The itT Nokia 770 First Impressions Thread [Archive] - maemo.org

mk500

12-06-2005, 09:13 PM

Country: US
Purchased From: CompUSA
Purchase/Arrival Date: 12/4/05

Overall I really love my new Nokia 770! The rough edges can be dealt with in software updates, so I'm not worrying.

Likes:

Linux!!! - When the source is open, the possibilities are endless!
Great form-factor
Excellent Screen
Super-long battery life (it's waaay more than 3 hours, folks)
Built-in WiFi and Bluetooth
Great user interface and applications, with more coming all the time

Dislikes:

Memory Problems
Opera runs out of RAM
Having to reboot from time to time as memory fills.
Bluetooth problems
Setting up a connection with my cell phone was cumbersome, and I still haven't gotten an Internetl connection this way yet.
Why isn't there a simple way to "put it to sleep" other than closing the cover?
Keys on the onscreen keyboard are pooly spaced/designed for fast input.

Favorite apps:

Opera
Video Player (I watch shows from my Myth PVR)
Marbles
GAIM v1.5-dk-1
load-plugin v 0.2.3-1

Wishlist:

A really good Jewelbox port (this is an old tetris-like game with jewels)

Check out my blog for a comparison with my old Linux PDA.

teemu

12-07-2005, 03:46 AM

Country: Finland
Purchased From: Nokia Online
Purchase/Arrival Date: Nov 4th/Nov 9th

Likes:
- Opera browser (zoom + optimized view mode is really nice)
- Display
- Small & light (fits nicely to my pocket)
- Easy to use data connection with my 3G phone
- WLAN connectivity
- It's open source (you can basically have anything for this device)

Dislikes:
- Yep, it seems to lack memory (but you get used to it)
- RSS reader was a big disappointment (I prefer Bloglines.com)

Favorite apps:
- Opera Browser (still waiting for the mozilla browser though)
- Video player (convert videos with MediaConverter (http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=569) and enjoy)
- Doom (or course ;))

And I really can't wait to get the VoIP functionalities Nokia has promised for the next big OS upgrade.

eye.surgeon

12-07-2005, 03:08 PM

Comp USA Dec. 6th (I was the first one of course)
California

Overall impression: Awesome first version. Had it connected wirelessly in 5 mintues and via my bluetooth cellphone/cingular in 15 minutes. Love it.

Needs significant improvement in processor speed and browser speed and stability. Really too slow. But I would buy it again in a second. Software update will correct some of this, some will require hardware upgrades in a version 2 product.

Still, there is nothing like it out there, and it fills a void that IMO has been vacant far too long.

I fully expect internet tablets to be the next big thing in portable devices.

A pleasant surprise, internet radio rocks!

joq100

12-10-2005, 03:33 PM

Just bought mine in a store, tired of waiting for direct sales to send me mine though probably l was quite near the top of the queue(17/11). Costed more (20 euros) but I was getting tired of not knowing when I was getting it. So far so good, just some browsers errors. Written input not great, but I may be also responsile for that.
On a side note, I'm left handed, and I would appreciate having the browsers' vertical scrollbar on tthe left, that way I don't have to get to the other side of the screen to scroll pages.

Jerryn

12-14-2005, 02:07 PM

I just got my nokia 770. Sharp graphics! I've installed a number of
apps, gotta have xterm! I didn't have luck with dropbear ssh, All I
want is the client to work. Has anyone had any luck? Also if mpeg2 format gets added to the video player that would be cool, if not maybe I'l work on getting mplayer over. I know what website not to hit with the web browser... don't go to www.atomicfilms.com... it's not going to work. But that's ok.... I can hit my ntop monitors for my network anda customers, no problem! I installed the maemo development kit on
my linux desktop, maybe I'll try porting over some of the zaurus programs that I have source to. All that needs to be done is convert the qte stuff over to maemo. That should not be too hard. I've got the pim installed.

Has anyone got vpn running yet?

hopefully I will have kismit installed and running soon.
The connection manager is pretty good at finding access points though.

telnet would be good to port over. I'm going to get that from my
zaurus source. it should be easy enough to run through xterm.

So what you can't do... you can't go to atomfilms or you will run out of memory and reboot. That's ok though... you can go to slashdot,
space.com, google, yahoo, and many other site. streamcast.com works great! The email client didn't like my large IMAP4 mailbox. No problem, I can hit my webmail client just fine. Now it's time to save up for a 1GB memory card!

Now it's time to write apps for this puppy!
:D

Neil McAllister

12-14-2005, 07:10 PM

I received mine yesterday from Nokia USA (ordered online on November 15). I have barely had a chance to play around with it, but so far --

Likes:

It feels sturdy, well-made ... not particularly attractive, but it feels like it might survive an accidental drop or two.
The screen really is pretty nice... if you've got good eyes. The browser is capable of displaying truly tiny type legibly, if you're able to focus on it.
The UI is, for the most part, very intuitive and usable.
The included accessories seem just right ... pretty decent AC adapter, a USB cable, an extra stylus, and the handy stand (once you figure out what you're supposed to do to set it up).
I installed XTerm and it was totally painless and easy. I'll get some more stuff on there later.

Dislikes:

It does feel buggy. I've noticed various weird things, like the Shift key sticking when you try to enter text into Web forms. I had one apparent crash where the device rebooted itself, just from pushing one of the buttons while Web browsing. Presumably these things will go away over time, as new firmware releases emerge.
Worst of all, the WiFi is buggy. The device can't connect to the WLAN at my work, even when I give it the WEP key. It gets on the network but fails to get a valid DHCP lease, even when I'm standing right next to the AP. Too early to say whether this could be fixed with firmware updates or it's a deficiency of the internal WiFi hardware.
I didn't realize that there would be no way to get an IP address into the device other than using DHCP. This has not been talked about much, but presumably it makes this a device a non-starter for some people.
It does feel a little sluggish, which sort of surprises me. I know there are PDAs out there with 600MHz CPUs, but it's baffling that they would need that kind of power. I remember owning a 200MHz Pentium Pro with 64MB of RAM, sometime around 1996. Why can't this machine run like that one?
Text input really takes some getting used to. Picking at the onscreen keyboard isn't really my cup of tea, but the handwriting recognition is really more akin to Palm's Grafitti ... your normal writing will not work. You'll need to train yourself in new habits to accommodate what the 770 expects. Neither the keyboard nor the handwriting mode seems to be any faster than the other, unfortunately.

So far I'm pleased, and for the price I paid (something like $334, including tax and shipping) it seems like it's worth sticking with it to see the bugs get ironed out and new applications emerge. I'd love to see a CBR/CBZ reader for this thing, maybe with a drag-scrolling capability.

ritcey

12-14-2005, 08:16 PM

"I didn't realize that there would be no way to get an IP address into the device other than using DHCP. This has not been talked about much, but presumably it makes this a device a non-starter for some people."

You can specify an IP, it's just non-obvious:

Control Panel... Connectivity... Connections... <choose connection> & hit Edit... hit Next until you can hit the 'Advanced' button... second tab lets you specify IP & DNS.

Samuel

12-15-2005, 06:48 AM

Worst of all, the WiFi is buggy. The device can't connect to the WLAN at my work, even when I give it the WEP key. It gets on the network but fails to get a valid DHCP lease, even when I'm standing right next to the AP. Too early to say whether this could be fixed with firmware updates or it's a deficiency of the internal WiFi hardware.

Which AP are you using ? Which WEP encryption (I mean key length) ? Also, make sure that you entered the WEP key in HEX if your AP does so.

Hedgecore

12-18-2005, 12:22 AM

Country: Canada
Purchased From: CompUSA, Troy Michigan
Purchase/Arrival Date: 12-17-2005 / 12-17-2005

Likes:
- I can't even begin to adequately describe how crisp the screen is. Fonts 1/2 a millimeter tall are clear enough to read at arm's length.

