Nokia 770 Internet Tablet Reviewed

phaedo00 writes "Ars Technica has reviewed the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet which is powered by a variant of Debian Linux. Eric Bangeman praises the device for its "wow" factor and has high hopes for its potential, but nagging issues with the implementation, relatively weak specs, and small software library lower the device's chances of becoming a hot item. From the review: 'The 770 could also use some beefier hardware. One of the attractive things about the 770 for me is the price--US$359. In order to hit that price point, I imagine Nokia had to make some hardware trade offs. Unfortunately, those make themselves glaringly apparent at times. 128MB of shared memory isn't enough; neither is a 250MHz ARM processor.'"

Comments

Re:Some drawbacks.

[cygnus]

It's difficult to use like a laptop

it's difficult to use like a hammer, either. it isn't long enough to generate enough leverage, and i'd be happier if the weight were distributed more to one end.

The device does not contain a cellphone, which is a little confusing.

it doesn't have a can opener, either. what if i get stranded out in the woods? i'm stymied.

For the price, it would be nice to have Windows XP on the device. Even if it had to be in a dual-boot configuration, it'd make gaming easier.

i'd also like a port of OS/390, in case i want to convert my international banking corporation over to these.

Wouldn't we all, friend...

[Kadin2048]

... wanting to love it for certain elements, but being seriously disappointed by the slow processor and limited RAM, which he says are probably a function of the low price point ($359). This is in contrast with something like OQO which looks to be very cool, but costs $1299 (MSRP). Honestly, I'd like to see something OQO'ish in the $599 price point range that can run Linux. That would probably be the best of both worlds.

In other news, I really wanted to like the Kia Rio, but was seriously disappointed by the 110-horsepower engine, which is probably a function of the low price point ($10,570). This is in contrast with something like the Ferarri F430 which looks to be very cool, but costs $174,585. Honestly, I'd like to see something Ferarri-ish in the $15,000 price point range that can do a 13-second quarter mile. That would probably be the best of both worlds.