money) but I'd definitely be taking random pics of stuff during my normal day. What I really want is something like the Nokia 3120 except with a camera. Then I could dump the images onto another machine when I got home in the evening via IR or Bluetooth.

Obviously it will never compete with the quality or features of my real digicam, but it's useful to be able to take okay quality shots of stuff at any time. Since I carry my mobile all the time anyway...

Re:How many of you..

[CrackedButter]

Look on ebay for old phones.

Re:How many of you..

[Kenja]

The Nokia 1100 has a built in flashlight. Will the convergence madness never end?

Re:How many of you..

[RangerRick98]

I want to take pictures and make movies with my phone, manage contacts, handle appointments, listen to music... Because it is most convenient to have all that stuff in one device if you'd like to be able to do it all the time.

I'm honestly not trying to be a smartass here, but what's wrong with getting a laptop for contacts, appointments, music, etc.?

Re:How many of you..

[rusty0101]

I don't use my cell phone for most of my calls. I have it primarily as a way to be available to my kids and other family members, who also have my home number. I generally use less than 60 min a month on my cell phone.

Using the Virgin Mobile system, I use less than $20 for 3 months of service, since paying $20 every three months is the minimum requirement to maintain service, and so long as I do that the money I haven't used acrues, I can also comfortably call into conference calls when necessary.

Note that the phones available range in capabilities from what I have, which simply has a monocrome lcd, organizer, voice activated dialing, and callendar, on up to phones with camera's, slide phones, etc. Phones are available at Target, Best Buy, and Circuit City, (probably your local Sam Goodey, or Virgin Records store as well) and at some stores you may find older discontinued models for a lot less, that may work well for you at a lower cost. (Bought one for my son for $14.96 that is working out just fine for him.)

Down sides. Service is part of the Sprint PCS network, which some people have issues with. If I am out of range, and have the need to call 911, I have an old AT&T lugable phone in the trunk that I can use. If you use a cell phone a lot, (say $100 min or more a month) this service will probably get expensive for you, you might want to look into something else.

For those that are interested in complaining that $.25 a min for the first 10 min is an excessive amount, consider that I use less than 60 min a month, and tell me what rate I would be paying per min for a $39.99 a month service. $.55 per min. Thanks, but no thanks.

For that plug a phone into it, and get dial tone, I like Vonage, but then I already have a broadband connection (Cable) that I don't think of as being part of the cost of the phone line. I would have the Broadband connection anyway. All told, with four different phone numbers, including an 800 number that my kids out of state can use to call me on, I am spending less than $50 a month. (Cell, home, 800, seprate area code home for appartment complex calling system which needs a number in it's own area code.)

Re:How many of you..

[centauri]

What I can't figure out is how (short of a headset) I could check my schedule or whatnot while carrying on a conversation. Currently, I have both a PDA and a phone so I can do both at once, more or less.

Re:How many of you..

[Reducer2001]

Because of this scene:

Me: So, why don't we get together for lunch sometime next week?

Her: Great! Let me give you my number.

Me: One sec, I've got to boot up laptop.

Her: Uh, can't you just punch it in your cell-phone?

Me: No, you see, I manage everything in Evolution. Oh crap, this well just be a second, it's trying to reestablish a connecti- Hey wait, where are you going!?

All the girls I've met the past six months have put their number in my cell-phone or mine in her's.

Re:How many of you..

[vianetman]

I'm not really concerned about contact management, except that I like to be able to sync contacts with my laptop. I really just want the phone numbers and email addresses. I like having a camera to take pictures of gift ideas, stupid looking people, things I don't have time to write down. I also really like the new Java games and applications. My Dad thinks getting the weather radar on my phone is the coolest thing since color TV.

I had a Palm Tungsten W, which I hated using as a cell phone b/c of it's size and the requirement that I talked with the earbud. Now I carry a Moto v600 and use Bluetooth to allow my handheld a GPRS connection. The v600 has most of the features I need. The only thing more I could ask for is FM radio which would be nice at sporting events.

Re:How many of you..

[ewg]

My officemate looked at the product photos and said, "Where is the phone?"

Bet he's not the only one to have that reaction.

Re:How many of you..

[Mental]

Speakerphone. The technical spec's for the phone in the article also mentions bluetooth, so wireless ear tumor is an option.

I'm not sure if this model comes with one but my current phone has a decent speakerphone.