- The sound is decent providing you're not in a loud area

- .DEB packages are a snap to install (So far so good on the control guys!)

- The protective case and overall design of the unit is great, very useable

- Charging time is excellent! A friend (who also bought one) and I braved a Krispy Kreme (yech!) and plugged in for 20 minutes - - the charge lasted the whole way back to Toronto (3 hours) with me scanning for networks every few minutes in between Mahjongg games.

Dislikes:
- With protective case in "in use" position, pressing the directional button left isn't unobstructed.

- WLAN seemed a little but flakey but it appears as though the device is holding onto APs that I had just scanned for 30 seconds previous even though they were nowhere near us (30 seconds at highway speeds = 2-3 Kilometers)

- 770 unable to see RSMMC card while connected to the PC (access violation prevention? Heh!) Same with the computer not being able to see the 770 or vice versa.

- Handwriting recognition. I'm a sloppy writer, seems like people with "mommy writing" would excel at using this. Not me.

- Virtual KB: People use the colon a lot. It shouldn't be on the CAPS alternate layout. (I got used to this in 3 seconds though.)

Favorite apps:
Thus far I've installed GAIM, Xterm, and LXDoom. All of them installed without a hitch. GAIM is a little bit buggy in that if I try to browse for a display pic, crash. I can hit the home button to minimize most of the other open windows but 2 GAIM ones stick around. Shutdown's the only option. Display pics aren't important anyway, MSN chat worked fine.

Comments:
This is my new favourite toy. I can't wait to slip the 770 into my pocket and use it every chance I get. Browsing is exactly what it should be on a handheld. (So far anyway).

After I finally got some hands on use, I really think people need to guage their expectations. This isn't a laptop. Nokia chose their terminology carefully when they dubbed it an internet appliance. Lying in bed and browsing, streaming the sole punk radio feed I've found (it's bad), and installing some new apps all while reclined is the niche this thing will fill.

So. Will they port Open Office to it? No. That's what your lappy's for.

I wish this review was more coherent, but I'm still awestruck at this little thing. The pictures do the actual size no justice. People have small hands it seems.

Cheers,
Hedge!

Mr Torben

12-19-2005, 10:19 PM

owa works great. even attaching files through outlook web access works as designed.

pairing with my nokia 6820 is flawless. wifi works great.

being a crackberry addict, i do miss a scrollwheel on the 770.

BigDaddy

12-20-2005, 01:31 PM

Likes:

Browser is cool.

Dislikes:

They claim it has IMAP - HAHAHAHAHHAHAH joke
They claim it is bluetooth compatable. I have tried paring 7 yes SEVEN different phones and no dice. - SUX

If they wanted to compete with other internet tablets, they should have went back to the drawing board. For 400 bucks there is MUCH better out there and this will be going back!

Reggie

12-20-2005, 01:34 PM

They claim it is bluetooth compatable. I have tried paring 7 yes SEVEN different phones and no dice.
I'm just wondering what bluetooth phones you tried to pair it with, your carrier, and if you have a data plan.

BigDaddy

12-20-2005, 01:38 PM

Treo 650 - Unlocked - Using Cingular
Blackberry 7100g - Tmobile
Blackberry 7250 - Nextel
Moto Rokr - Cingular
Treo 600 - Sprint
Samsung - Forget the model - Verizon
and One other

All with full unlimited data plans. I can connect every other BT device to these phones other than the 770 IE keyboards, mice, headsets, etc.

All I get from Nokia support is "uhhhhhh buy a nokia phone" Horrible tech support

Reggie

12-20-2005, 01:53 PM

From that list I think you can only use the Treo 650. The Treo 600 doesn't have bluetooth so it just wouldn't work. I'm not sure though if the Rokr has Dial up Networking support. Try the steps I created in reply to you post here:
http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4728#post4728

BigDaddy

12-20-2005, 04:12 PM

Thanks Reggie,

I did to no avail. I give up

Reggie

12-20-2005, 04:26 PM

I will try to find a Cingular SIM soon so I can try it on my Treo 650. I will report back what I find out.

umts4ever

12-21-2005, 04:35 AM

Country: Denmark
Purchased From: Nokia Web
Purchase/Arrival Date: 17. Nov. - 20. Dec.

Likes:
1) It's the size that makes you not mind carrying it with you all the time.
2) The screen resolution, perfect for web browsing, I got tired of my pda wery fast.
3) It runs linux, that means a lot of 3. party appl.
4) Video and mp3 playback, works perfect.
5) blutooth paring with my phone worked like a carme (k600i)
6-?) had only been using it for a day, so more is probaly still comming.

Dislikes:
1) when using browser on wi-fi, I get disconnected at random, but when using streaming radio it keeps the connection fine. (Strange)
2) There should have been a dockin station for charging
3) The cover is blocking for the stylus pen when in operation mode.
4) A infrared port woud have been nice. (use it as a remote control)

That is for now, had only had it for one day, and sofar very happy about it, also happy that I got it befor chrismas. :p

Remote User

12-21-2005, 10:10 AM

3) The cover is blocking for the stylus pen when in operation mode.Here's a solution (http://blog.russnelson.com/2005/11/17#stylus-door) to that problem.

Hedgecore

12-21-2005, 10:33 AM

I don't mind that part of the design personally. I push on the bottom of the case/770 combo (where the headphone jack is) to slide it up a few millimeters, pop the stylus out, and slide it back into place. For eBook reading and other non-stylus activities, I like knowing that it's not going to fall out once the internal method of holding it in place wears out. (Yay friction!)

Robette

12-23-2005, 01:01 AM

BigDaddy:

Your Blackberry's won't sync because they only link to headsets via bluetooth.

The 770 is bluetooth 1.2 compliant. You have to look carefully to see what bluetooth profiles the phone supports and make sure they match up (i.e. dial-up networking, file transfer, generic access, SIM access, and serial port profiles).

Good luck. Sorry you've been having troubles. You can always wait 6 months for a better version to come out with less bugs and with more phones that support it.

Robette

12-26-2005, 08:11 PM

The screen is great, am dying for screen gaurd..

One thing that is annoying is that there is no button to advance pages in pdf reader; you must access a menu.

Also the pdf reader wont rotate the screen.

There is no button for ff or rw web pages.

But the device is still pimp and I look forward to better software.

Invader J

12-27-2005, 12:57 AM

Likes:

- Nearly everything! It's the handiest device ever.
- Setup of connectivity is beautifully easy.
- Great bright, detailed, high-res screen (my photos look fantastic on it)
- Small enough to be pocketable (in a jacket at least)
- Integrated screen cover is a joy

Dislikes:

- Video player is... awful. My phones (Samsung A900 and A800 on Sprint) will play nearly any format I throw at it, while my 770 sputters with a low-res 3GP file (yes, it is properly encoded). This needs MAJOR work - what normal consumer is going to go looking for the MediaConverter app? Or know that the res needs to be multiples of 16? And it may be hardware-limited, but hopefully they can do something so that the player can playback higher-res files in general (say, 640px width at max, even!)

- Needs SyncML support via Bluetooth along with a basic PIM suite (hell, just port the Symbian apps over and call it a 'feature-add' - they dont even have to advertise it on the box, so they can keep marketing it as an internet tablet and not a PDA)

- Gah, handwriting recognition is crap.

Whatevers:

- I'm dying for an integrated thumbboard. In fact I'd be in love if they took a Hiptop/Sidekick-like form factor and used the smaller but higher-res screen.
- While I love the large screen, I probably would have settled for a smaller screen - that way they could have made the device even smaller and lighter, meaning it would be more suited to a pants pocket. I want to take this bad boy everywhere but when summer comes along, not sure how I'll fit it into my shorts...