I'm not too impressed with the unit in general, Motorolla MPx200. Yes it's Windows, and yes, it crashes. No joke, it actually locks up. Not all that often, possibly 5 times in the last year.

As it was provided by my employer I really can't complain on the price point.

I've been using it for over a year and I have noticed some bugs that may be addressed by software updates I've neglected to hunt down.

Re:How many of you..

[RealAlaskan]

I'm paying about $20 per month for free local calls, 400 minutes long distance anywhere in the U.S. except Alaska, plus dial-up internet and pop3 email. All via landline, all on one bill, all with an absolute minimum of hassle and no commitment. And, I can get my phone from the free box at a garage sale and not worry whether it's compatible.

My circumstances are probably different than yours. I don't need to be as available as you seem to. I'm at my desk while at work and so my family can easily contact me. When I'm not at work, I'm with my family. If I were going to be out of touch, it'd be on the water (no, I'm not on that page yet), and I'd get a couple of marine VHF handhelds to keep in touch.

Re:How many of you..

[worst_name_ever]

Fortunately for the integration-phobes among us, by the time the grim future of Doom III comes to pass, the technology for integrating a flashlight with another device will have been lost.

Re:How many of you..

[gzunk]

Colour LCD? My Nokia 6110 is monochrome, and it's not bottom of the range. Well it's no longer sold I must admit, but it does have tri-band GSM, bluetooth and GPRS.

It's a "business" phone rather than a "lifestyle" phone I suppose. Excellent signal reception / coverage. Perhaps you should try looking at the more business oriented phones.

Re:How many of you..

[Total_Wimp]

and I want a simple, no-surprises monthly bill that's not too high. Right now, the only way I can get that seems to be via land line.

When did that happen? Every wired phone service I've ever used had rate plans created by the same crazed hermits that bring you your airline fare and the bill was always a surprise if I made even one long-distance call. It didn't seem particularly low most of the time either.

Cell phones, on the other had, have these fixed rate plans that often have unlimited calling during very well defined windows (I use AT&T).

I've seen some crazy stuff in cell land but you're smoking crack if you think the land lines are any better.

TW

Re:How many of you..

[sidmystic]

Hey, that 1100 is pretty darn spiffy. I admit I'm hooked on my color display now, but that one looks like it could really take some punishment.
Eeeexcelent.

Re:How many of you..

[timeOday]

Stop right there, before I fall back to complaining about "slashvertizements."

Seriously, I think this is a very cool device. I don't see how anybody who owns more than two of these devices separately can fail to see the utility. Everything needs a battery, everything needs a screen, and almost everything benefits from wireless communication. It'd be crazy not to roll them together.

Re:How many of you..

[UWC]

I guess "bought" wasn't what I meant exactly, but I thought I recalled a /. story a while back about nokia buying controlling interest in Symbian or something of the like. Oh well.

Re:How many of you..

[drinkypoo]

I'd be happy if the thing responded slowly but was very stable (as in, separate functions had a very hard time trampling one another) but I think most people wouldn't be, and that's why we get buggy shit that crashes. Obviously technologies exist that would allow us to perform all of these functions in a single reliable unit even if we had to create virtual machines to run in. Small computing devices are now easily capable of providing the amount of memory and processing power necessary to do something like that. It would be nice if we could just make stuff that didn't crash but the point is that I would like a single device that does all this stuff. I'm pretty sure I'm not buying this one.

Re:How many of you..

[drinkypoo]

They exist, they just suck. My phone has a web browser but it's got a black and white screen and far too little resolution to do that kind of crap. It's very slow and very annoying, but it's also very small. It's a GSM1900 phone and I'd be quite happy to sell it to someone, but I haven't found an unlock for it yet. I do have a serial cable for it, though :P

Re:How many of you..

[Lally Singh]

That last clause proves you're lying. So, has motorola lowered themselves to astoturfing??

Re:How many of you..

[Packets]

The Nokia 1100 has a built in flashlight. Will the convergence madness never end?

No.

Re:How many of you..

[tooth]

well, i might as well put in my wish item: easy to sync software and a cable that doesn't cost $50! hey, phone companies, why not use a phreaking usb cable? throw in a usb drive and it would get me to open my wallet...

sure, phones that take photos are great, but not if it's hard to get stuff onto and off of.

Re:How many of you..

[Trejkaz]

Try eBay. You should be able to pick up a pretty simple but still recent phone for under $100.

Price too high

[hkb]

Unfortunately, the thing is going to cost around a grand, as has been reported.

I can't wait for one of the new 9xxx's to ship that's priced around $600. I used to be a Palm lover, but Symbian is really remarkable.

Re:Price too high

[kerb]

also a palm lover.. till i get a gf prolly.

Re:Price too high

[hkb]

You need a gf like mine, who enjoys watching you use your palm

Using it as a PHONE

[craigtay]

I like how one of the last things it mentions anywhere on the page is how to actually use it at a phone. It was buried in the bottom of the FAQ!!

Re:WTF??

[bmalnad]

Yeah. What he said. I don't want to see another phone on the front page until they make a rotary dial cell phone. Now that would be cool.

GPS?

[slashdot.org]

Always have to dissapoint me, don't ya? The GPS is an ADD-ON... BFD.

There are too many devices like this available already. Sure, some of the specs are nice (screen/camera resolution), but again, no mention of the browser supporting JavaScript.

Re:GPS?

[rodgerd]

The browser supports Flash. I'd be surprised if it didn't support JS. And besides, you can get Opera for Symbian devices.

Re:GPS?

[gmuslera]

About Javascript, tried looking at the FAQ?

If not was about price, availability, and probably linux compatibility having a cell phone with a good pda, web browser, GPS (and maybe even ebook reader and ssh client) is like a dream. It even have good mp3 player, radio and not so bad camera included. But if it marks a trend, the future looks promising.

Re:GPS?

[TheVidiot]

Are there any cellular and GPS combination devices out there? I'd like to lay my hands on one.

Re:GPS?

[dcs]

Well, does Opera supports JavaScript???

Re:GPS?

[pasde]

While the register does mention support for GPS, Nokia's website DOES NOT present such feature.

Re:GPS?

[Bronz]

"... but again, no mention of the browser supporting JavaScript."

Actually, it does mention it supporting Javascript -- it's in the FAQ under "Browsing":

"1. What kind of browser is provided with the Nokia 7710 smartphone? The browser in the Nokia 7710 smartphone supports HTML 4.01, XHTML, security (SSL 3.0/TLS 1.0), ECMAScript/JavaScript, CSS1 (cascading style sheet), CSS2 audio and video support, Macromedia Flash 6 plug-in, SVG-tiny (Scalable vector graphic) as well as click-to-browse, context-sensitive commands and fit-to-screen. Webpages can also be saved to a local folder (without images)."

It doesn't specifically name the browser, but I'm guessing it's Opera. Which is always very cool.

Re:GPS?

[Svenne]

Yes, the Motorola A920 and A925. Hi3G (aka. Three in Europe) are selling their A925 for 750SEK (about $80) at the moment.

Re:GPS?

[geighaus]

Yes, it is Nokia's rebranded Opera. I've played with this phone for a bit, and web surfing experience is very pleasant.

QWERTY

[DeepFried]

I have a Treo 600 and cant imagine trying to "power-use" the device without QWERTY input. Email, IM, URLs, and even the ocasional Terminal via Tussh.
If I didn't have my usable thumboard I would want to blow my brains out.
I am open to other input methods. I just haven't seen anything that comes close.

Re:QWERTY

[rodgerd]

There are plenty of Bluetooth keyboards if you get sick of onscreen keyboards or handwriting input.

Re:QWERTY

[Concerned Onlooker]

Yep. I just got a Treo600, which replaced my cellphone and my trusty old Palm Vx. At first it was a little weird realizing I'd never "write" on my Palm again, but after several seconds I got over it. The keyboard is better for me, but it is tiny and takes some getting used to.

Plus, there is little reason to pull out the stylus most of the time (I only use if for old apps that aren't fully navigable under OS 5) and that makes for better usability in my opinion. I looked at the Nokia home page and in the demo it shows using a stylus to scroll sideways on a web page. No, thanks.

Still, technologically it's got some very cool features, just not what I'm looking for.

Re:QWERTY

[DeepFried]

But I want my gear to fit in here! It's all about and all-in-one solution for me. And qwerty is much better IMO than handwriting recognition for funky terminal action.

Re:QWERTY

[rodgerd]

The first two keyboards flod down to the same size as a PDA - so they ought to fit in yer pocket.