Overall though, it's probably one of the best gadget purchases I've made in a long time - the fact that I don't want to leave home without it says it all!

Simon

12-29-2005, 05:29 PM

It finally arrived down here in NZ mailed by my friend in the US. Since he'd 'tested' it for me the battery was already charged and the web browser opened to a page reminding me I owe him $350 real (i.e not $NZ) money. Goes without saying I am writing this on it now. Been using it for an hour or so now. Couple of things that haven't been mentioned. There are no New Zealand cities at all in the clock! I can't set my timezone. Maybe a firmware update adds some? Haven't tried the handwriting yet and the first thing I had to do was turn off the word completion. The internet radio works great. Never used it before but am amazed how well it works. Need to upgrade to the latest firmware still. Oh, and the 1GB Sandisk RS MMC card I have worked fine in it right away. Right, going to try out Doom on it now :)

Hedgecore

01-07-2006, 05:25 PM

Simon: There's no equivalent lattitude line for ya? I can't imagine them excluding a timezone.

Capeezi

01-08-2006, 05:34 AM

Country: USA
Purchased From: Nevada
Purchase/Arrival Date:01/06/06

Likes:
Web browsing; I wanted something like this for years. been using a laptop to surf the web while I wacthed TV in bed. got a PDA about two years ago to tryed to use it to surf but it was a pain. I was about to buy tablet pc when I fond the 770.
Touch screen
The OS
The WiFi
The 3rd party apps (that are already made and the ones that should come later)

Dislikes:
no network printing
memory size

Favorite apps:
Web browser

I am just so happy to have wireless websurfing in my hand that I do not have to page right and left to read

Capeezi

islandjoe

01-09-2006, 01:39 AM

Country: Finland
Purchased from: Nokia Online
Purchase/Arrival: NOV-16-05/JAN-05-06

Likes:
- The screen. For its size it's incredibly crisp! I actually enjoy reading news on this rather than on the laptop.
- The size. I can finally do what I've always wanted to do but just couldn't on my laptop --surf the web while lying in bed or on the couch. Did I mention that the display is so crisp? You have to see it to believe it.
- Wi-fi. It just works!
- Linux. xterm! vim! This little baby rocks! The app installers work flawlessly -so far.
- Battery life. This puts the Energizer bunnies to shame, this thing just keeps going and going.
- Stylus input. For some reason I feel less stressed surfing the web using the stylus input. I feel like I don't have to hurry or something.
- This baby looks slick & sexy. It's easy to use too.

Dislikes:
- It's kinda sluggish. But I'm getting used to it, this isn't a desktop machine after all.
- Memory is dismal. I've experienced a couple of 'out of memory' errors. On the other hand, the solution seems to be putting a swap file on the RS-mmc. It makes the apps load/run faster too.
- Can't scroll smoothly using the scroll buttons. It would really rock if the webpages or pdfs scroll smoothly (using the scroll buttons).
- Handwriting recognition. Teehee :-P

Fave apps:
- xterm
- vim
- opera
- calendar/to-do-list

All-in-all, I'm really impressed. It's solid and easy to use. Its shortcomings is more than compensated by its strengths. I'm so happy I got this.

Vidge

01-09-2006, 10:11 PM

I just bought my second 770, having purchased & returned one earlier. I haven't had enough time to play with it yet to figure out my likes & dislikes so I'll post that later :)

Reggie

01-10-2006, 01:25 AM

Hey Vidge! Nice to see you here! Congrats on your 770. What was wrong with the first one?

Maerra

01-10-2006, 10:38 AM

I have already used my 770 for 2 months now and realized that my work hours of 770 is more than my PCs' (1 desktop, 1 portable). Let's go to basics with all those "millions" of detailed opinions.

One basic but essential feature with the 770 has caught too little attention: the physical size and shape of the 770, they are exactly right. The 770 sits in my hand perfectly and does not strain my hands almost at all. It is very easy to hold it without the fear to drop it. (I have Nokia phone 6600 which is round and slippery, it creates a lot of strain to my hands when preventing to drop.) Have you looked at
those 2 edges along the upper side of the 770 - holding the 770 is easy.
All together: simple, effective but important - splendid!

There is a limitation too, just because of the small physical size only, despite of the luxurious 800x480 screen. Many individuals, to whom I have showed the 770, claim that they cannot read the very small 770's text of most Internet sites which, luckily, can be improved with zooming and optimation. But, too many Internet sites are horizontally heavily (=stupidly!) loaded with text boxes etc, so that the 770's
nice zoom capability has no use.
No free luncheons!

Vidge

01-10-2006, 11:05 AM

Hey Vidge! Nice to see you here! Congrats on your 770. What was wrong with the first one?

Hey Reggie! Good to be here. As far as what was wrong - well, call it OE (operator error). I couldn't get my WEP key to go into the unit. And support was no help. (Gotta admit I didn't know about this forum) Turns out it was a HEX key instead of ASCII and I never even saw the drop down box. Like I said, Nokia support was no help.

Expect a lot of newbie questions from me as I know nothing about Linux.

Mike Cane

01-10-2006, 12:31 PM

I just bought my second 770, having purchased & returned one earlier. I haven't had enough time to play with it yet to figure out my likes & dislikes so I'll post that later :)

Vidge! Vidge! Vidge!

Finally!

Welcome! Don't forget to slog through my "blog" here.

Vidge

01-10-2006, 05:17 PM

Hey Mike! I started reading thru the blog last night - gonna take me some time to get thru it all :) since I've been reading other posts here on how to use this thing.

Mike Cane

01-10-2006, 05:25 PM

Live via 770:

It's not hard to.use unless you want to be all Linuxy (geeks reading that just had strokes!) -- or do something sensible, like try to use any USB device!

Get Week 51 on it, though.

tnkgrl

01-10-2006, 05:26 PM

Actually, *Vidge* only got another Nokia 770 because of me :)

Mike Cane

01-10-2006, 05:41 PM

tnkgrl: You know I know that! You rescue all of us! (But you ride a bus? tnk in the shop? Must run Windows!)

tnkgrl

01-10-2006, 06:04 PM

No the "tnk" (my bicycle) was resting for a day because the "grl" (well my legs anyway) needed a break after riding a bit too hard last week :)

Vidge

01-10-2006, 06:28 PM

Actually, *Vidge* only got another Nokia 770 because of me :)

Yep, you're right :) I had given up on the thing.

Vidge

01-10-2006, 10:11 PM

OK so I have some things I dislike:
?HWR - absolutely horrible. I've tried every trick I've read about and can't get it to work. How do you add a space?
?Keyboard - needs navigation keys so that you don't have to backspace to make a correction. (If there is another way, I'd love to hear about it)

aflegg

01-11-2006, 06:06 AM

?Keyboard - needs navigation keys so that you don't have to backspace to make a correction. (If there is another way, I'd love to hear about it)

You can use the hardware directional pad as cursor/navigation keys when editing text.

HTH,

Andrew

thedarksavant

01-14-2006, 03:39 AM

Just got it.

Some quick observations.

Wow, it is much smaller than I ever thought it could be. The screen just can't be explained. I never thought I would be able to read such small fonts.

More tomorrow.

Quick assessment, I love it!

vantexan

01-16-2006, 12:58 AM

I finally looked at one this weekend at CompUSA in Henderson, NV. While it wasn't set-up to do much and the college age clerks didn't seem to have a clue about it, the clarity of the screen, the overall feel and look of it made me want to buy it. But they were out-of-stock, other than the demo. All-in-all, if someone wanted to use it as their primary internet device, would you say it meets the needs of most for surfing the 'net? Do you feel the quality and durabilty is excellent? Is it easy to use? Thanks for any advice and opinions. I can't afford a good laptop, but I'd like something better than MSNtv(WebTV).

jaycee

01-16-2006, 07:44 AM

You can use the hardware directional pad as cursor/navigation keys when editing text.
Blimey - all this time, and I'd not figured this one out yet!