Personally I'm quickest and express myself best in longhand, so there's no decent input device for me 8-/

Re:QWERTY

[gl4ss]

s90 (7710 is a series90 device) has pretty spiffy hand writing recog input system(it's testable in the downloadable sdk's emulator).

also.. nokia has qwerty devices in the coming.. 9300 for example is the size of a normal phone from few years past and opens up for a full qwerty(closed it is like a normal phone from couple of years back, 6310 like). they also got the bit bigger 9500, which is like 9300 but with wifi and a camera(9300 doesn't have a camera).

(and i'm right there with the stylus text input sucks.. I'd rather use the 9 pad to enter text than stylus..)

Questionable Forward-Compatibility...

[onpaws]

This phone uses the Series 90 system (the only phone to do so), which has shelved as of yesterday. See this Reuters article:
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topN ews&storyID=6698762

Re:Questionable Forward-Compatibility...

[Eric Giguere]

If you're an application developer, first consider writing the apps using J2ME. This isn't always possible, I know, but if you can do it in Java then you'll have compatibility across a wide variety of Nokia (and other) devices.

Eric
J2ME info here: Eric's J2ME Pages

...but not the USA.

[AltGrendel]

1. When and where will the Nokia 7710 widescreen multimedia smartphone be available?

The Nokia 7710 is estimated to be available in Asia and China in the fourth quarter of 2004 and Europe and Africa in the first quarter of 2005

Re:...but not the USA.

[Unknown Lamer]

Blame the US mobile providers. They don't buy them.

If you have T-Mobile you can just buy the Asian or European version and it will work (since their network is 100% 1900Mhz). With Cingular you could use that version but you won't be able to use it very many place since most of the network is 850Mhz.

I got my 7610 from Singapore. It rocks and was well worth the $380.

Re:...but not the USA.

[Not_Wiggins]

Europe is on GSM and EGSM, which is 900 and 1800 (respectively). America uses 1900. 850 must be relatively new in the bands available because it wasn't an option when I was working on GSM cellular systems. If you want to buy a phone from a foreign market and want to use it in the US, make sure it supports 1900 or is "tri-mode" (900, 1800, and 1900) and you're allowed to "unlock" it (ie, use it with a difference service provider than you originally purchased it for. I know this is the case for Motorola phones... don't know about other vendors). Although a little googling shows now "quad-mode" phones which include the 850 band.

Teleport

[3770]

I'd rather that it could teleport. That way I could get it even when I forgot it at home.

Re:Teleport

[RangerRick98]

I'd rather that it be able to teleport me. Imagine the gas savings.

Beige Pearl?

[rhesuspieces00]

Is it me, or is that not the most attractively named color scheme araound?

nice ripped-off aqua UI though.

Nokia scheduling lies

[lxdbxr]

For me, Nokia's scheduling FUD is going to work against them - I was waiting for the 6260 to become available before upgrading but despite having a release date of Q3 2004 and heavy advertising it is proving impossible to get hold of (on Orange, in the UK). Now instead I will wait for the 7710 but I'm not holding my breath expecting it to come out in Q4 2005 as announced.

Re:Nokia scheduling lies

[edxwelch]

Yeah, Nokia say that they're on their way to recuperating their market share now that they have released clam-shell phones, however I haven't seen one single Nokia clam-shell in any of the shops here in Spain. Wonder how they expect people to buy non-existant phones.

Great!! G4 crap

[lNxUnDeRdOg]

yet another G4 crap toy they can say is so cool and everyone should have it...blah blah...well at least crap rolls downhill and in about 3 years all phones will be like this...so stick with 'ol reliable and wait!!

Dupe Advert?

[JimmehAH]

Nokia Smart Phone Recognizes Handwriting.

Getting a bit ridiculous.

sidetalkin'

[chocolatetrumpet]

What?

No sidetalkin'

What the hell is this, then?

Re:sidetalkin'

[AnonymousKev]

My first thought was the MSTK3 song "Side Hackin'" sung during the riff of the movie "Side Hackers".

So "No sidetalkin'" can only mean one of two things:
1) the phone does not have a built-in motorcycle, or
2) the phone does not have a built-in bad movie

Re:sidetalkin'

[fredistheking]

On the original N-Gage the microphone/speaker were positioned on the side of the device so you had to put the phon^H^H^H^H thing on its side to talk.