Thanks!
jaycee

Hedgecore

01-16-2006, 08:09 AM

I just figured it out last night while playing with JMills' discovery of how to get the mic turned on. Retyping all those commands tapping-style wasn't fun.

lbattraw

01-16-2006, 08:57 AM

I just figured it out last night while playing with JMills' discovery of how to get the mic turned on. Retyping all those commands tapping-style wasn't fun.

Say What? ;) So after dropping a teaser like that, how do you turn the mic on?

Larry

Hedgecore

01-16-2006, 11:44 PM

http://www.internettablettalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370&page=3&pp=10

;)
I'd avoid feedback via use of headphones like he suggests.

Fliptrx

01-23-2006, 03:52 AM

My family have all discovered what a great battery life it has because I can now, evidently, stay in the bathroom for up to 3 hours at a time instead of my usual 5 minutes :)

So far I'm lovin' this thing...taking me a bit of time learning all of the basics but it's becoming more fun every day. I have a million questions I'll get into later, especially about the mail client...can I use it to access my gmail account? (accounts)

I've tried but without success. I'm either not doing something right or I'm doing something wrong, or it can't be done. Someone let me know if it's the later and I'll quit wasting my precious bathroom time with it :)

Thanks...If I can't, it won't make me love this thing any less :D

djs_tx

02-02-2006, 03:28 PM

So far it is an impressive little machine. Nice Build quality, good feel. Responsive, easy to set up. Have not gotten very far in playing with it but easy to set up the network and phone pairing.

Now comes the endless hours of tinkering... Got to set up swap, root access, vpn, ssh, telnet, etc.

David

=DC=

02-02-2006, 03:48 PM

I am not a hardcore user like most users here, but I have been getting a lot out of the device so far. I havn't set up swap, root access, or extended memory. I have only a few of the apps from the maEmo.org site. I use it to check Gmail, Bloglines, post to my blog, surf to sites I hear about when I'm watching TV, listening to the raidio, or just out and about. I use it to stream radio from SHOUTcast, plus listen to some of my own music and short podcasts.

I have not been able to get the email client working, but I'm not in need of one as I use Gmail as my primary email. I have stopped using the news reader in place of Bloglines. I have yet to play chess or the other games on the device, although I likely will in the future (I only wish there was solitare or hearts).

I look forward to additional features of the device being opened up by Nokia and developers (which ever comes first). VoIP will be interesting. I think a voice recorder would be useful know that we know there is a mic on the unit. I see all kinds of bluetooth and wifi options opening up for it, and have hopes for better management of memory in future updates.

Happy Hacking!

Paul Webster

02-02-2006, 07:19 PM

I am a longtime Palm user - most recently (and on-going) a Palm Tungsten C.
So - I am comparing with what I think was (and to some degree still is) one of the best PDAs for relatively heavy mobile use (good bright screen, keyboard built-in, built-in 11b, fairly fast operation, good base memory plus MMC slot, Infrared - but no Bluetooth).

Some of my dislikes/suggestions below might just be me not finding out how to do some things with the GUI - but fun learning so far.

Country: UK
Purchased From: Nokia via Web (shipped from Belgium)
Purchase/Arrival Date: 26/Jan/06 - 31/Jan/2006

Likes:
Screen size
Full-screen zoom button
Font size increase/decrease via button
11g wireless
Openness

Dislikes:
Mail
No option for Auto BCC
- Default and override per mailbox/message
Alternate outbound server
- Roving user accessing home mailbox but WLAN specific SMTP server
No (obvious anyway) mark multiple messages for delete
- Selecting unopened obvious spam for deletion is painful
Modify default for deletion to be local only since it seems to insist on a live connection when requesting delete on both (Palm does not - it remembers and syncs next time)

Time format
- Prefer 24-hour clock rather than AM/PM in all places where time appears

Connectivity
Shame there is no infrared both for beaming data between devices and as home equipment remote control.

TCP/IP access via USB (PPP over USB via router software on PC) for low power network usage or if with laptop in office without wireless connection (I do this on my Palm via 3rd-party software on PC - but basics are already in standard PalmOS (PPP via USB).

Power
- seems to use it quickly - but waiting for a few more discharge/charge cycles to be sure
- power via USB ...

Newsreader
Doesn't honour font increase request

Chess
Allow tap for source and destination selection not just drag
Highlight computer last piece moved

Speed
Does seem slow - despite installing Dec/05 firmware update.

Favorite apps:
Browser

bretta

02-05-2006, 03:30 AM

My initial reaction on getting my 770 was disappointment: the screen isn't much bigger than that on the Palm TX, while it doesn't have some of the Palm's features and it's a lot heavier.

My second reaction? The stunning screen is so great it really does feel like a miniature laptop. I would have preferred a 5 in screen, and maybe I should have gone for the Samsung Nexia (any feedback greatly appreciated).

I currently have a cellphone and Pocket PC. I'm moving to a Windows smartphone and the 770. I need the 770 because I'm a reporter, and I need something completely mobile that can do two things: surf the web, and file copy online. So I needed a good screen. I considered the OQO but it doesn't seem that much better for about 5 times the price.

I do need a proper keyboard to use with my 770. I'm going to get a ThinkOutside USB KB. If this DOESN'T work I would appreciate the feedback.

I'm going to England for 10 days later in February. I may write about the experience when I return.

Fliptrx

02-07-2006, 06:25 PM

I think I'm in love...this little toy is much more than I had ever hoped for. I don't have one single negitive thing to say about it.

All my friends are toting around their monster laptops just to be able to get on line at the coffee shop...you should have seen the shade of green their faces turned when I reached into my shirt pocket to join them in an online search. You would have thought it was St. Patricks Day. :D

I was able to [thanks to this forum] figure out the e-mail client and set up all three of my g-mail accounts...works very smoothly!

I've trained my handwriting recoginition and it's proven to work quite well...but the key board is so fast that I only use the handwriting to impress :D

I am glad I read the booklet though. Iearned a couple of things it may have taken me awhile to discover...like the optimal view...it's great being able to read the pages without my glasses. I thought I might be in trouble until I discovered that. I love the resolution when I kick a page up to 250% and I don't have to keep scrolling back and forth since it automatically re-aligns everything.

This is one sweet machine...

Fliptrx

02-07-2006, 06:39 PM

This little baby is designed as an internet tablet, not a PDA. If you want a PDA then buy one but don't expect this to do work it wasn't designed for. That's almost like child labor. We must keep things in perspective.

aflegg

02-08-2006, 07:08 AM

No, it'll be a PDA. PDA is a *subset* of an Internet tablet - at least in terms of hardware.

With some more development, DejaPIM or GPE-PIM combined with Nokia's alarm framework will mean it's perfectly suitable as a PDA.

RDaneel

02-08-2006, 02:59 PM

Wow - I love this little thing. I've used Palms, PocketPCs, and Blackberries in the past, and this is by far my favorite device on its own. Of course, I'm using it as a fancy Squeezebox remote and web reader, not PDA/e-mail device, so it's not apples to apples.

Even if the 770 does nothing more than it does for me now, I'll be happy with the purchase. If the dev community give it new capabilities, I'll be thrilled!

varis

02-10-2006, 04:27 PM

Likes:

The screen - ahead of its time
Design and buttons
Connectivity
Linux
Development - seems unbelievably easy
Very easy to connect via GPRS

Dislikes:

H/W performance will be a bottleneck
Not much storage
Software is not mature
Still need the phone/no minimalist phones to go with this

Favorite apps:

Opera - obvious killer app
News reader - now I understand what RSS is for
xterm
irssi
Crazy Parking
Mahjongg
GPE suite
Notes

Ali3n0

02-13-2006, 06:47 PM

Country: Italy
Purchased From: ebay.it (PowerSeller)
Purchase/Arrival Date: 2 feb / 13 feb 2006

Well, I think I can not be objective: I've loved this small piece of tecnology since the first time I've read about it on LinuxJournal...

Likes: the touchscreen and the design, but I think the most important thing is that it's linux-based ;-)

Dislikes: the dimension of the charger's jack... just now I'm triyng to recharge (after a full-descharge) and the screen is totally off... I'm starting to be scared... I hope it's not an hardware bug!

Favorite apps: browser (but in the future, I think I'll find many interesting things to install :-P )

akpoff

02-17-2006, 07:58 PM

Country: US (Houston, TX)
Purchased From: Fry's
Purchase/Arrival Date: January 30, 2005

On the whole I really like the 770. I've used a Zaurus for several years but find that I prefer the Nokia. In part that's because of the built-in connecti\vity but it's also the case that the Nokia are doing a great job of really making the device open (at least software wise) as well as producing a really sol\id device.

I've owned the portrait mode and landscape Zauris and while I can say that I miss the thumboard occassionally it's not a major loss. I have a ThinkOutside \Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard that I keep handy. It's much easier to type on for longer messages (although not handy when you're at the store). Perhaps the most telling difference between the Zaurus and Nokia for me is I carry the Nokia everywhere. The Zaurus, espcially the clamshell, has been left behind numerous times.

I'll echo the comment about RAM but really it doesn't cause me much trouble. I have a 32 Mb swap partition and that totally eases the pain.

Likes:

Screen - 800 (rather than 640)x480
Size and weight -- thin and light
Debian and gnome/gtk based -- makes porting apps easier (not easy just easier)
Bluetooth -- connected to both a T-Mobile and Verizon DUN
802.11b/g
Usable dev environment and good documentation

Dislikes:

RAM (needs more)
USB 1.1
USB-host mode requires power

Favorite apps:

Video Player
FBReader
Opera
AbiWord
XTerm :P

Discoveries:

'User' must have a shell of /bin/sh -- I'll post a separate message detailing the boot troubles I had after setting the 'user' shell to tcsh after I comp\iled and installed it (and no, it's not a bad compile)

Tips:

Don't set 'user' to a shell that's not compatible with sh -- invoke the new shell from your .profile ;)

What I would add without increasing the price:

USB 2.0
Powered USB-host mode
Additional 32 - 64 MB RAM

andygates

02-22-2006, 01:09 PM

I've had my 770 for about a week now, so here's my first impressions:

That screen: Everyone says it, but "zowie!". Just gorgeous. The rest of the device is just a box to carry that screen.

Overall construction: nice and simple. I'd like a slightly more rugged case, but that's an aftermarket thing (I'm thinking like the PalmGlove that's kept my M105 alive for four years of abuse...). A bit of neoprene, a little magnet to turn the screen off, and a rigid bit to protect the screen. Are they on the market yet?

The openness of the platform is of course totally addictive (you should see the faces of geeks when I spark up XTerm). It turns the device from a consumer product into a community product. The potential of this thing is eye-bleeding. But I'm just as stoked that the out-of-the-box interface is slick and works well. Good work, design team: the various bugs and interface clunkiness can (and doubtless will) be ironed out in future firmware releases. Who do we refer those to?

Handwriting: If I get another capital-P mid-sentence I'll cry. The recognition doesn't seem too good at x-height (the height of the lowercase "x" and things like the lowercase "p"). A dotted line on the recognition window, and user-settability of that line's height, would IMO be a big improvement.

PIM: Yes, I know its not a PIM, but I don't want a bag full of devices. In fact, I think the 770 is intended to access any PIM functionality just like anything else, via the web. Which is an interesting idea, but I'm not putting my personal phone book and password list on Yahoo! The GPE PIM is clearly work-in-progress and desperately needs appropriate sync for this class of device. Encrypted sync to an arbitrary FTP destination which also hosted a web PIM app - that would rock.

What am I using it for? So far I've been using it as the "magic magazine" - its designed use - IMDB from the sofa, recipes from the kitchen, news on the loo, and so on. But I've used it just as much as an ebook reader, and that did surprise me. The screen is the first one good enough to read for a decent length of time, and I've been chewing through weighty texts (the Iliad, the Hacker Crackdown) without getting a headache. FBReader, full screen, portrait mode, the zoom buttons for page up/down: sweet. The return of reading in bed :)

The other use it's had so far is as an ad-hoc notepad. The Sketch app is ideal for taking down who's having what in a round of drinks: nothing to learn! (And beery fingerprints all over that screen... weep!)

So, what do I want from this thing that I don't think is currently there?

* Some UI tweaks that have come up on a zillion other reviews and posts. RSS news feed and Internet Radio station subscription come to mind first.

* More reliable handwriting recognition.

* Bluetooth networking. The how-to's work but aren't exactly a slick user experience. Yes, this is outside the original spec, but I have a specific need: 802.11/x isn't permitted at work, Bluetooth is.

* That PIM. It really really needs sync of one sort of another. But the developers know this already.

Overall, though, it's just gorgeous and I'm stoked :)

Paul Webster

02-23-2006, 09:30 AM

Connectivity
...

TCP/IP access via USB (PPP over USB via router software on PC) for low power network usage or if with laptop in office without wireless connection (I do this on my Palm via 3rd-party software on PC - but basics are already in standard PalmOS (PPP via USB).

Aha - the WiKi has been updated with info on how to network via USB.
http://maemo.org/maemowiki/USBnetworkingWinXP
Shame it requires getting root access though - as I haven't done that yet.
So - more reading and playing to be done - will have to wait for the next return flight though.

Schwarzmagier

02-25-2006, 12:28 PM

Country: Germany
Purchased From: Saturn (local electronics store, not the planet)
Purchase/Arrival Date: 23.02.2006

Likes: Well, the screen of course. It's so damn sharp and big, albeit hard to read outside in the daylight. But my greatest surprise was how well streaming radio worked, especially over UMTS. I even was able to watch the BBC video news, which are broadcast in 16:9 format and fit well on the wide screen. What I also like is the developers community at maemo.org, and all the interesting projects going on there.

Dislikes: The CPU is somewhat weak, especially to display more complex pages. I tried watching an episode of Happy Tree Friends (in flash format), which didn't work out too well. I also would have appreciated a bigger memory card than 64MB. I am about to buy a 1024MB card soon.

Favorite apps: web browser, audio player, ScummVM

Well, I love the 770 for all it can be. A mobile web radio, a on-the-go browser (better than opera mini), a game platform (although the PSP is still prefered by me) and a media player. By the way, at the time I picked it up, it was probably the only one being for sale in our whole town! I almost walked my feet off trying to find a shop selling these.

peer

02-28-2006, 12:05 PM

Country: Netherlands
Purchased From: Nokia website
Purchase/Arrival Date: 16 Feb 2005/27 Feb 2005

Likes:
- Brightness of the screen, I have to turn it down in the evening not to be blinded by the light (.. "revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night", Manfred Mann, in case you're wondering).
- The touch-screen is very responsive.
- Resolution of the screen is really good (no news there)
- I like the default font for some reason, nice and smooth (Nokia Sans, pretty similar to Verdana).
- Wifi connect/disconnect icon is conveniently located. Easy to switch it off to extend the battery life.
- Size and weight are perfect. Feels solid and it's truely pocketable.
- No phone. If you want a phone, get a phone. If you want to walk around with a pc on your ear, be my guest but get an HTC Universal instead. Nokia used to sell timber, an internet tablet is not such a great leap from mobile phones, get over it.