I'm still waiting

[ColonBlow]

I'm waiting for a convergence item that does any of it's smashed-together utilities better than a dedicated, single-use device does. Phones that are also cameras and PDA's seem to make each particular activity more annoying than it was before. Maybe it's going to get there some day, but it seems very awkward at the moment. Is it just me?

Re:I'm still waiting

[Ba3r]

not as awkward as having a batman style toolbelt of cellphone sized accesories... I open my bag and i see my etrex, elph, cellphone, palm, and pocket knife rattling around, and i just day dream of when i will get all that functionality in one...no matter how clunky it is at first, these articles always excite me...

ok, so the pocketknife doesn't need to be integrated (in fact its much more fun when its not >:) but, u get the idea

A camera, too?

[centauri]

I was excited to think I could get all that without the bother of a camera (it's a no-no at work), but then I found out it actually does have one. When I wondered why that wasn't mentioned in the headline, I realized that most people just assume all phones come with cameras.

Re:A camera, too?

[RangerRick98]

That's a pretty good point. I work at a Navy installation and I would not be able to bring a camera-enabled cell phone on the base with me. Considering that I'm moving towards using only a cell phone as my means of sending and receiving calls (dropping the landline at my apartment, for instance) that's a bit of a problem for me.

Re:A camera, too?

[BK425]

I've had a digital camera for 5 years, I've had a cell phone for 5+. The "camera"s in these phones aren't half what my 5year old digital is (and it's mostly gathering dust now) and like other I go places where cameras are not welcome. So, I only get in if I leave the phone out in the car. I like my moto730; small, good quality, nice -phone-.

Re:Do Not Want Camera Phone

[JimmehAH]

Try this...

Nokia 6310i

Operating System

[endrek]

I'm not too familiar with embeded operating systems and I can't tell from the picture and I can't find it on the site. Any one know what it is running? palm, winCE, or some in house nokia thing?

Re:Operating System

[dcrocha]

It runs Symbian OS, so it can be programmed with SymbianOS' native language (C++). It also supports Java and MIDP 2.0

My $0.02

Taco no more?

[Lord_Dweomer]

Didn't Nokia change the nGage so it no longer required "side-talking"?

If thats the case, I don't think the statement in the summary is accurate as it does not currently reflect Nokia's product offering.

Been using it

[Fizzl]

I have been using 7700 and 7710 as long as they have existed in the internal Nokia line. As you can find out of my posting history. I was touting 7700 features to all the world as I loved the features but hated the hardware desing. Nokia finally made the same decision and 7700 was reserved only for internal partner usage. Not another N-Cage sidetalkin' fiasco!

Now that I have got to use 7710 as my primary phone for a few months and seen the software improve in quality gradually I must say this is my absolute favourite phone/pda ever. You have to account in that I haven't been using any other PDA's all that much. Only some SonyEricsson (P800 et. al.)and generic WinCE products (I'm a contractor).

What I use it for...
I kill time on almost 1hr bus rides to work reading slashdot with the Opera web browser.
I read my emails using SSL encrypted communications with my server. (SSL on top of Exim and uw-imapd, please don't impale me for my servers of choise. I just like them)
The contacts and calendar functions are pretty flexible too. It's just that I don't manage my time too much. It's handy when it reminds me about appointment which I have synchronized in.
I don't like the handwriting regognition too much because I have terrible handwriting which I can't decipher myself. The virtual keyboard does the job thou. I could write faster with a real keyboard, but nothing in the VKB itself isn't keeping me from typing faster.
Sometimes I make phonecalls too!

I guess that's all. There's a ton of features but even as an 'insider' I haven't touched many of them.

Anyway, you can consider this post as paid advertisement by Nokia because I am contracted to them ATM.
Simple the best! (Exactly the same phrase I used to describe P800 when it was still in proto stage)

Re:Do Not Want Camera Phone

[Natedog]

Try the Sony Ericsson T68i. I purchased one from ebay last year. Its an older phone, but has the "right" feature set for me.

It has bluetooth, no camera, *very* basic pda features -- calander, phonebook, alarms, color screen (not touch, which i prefer, t9 is great!)

I'm very happy with it.

What's more, it's tri-band (eg works in US, europe and most places in the world -- i actually purchased a SIM while in europe and had a "local" number) and it's network unlocked (eg my phone isn't locked to a network provider). I don't use my phone a bunch, so I just purchased a pay-as-you-go SIM from cingular and my average monthly cost is about US$15.