Dislikes:
- Default browser font is too small and cannot be changed as far as I am aware. This makes it unnecessarily inconvenient to read long text files. I plan to use the 770 as a portable reading device for text documents through the browser or pdf reader allowing me to walk around or lie down, hang upside down or whatever, anything but sit down all day long. Try reading a 10-K on sec.gov and you'll know what I mean. The width of the screen is similar to typical text width of a pocket book (that is the page width excluding the margins) so it's quite sufficient. But on full screen mode there are about twenty words per line on the Nokia as compared to around ten words in a pocket book. I have to zoom to 200% to get the same font size but this would require me to scroll the page left and right to be able to read it, not a good idea. This problem could easily be resolved by allowing the minimum font size to be determined by the user.
- So far the battery life has been sufficient because I have been using it exclusively at home. However, I foresee this becoming a problem on trips. I am not looking forward to carrying around even more cables. I know this is a problem that is not easily resolved. Moore's Law does not apply to batteries.
- The screen should cover the whole device in the next generation. Take a cue from the iPod video mock-ups on the net. The buttons on the front can easily be moved to the sides.
- A scroll wheel on the side, bottom or top of the tablet would make scrolling through websites a lot easier.

Favorite apps:
- so far I've been using Opera exclusively. I have not even set up the email client as I use Gmail. There's no need for an email client these days.

beowabbit

03-01-2006, 03:04 PM

I didn't realize that there would be no way to get an IP address into the device other than using DHCP. This has not been talked about much, but presumably it makes this a device a non-starter for some people.
That doesn't seem to be true; at least, there's a UI for entering an IP address. Connection manager > Connection manager > Tools > Connectivity settings > Connections. Then Edit the connection you want to change, tap Next until you get to the "Connection setup: Complete" screen, then tap Advanced. Tap on the "IP Addresses" tab and you can uncheck "Auto-retrieve IP address:" and/or "Auto-retrieve DNS:" and set your own values. I haven't checked that this actually works, but it sure looks like it ought to.
It does feel a little sluggish, which sort of surprises me. I know there are PDAs out there with 600MHz CPUs, but it's baffling that they would need that kind of power. I remember owning a 200MHz Pentium Pro with 64MB of RAM, sometime around 1996. Why can't this machine run like that one?
Well, the flash is probably slower than the disk on your PC, and comparing MHz ratings for different processor architectures isn't very useful. Also, your PC in 1996 was probably running less-sophisticated apps than the N770 is -- I'm thinking of stuff like anti-aliased text (a big deal on a small screen), the preferences infrastructure, Bluetooth and WiFi (dunno how much CPU they require, but probably some), today's Opera versus whatever version of Netscape was common in 1996, and so on.

Personally, I think I'd rather have my N770 than a 1996 PC if I had to choose, because the N770 fits in my pockedt and is with me all the time. (Well, I might insist on a Bluetooth keyboard if the N770 were my only computer. :-)

beowabbit

03-01-2006, 03:08 PM

- Virtual KB: People use the colon a lot. It shouldn't be on the CAPS alternate layout. (I got used to this in 3 seconds though.)
Drag up on the semicolon instead of just tapping, and you don't have to hit
shift first. (I.e., put your stylus on the semicolon, drag upwards a bit -- it's fine to leave the key as you do this -- and release.) Works for all the other keys, too. I never tap the shift key any more.

Simon

03-01-2006, 04:03 PM

Drag up on the semicolon instead of just tapping, and you don't have to hit
shift first. (I.e., put your stylus on the semicolon, drag upwards a bit -- it's fine to leave the key as you do this -- and release.) Works for all the other keys, too. I never tap the shift key any more.Bloody hell! That works. Never knew that one, thanks for the tip :)

Hedgecore

03-01-2006, 04:32 PM

Heheheh that's been brought up several times. Drag right for a space, down for a line feed and back for backspace. Also scribbling left to right has the same effect as tapping backspace repeatedly. (Maemo, alternate input methods). Tnx Beowabbit, but that post of mine was ancient and I caught onto the alternates a week or two later. I'm going to go back and re-read my first impressions now that I've had the tablet for 10 weeks. :)

ZeroTolerance

03-31-2006, 08:00 PM

I Just got mine fifteen minutes ago and i love it! I'm using it right now to make this post! the keyboard works better than i thought it would. i heard a lot of people complaining that its slow but i have no problems with it so far. the only thing that bother me is that it's always asking me to reconnect. also, the screen looks like it has a protector over it but i don't see where i can pull it off. i don't know, i might just be stupid or something. i'll post more about it later after i used it for a while.

kutibah

04-06-2006, 11:17 PM

Country: USA
Purchased From: eBay Power Seller
Purchase/Arrival Date: 3-23-06

Likes:
Portable
Screen color is brilliant!
Excellent Features
Sound is great
Web Browser is EXCELLENT

Dislikes:
Sometimes Slow
Low Memory
Somewhat small battery life, but still good

Favorite apps:
GPSDrive

cybe

05-19-2006, 03:15 AM

I really like the metallic cover. But still a funny thing is that I'm still positively surprised whenever I use the 770 without the cover. It's so much smaller and lighter.

I was glad to notice how intuitive the GUI is. Maybe I'd read to many reviews but I instantly knew how the machine worked and what the buttons did. Took a few days for me to intuitively try pressing the "home" buttom long to get up the "running apps" menu, and press the "back" button long to close an app. It was nice that it then did what I had hoped for and intuitively felt it should do.

It would be nice to be able to access the main menu, the menu where one starts apps with a button too. One can do so much without a stylus already. I like it.

konttori

05-19-2006, 08:32 AM

It would be nice to be able to access the main menu, the menu where one starts apps with a button too. One can do so much without a stylus already. I like it.

Why don't you use your fingers instead of the stylus then?

cybe

05-20-2006, 04:22 AM

Yeah, might as well get used to touchin the screen with my fingers, it's quite accurate screen even with ones fingers....

plush

06-10-2006, 01:50 PM

+Great display.
+Runs linux (hence is very configurable and has tremendous potential for pull from the open-source community, a lot of which it has already generated). I mean, just look at this forum and all the 770 blogs/pages/ports already.
+Great web browser; with "Optimized Viewing" pages are squeezed to fit the screen.
+Good text input, esp. with new thumb keyboard. Personally I even like the text recognition but many people dislike it.
+Amazing wireless reception; it detects WLAN AP's that even my Airport Extreme and Linksys cards don't detect from home!
Form factor.
+Supports multimedia, ie. movies, sound, etc.
+Has a port of ScummVM which works great ;)

-Battery life isn't terrific, but not shabby. Charges quick to compensate.
-UI is somewhat laggy/slow to respond (<-- Note: New OS2006 Beta fixes this completely).
-Kinda slow bootup.
-Can't move applets around in homepage (<-- Note: New OS2006 Beta fixes this completely).
-Still needs a good calendar app, but then again this was never meant to be an organizer.
-You need to choose an AP every damn time you close and reopen the web-browser, email, etc (<-- Note: New OS2006 Beta fixes this completely).