Search on ebay for "Sony Ericsson T68i unlocked"

I purchased mine for about US$100.

One warning however: check the GSM coverage, GSM fequencies, and plans of various providers before commiting to any phone.

I, for one...

[dcs]

...can't wait to get my hands on it!

After a nice experience with 3650 (which is of similar size, btw), I tried to select which cell phone would best fit my needs, and I just couldn't find one. 7610 comes close, but it's sound sucks. Sendo X is a good alternative, but with a VGA camera it's kind of limited (the led flash is nice, though). P900 (and P910) is very nice, but, again limited camera and sound. Same goes for Treo 600 (and 650). Others have too little memory, etc.

So, what does 7710 brings? Stylus-input. Radio. Stereo sound. Megapixel camera. Enough memory to run Doom (and load my DVD collection... :)). And a display very nice for reading books.

So, how to dial? I don't know about you, but I have been dialing most of the time through voice or the contacts application on my last three phones, so I don't expect 7710's awkward dialing to trouble me much.

Re:but no camera?!

[Njoyda Sauce]

Features from the article:
Wide screen with pen input
Handwriting recognition
HTML browser supports Flash 6
Up to 90 MB internal memory, 128 MB MMC card

**** Megapixel camera (1152x864 pixels)

Music player with stereo audio
Audio and video playback and streaming
FM/Visual Radio

DUPE

[Anonymous Coward]

From only two days ago:

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/11/03/125722 0

Digits of pi, maybe, but not THOSE kind of digits

[andyrut]

Phone numbers from members of the opposite sex? You forget this is Slashdot!

Oh, and oddly enough...I'm the guy that sent you your Gmail invite.

Today's math lesson

[Anonymous Coward]

Being a power-of-2 times a product of distinct Fermat Primes, this means that a regular 7710-gon is constructible with ruler and compass.

Re:Digits of pi, maybe, but not THOSE kind of digi

[Reducer2001]

I know, I know. Any admittance of content with women is highly suspect here. Thanks again for the Gmail invite, it's changed my life.

Re:Digits of pi, maybe, but not THOSE kind of digi

[Reducer2001]

Shit, should have been contact!

Keyboard only for me..

[Mean_Nishka]

I've been a PDA user for about ten years. I bought a Newton 110 right when it came out, later upgraded to a Newton 2000, and then went through a variety of WindowsCE/PocketPC devices.

I never used these devices as much as I would have liked due primarily to the lack of easy text entry. Handwriting recognition rocks when it works, but is often clumsily corrected. So despite all of the email capabilities these devices offered, I rarely used them for that purpose.

Enter my Treo 600.. I actually do email on this thing (a lot of it) because I can input text without frustration (and not worry about embarrassing misreads that I might miss).

As a result I will no longer buy a PDA that doesn't have some form of real (tactile and all) keyboard input. I know I'm probably limiting my choices, but I can't go back.. Handwriting recognition just doesn't work well enough for extensive data input.

Re:Keyboard only for me..

[mousse-man]

Ever thought about the Sharp Zaurus? The SL-6000 works pretty well, and the old 5500 can be had for little money. It's just not a phone.

I wait till Suunto makes it's first phone.

[notany]

Check out http://suunto.com They have watches with compass, GPS, Heart rate monitor, altimeter, barometer, .... Now. That's nice and all. But when they add basic phone into it, that's killer.

Local Calls on a Mobile?

[gzunk]

Surely the point of a mobile phone is that you can use it wherever you are - therefore there is no "local call"

My mobile gives me (sometimes) free/ cheap calls to people on the same network, which is probably the semantic equivalent of local calls.

Re:Local Calls on a Mobile?

[RealAlaskan]

Surely the point of a mobile phone is that you can use it wherever you are - therefore there is no "local call"

I'm here . There is a sharp dividing line between local and long distance for me. Being able to call anyone in town free is a big deal. When the kids get a little bigger, it'll be a huge factor.

The `` the semantic equivalent of local calls'' just doesn't cut it for me. That's what I was trying to say in the earlier post: that always having the phone with me is a mixed blessing, at best, and it certainly doesn't make up for all the new, improved irritations that the cell phone brings with it. Phone companies will have to give me what I want to buy, not what they want to sell. Otherwise, it's just no sale.

All I want

[cephus440]

Is a PDA w/ attached keys similar to a TI-83. And I want it to run Linux.

But I want Linux!

[lilmouse]

I want one of these PDA/Cell phones that runs Linux! Then it will play OGG, FLAC, etc!

When do those come out?

--LWM

Re:But I want Linux!

[dimension6]

Haha you could almost fit an entire SONG in the FLAC format on this amazing device!

Re:But I want Linux!

[dcs]

???

I played Ogg on my 3650, no problem. Well, 3650's *sound* sucked, but...

Re:Huh? Series 90?

[DM9290]

Symbian is not Linux.
Symbian is the evolution of the Epoc operating system developed by Psion for their Series 5/5mx/7/revo and netbook hand held computers.

Psion spun off Symbian as a subsidiary to do OS development and eventually sold all of its shares in Symbian, which is now owned mostly by Nokia,and Sony-Ericsson.

The premise of Symbian was to be an OS which never required rebooting, crash or hang, and would multitask while conserving battery power, as well as have a small memory footprint. Traits which were suited to a handheld computer and are ideal to a PDA or cell phone.

Not crashing is what allows you to be confident you can make that 911 call.

The no-rebooting characteristic is important so that your PDA could turn on instantly from a suspend mode.

Multitasking lets you be productive and use multiple applications at the same time, unlike PALM OS which must relaunch and close an application each time you want to do something else.

Perfect for me....

[JollyFinn]

I want a pda, mostly for calendar, and having electric todo list with me. And MP3 player.
I do already have a mobile phone, and I certainly don't wan't to carry lots of different devices with me. This is single device that fits in a pocket. So its perfect for me. It does all the things I wan't plus some extra(camera), and it can replace my phone so that I don't have to carry multiple devices with me. Also it has lots of memory and big screen and downloadable developement suit so that I could actually code/port what ever I feel that its lacking, that I really need.

But how much will it cost to use?

[Pete Brubaker]

My guess is that the GPS system will have some sort of drummed up fee attached to it. Just like they do with everything else. You have to shell out $500 for the device, $50 a month, and $3.99 every time you need to find out where you are. :P

I could not agree more...

[hummassa]

And, as a fellow 3650 user, I also know what I'm talking about.
If this thing was smaller it would be useless as a gaming/pda device.

CTRL-F Astric

[PseudoJudoName]

CTRL-F Astric

Missing one thing

[joNDoty]

Seriously, before I saw this article I was just looking at handhelds today for a few hours online. I've never owned one, so what I did is wrote down a list of things that I would want in a handheld, and I suddenly realized that the only way I would carry something like that around is if it all fit in my flip phone that I already carry around.

So I made my list (802.11b, color backlit touchscreen, stylus, removable memory storage, email, and sync-able with contacts and meeting schedules on my PC). The problem I kept running into is no WIFI! These "smart-phones" all want you to connect through their cell-phone frequencies and charge you per minute/kilobyte. What I want is the option to connect to 802.11x networks and surf for FREE.

I did find a few phones with WIFI, but NONE of them in a flip-phone enclosure. They all are GEEK sized (cargo pants not included). So I looked into the possibility of keeping the giant cell phone in my pocket and using a completely wireless mic/earpiece (bluetooth). That almost looked appealing until I saw that bluetooth headsets cost a pretty penny (10,000 pennies to be more exact).

OK, so I finally find one that looks like what I need... the Samsung SP-i600 is most expensive flip phone I've ever seen ($470 AFTER $180 rebate!). It doesn't even come with WIFI or bluetooth, but it is expandable via an SD I/O expansion slot. I was even sorta seriously considering it until I saw the battery life -- "Up to 2.3 hours continuous digital talk time or 4 days of continuous digital stand-by time." That's HALF the battery life of my low end freebie cell phone!

Someone please tell me there's something better???

Re:WTF??

[Drebin]

Then check out the Nokia 7280.

Re:A camera and DRM too!

[dcs]

Pretty much all cell phones have OMA DRM. You can find explanations about it pretty much everywhere. What *is* OMA DRM? Basically, the standard cell phone transference functions (send through bluetooth, upload, etc) won't work on certain kinds of files.

So you buy SeleQ or some other file manager, and do it anyway. As far as DRM go, this is the best one we could have asked for. :-)

But the important question:

[Trejkaz]

But how many Bluetooth keyboards can you use with one hand while standing up, nowhere near a desk?