One thing I must say, which to me redeems any flaws whatsoever, is the extremely sensitive wireless receiver. I can stroll down my neighborhood, walk into town, and connect to an AP almost anywhere. And I live in suburbia in south-eastern NY! I bet in NYC and other major cities you'd have a connection virtually anywhere. Combined with maemo-mapper and wikipedia.org, this truly is as someone dubbed it, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

kimmoj

06-16-2006, 11:25 AM

+ Runs Linux - all the reasons mentioned before, good stuff
+ Great browser (which I intend to upgrade further with privoxy to filter ads and crap)
+ Can handle my bluetooth keyboard - linux with keyboard, ooh yeah.
+ Runs Linux (can be said twice) so I can use lots of cool tools like ssh, etc.
+ Screen resolution is great

- Screen quality stinks! Compared to my own VGA Pocket PC, it's horrible, with moire ("glitter") and uneven lighting in areas. Probably not bad enough to be a dealbreaker but annoying and there's a big questionmark for how my eyes will like multi-hour e-bookreading sessions on this thing.
- no PIM functionality but I didn't need that so bad either in this

Initial impressions were, basically: "Cool! Feels really solid! Nice controls... ok, let's plug it in... Great, a standard Nokia charger, I can get another one and keep at work! Ok, let's turn it on... What the... did someone place a clear sticker over the glass? What's with the nasty moire pattern?? Mumble mumble... click, tap, click... oooh, cool browser! I love the resolution! Mumble mumble... darn moire... looks like crap... click, click, click.. wow, a working bluetooth pairing and internet access in seconds, great stuff! Boy does PVPOnline.com look great on this, except mumble mumble... darn screen pattern... " etc. ;)

beowabbit

06-16-2006, 11:34 AM

- Screen quality stinks! Compared to my own VGA Pocket PC, it's horrible, with moire ("glitter") and uneven lighting in areas. Probably not bad enough to be a dealbreaker but annoying and there's a big questionmark for how my eyes will like multi-hour e-bookreading sessions on this thing.
Fascinating. I love the screen. I was going to wonder if Nokia switched LCD suppliers, but I took mine out, and sure enough, I think I see what you mean -- the screen background is a little "sparkly", compared to (e.g.) my Treo screen. It looks a bit like a movie screen seen close up, or like brushed aluminum under bright light. Is that what you're talking about? Totally not something I notice, and not something I dislike now that I've noticed it, but I do see how somebody could be distracted by it; screens are pretty personal things.

I don't see any uneven lighting on my screen, though.

kimmoj

06-16-2006, 01:23 PM

I suspect the amount of "sparkle" may vary from unit to unit, and also I'm cursed (or blessed) by coming from that Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket PC. That screen is absolutely, completely, utterly paper-white when on a white page, and backlighting doesn't vary one iota from one edge of the screen to the other. Of course, it also costs several hundred more to purchase and doesn't have nearly as cool an OS as this one - and while it is very nice, you can definitely tell it's all silver-colored plastic. The 770 has even more of a quality heft to it.

I'm sure anyone coming to one of these from, say, a phone will just be awed by the screen and not be bothered by the moire effect.

Odin

06-16-2006, 08:34 PM

kimmoj

06-17-2006, 08:23 AM

Depending a LOT on who you are and what you want to do with your device. For some, yes, for some no.

Me, I'm just sitting here grinning like an idiot while SSH:ing in to the 770 from my main workstation so I can run tools in it remotely. How freaking awesome is that? ;)

Texiwill

06-23-2006, 09:13 AM

I picked up the Nokia 770 as a replacement for a Tungsten T3... I was looking for BT and wireless in one and so far I have been extremely happy. I was able to use the GPE PIM tools and import my calendar and my contacts (very important).

All I am really missing follows:
Some form of database program (I use JFile on the Palm), a Port of GtkSQL or something similar would be extremely nice using sqlite.
Better Mapping software. I use my GPS ALOT and downloaded maps, mapopolis or something like that would be slick and allow me to dump my Palm completely. Integrates with my GPS just fine.

NOt a long list but the Nokia 770 has everything else I need and more.

-Edward

Bowie

07-02-2006, 02:51 AM

Country: USA
Purchased From: CompUSA
Purchase/Arrival Date: 5/2006

Likes: Greatest. Hackable. Handheld. Ever. Always full of little surprises, this thing...

Dislikes: It's GNOME-based. Bleh. Give me straight X11, and let me decide what to put on there!

Favorite apps: MaemoMapper. :)

emory

07-29-2006, 06:17 PM

http://kvet.ch/articles/2006/07/29/review-nokia-770-internet-tablet

My impressions and small review.

lpnalda@yahoo.com

08-07-2006, 08:57 AM

Haven't Gotten One Yet :( but will soon :)
Saw one at CompUSA
Austin, TX

Favorite apps: Opera with the zoom feature, Internet Radio, World Clock, iTris (downloaded and tried at store)

Pros: The afore mentioned zoom feature (Even works in mail messages and note taker)
Cons: No voice recording functionality. Also the size limitation of the rs-mmc means that it won't replace a laptop or ipod since I have more than 2 gigs of music.

MirandaSoft

08-27-2006, 05:16 AM

Country: USA
Purchased From: Fry's Electronics, Renton, WA
Purchase/Arrival Date: April 2006

Likes: LINUX on a Handheld Device. Better Security than Palm OS 5!

Dislikes: Difficulty porting my Linux programs.

Favorite apps: GoogleTalk, GAIM, Music Player (plays Shoutcast!), Most of the other software.

As a Veteran Linux user (since 1997), I keep my installed programs to a Selected Few. In other words, I only install programs that I currently use. I am running IT2006 and have not have any crashes.

aRTee

09-23-2006, 04:14 PM

Country: Switzerland
Purchased: August 5th

Likes:
runs linux - Free Software / Open Source, hackable, extensible, open, all the cool stuff, etcetera
great screen scharpness / resolution, better than PDAs for webbrowsing
wireless - got it before my AP arrived, could easily use neighbour's ... Using my own now, hidden wpa-psk... (here the subscriber is supposedly fully responsible for any and all downloads...)
Webbrowser - great viewing control
I actually bought it to be able to control my linux music server, but it has rarely left my hands since I got it.

Dislikes:
screen isn't evenly lit - well visible gradient for instance when opening a new webpage, and shows the mentioned grainy speckles
browser crashes quite often
no info on links before clicking
no easy usb host mode/use
mmc card - why not sd (mini / micro) which I could also use for my digital cam and plenty of other devices....?
minor: no IR

Favourite apps:
browser, vncviewer, meamo mapper, kismet, xterm, plenty of games

FXBOY4EVA

10-11-2006, 06:38 PM

Country:UK
Purchased From:Ebay, odd story, Guy bought his whilst in the U.S. as the villa he was staying in had free Wifi, he came back and realised he had no use for the 770 beside his other 5 computers, so virtually new 770 for approx 3/5 the cost (not counting uk mains adapter for charger) :D

Purchase/Arrival Date: arrived wed 20/09/06, won on ebay 4 days previous (fast delivery)

Likes: Linux *(I am NEW to linux, but I like the ideas, the freedom and the more I tinker the more sense it makes to me than windows), Hackable (software and *hopefully* hardware, IF someone lets the rest of us know what that pin header next to the battery is for).
Bluetooth (I think the standard AND the profiles still have tremendous possibilities). The layout (Well thought out, very approachable even for the computer illiterate),
The design (c'mon, with their phones, what did you expect from nokia?), Ease of Wlan connection/profiling (Great fun for warwalking, plus there are an amazing number of unsecured AP's near my favourite haunts)....... and yes, I LOVE the screen as well.

Dislikes: Construction, though elegant and well thought out, seems a little delecate (Though perhaps there is a market for a 'ruggedised' version *HINT*),
Lack of 'device specific' accessories on the market (though I'm thinking for us hardware hackers, thats a prompt to use our imaginations, so maybe that should be in the 'likes'),
instability of certain apps (though I'm led to believe this may be improved by getting a bigger RS-MMC and extending the userspace into it).
MICROPHONE! considering the space on the underside panel left beside the USB, power and Earphone sockets, would it not have been possible to allow for the connection of an external Mic (podcasting, or at least getting reasonable quality Audio and being able to upload it elsewhere would be useful) ?
Opera does not support many of the (mostly AJAX) web apps I like to use whilst on the move (minor peeve, possibly solved by installing Minimo when I have a larger RS-MMC).

Favorite apps: Browser (obviously, though will try Minimo for better functionality?), ScummVM (I'm an #80s kid), FBreader (GREAT for travelling and there are some great classics available at gutenberg.org), media converter.

Afterwaffle (Yes, I am longwhinded, and I do state the obvious in an overdramatic fashion, flame me at will):
I weighed my options carefully before getting the 770, I don't have mutch spare cash so I aimed to get the one device on offer that held the most possibility, my choices were a Sony PSP (there are many hacks, and its widely available) a pepperpad (Not available here in the UK), or the sony Mylo (Not available in the UK and not mutch info available), or the 770, So my only choice was really the 770. Why ?
It uses Wifi, Wifi is everywhere now (I Live in the STIX and there are still at least 5 networks on my street)
Its DESIGNED for browsing the web, and as sutch, can take full advantage of the many WEB based applications that are springing up to do things previously held in the domain of Desktop software (NOT just office stuff either).
It CAN do a fair bit more than JUST surf the net, as demonstrated by Maemo Mapper (GPS unit is a must have for me now), Emulators for games, Abiword, etc.
Improvements are still being made to the OS (unlike the 'downgrades' necessary with sony's efforts to make them do anything interesting).
Everything is Opensource (ALLWAYS an advantage).
Bluetooth, so it will have even more functionality when I get around to getting a better Phone.

Phew.

Well, thats my bit, now I'm off to the game forum to reel of a ***** list of games that should have been ported allready.

:p

Drewvt

10-20-2006, 06:35 PM

First impressions; I only just got it in the mail, so I should probably familiarize myself with the device...before asking too many stupid questions. :-)

Still, quickie thoughts: pro...extremely cool toy, quite obviously. Con... I can tell that I have the slightly darker right side of the screen, with faint gradients right at the edge on that side. I knew this was a fairly common issue going in,and it's only bothersome when the screen is one bright color (like the startup screen with the nokia logo for instance) so I think I'll bear with it.

HarryN

10-25-2006, 01:16 AM

Well, I have had mine for 2 months now, so not quite a "first impression". I bought mine at a local store.
- Bought it for the screen, and my historic good experience with Nokia.
- I originally was looking to buy a combo cell phone / pda / wifi device, but US phone companies just don't want to sell a 9300i or 9500 in the US, so I ended up with a low end Nokia phone and a 770.
- I think this was generally a good decision

- It has very solid WiFi reception, better than my laptop card
- Browser is pretty good - no complaints
- email client is mediocre. It just mixed together the incoming emails from 2 IMAP email adr.
- I am sorry to say that the "contacts" area is a joke. I can only guess that this area is there as a google talk adv.

- I tried dejapim for a short while, but the only way to move contacts from ACT to it was to first move then through outlook. Not an outlook user, so this was not really interesting.
- Loaded the GPL PIM (version 0.55 I think) Not really had a chance to test it yet.

I originally thought that the 770 ran Opera for many functions (not just browsing) so I loaded Opera 9 on my XP laptop. Boy do I wish it really did. I am now using Opera for browsing and email.

I still need to add a larger mem card.

Not an expert, but I think it is a bit slow, and given that the RAM cannot be field expanded, it would be a low cost item to add enough for it to run larger apps, like a full version of Opera. :)

Drewvt

10-27-2006, 12:57 PM

Not an expert, but I think it is a bit slow, and given that the RAM cannot be field expanded, it would be a low cost item to add enough for it to run larger apps, like a full version of Opera. :)

Before I bought it, I thought that the specs looked weak. Now that I'm using it, I can see that I was wrong; personally speaking the speed and performance of all the essential features and apps (with swap at maximum) is a pleasant surprise.

Now I'm of the opinion that Nokia should only upgrade the processor and ram IF it can be done without hurting the battery life, increasing the weight or upping the price point. (if it can be done, great, but if not, better to stick to this configuration...)

mikec

10-27-2006, 07:23 PM

Have now had the 770 since August 2006 picked it up at the Nokia Store in Chicago while I was on hols. The exchange rate made it a no brainer, compared to the UK price. On the other hand with the current offer of 6680 included for same price ...

This is my second 770. The first was in Feb this year, and it stopped working after a couple hours of use. Nightmare getting a refund, made me think again buying from nokia online. Buying from store was much easier, and they were in stock. This one seems much more solid compared to the first one, and I have had no probs at all.

The good stuff

The case is inspired, you flip it to use it, you flip it again and it protects the screen, and turns the thing into standby. They have put a little notch where your thumb needs to reach the d-pad (though needs to be even more notched, or the d-pad needs to be raise. Have not felt any need to spend any more money on some fancy leather thing that would make the 770 look like it was wearing some balaclaver, adds bulk and stops me stroking that cool aluminium. It looks really expensive with case on, and the whole thing feels rock solid.
Covers Stylus so it wont fall out accidentally.

Browser. zoom , unzoom, scroll left, right up and down by just holding the d pad down. jump from link to link, and all web sites look fantastic. I often prefer to use the 770 at night in bed or on the sofa rather than my laptop, which gets way too warm. Everyitng I need works
-Internet banking
-Flickr photo portal
-VPN to my work outlook web access and intranet
-Scheduleworld Outlook sync on the go.
-Mythweb MythTV Control from the sofa......sweet.

Battery life. How do they do it, with wireless, bluetooth it just seems to go on and on.

Connectivity. It just works, bluetooth to my 3g phone, wifi to my broadband. Hot spot access. war driving of wifi accesspoints. switch on connection on the fly, sniff out wifi hot spots. Bluetooh file access to the 4GB hardrive on my nokia n91, i dont even need to transfer the photos I take on the phone any more.
Wirelss range is almost as good as my laptop.

UPnP -very inspired, control point, rendering point MythTV integration (almost).

Predictive text- I'm pecking so fast now that i've forgotten how to write.
Onscreen Thumb board. Left stylus at home a few times, no probs.
Home Key Brings me back to the desktop, and I can switch apps
Zoom Key- inspired

Applications. The wonders of linux, the apps just keep growing and growing. I was promised a firmware update on ,my windows pocket loox. They canned it, result not going there again. 770 app installer shows windows how it should be done. Gnumeric, spreadsheet I can use on amobile device.

Speaker. Nice and loud for what it is. great for using as a radio.

The screen. Saved the best till last. I tried Windows mobile, Palms,Newtons, Psions. Got bored with all of them after a few months, cause the screens just did not do the job. Do I feel that the 770 needs a bigger screen. Nope. Now all I need is a wide screen camera and I wont have to format photos to fit. On the fly access to flickr means i can show off my photo collection everwhere I go.

The Bad
to PIM or not to PIM. Now that I have Scheduleworld sorted, dont feel to much of a problem. But I spent weeks frigging around with GPE PIM and many options. My advise, live web 2.0 keep it all on line. loose your 770, no probs.

Why cant we have a USB charger
HWR waste of time
The Back Key looks like reload page.
Everyone comments how big my pda is ..argh. I tell them its not a PDA, but mini laptop, they say "you are kidding that must be really expensive". Its all relative.
Why cant they preload the app repos
Video playback at full screen resolution 24fps not available
RSMMC sucks, give me SD card.

Sites that rock with 770
-Scheduleworld, dump your PIM and live web 2.0. get yourself a t-mobile web and walk contract for £20 a month for all you can eat mobile 3g hsdpa internet access. Synch your outlook to schedule world, and there it is on your nokia 770 while your are out and about.

Essential accessories
Martin Fields screen protector. So clear and easy to install, forgotten its even there, dont worry about the screen getting clag on it any more. But dont forget to re-calibrate the touch screen.

3G phone- go with nokia N series, cause the charger is the same.

T-Mobile web and walk permanent internet access.

Some ideas for improvement

Solar panel on the inside of the case.....
Slide out keyboard only if it does not make the device any thicker.
NFS or Samba access.
SPDIF output
HSDPA bluetooth radio with built in GPS ( think its called an N95)
Skype client
Full speed video playback so I can use it as a MythTV Client.
Infrared -so I can use it as a mega remote control (may go away with proper UPnP capability)
Ladscape/ Portrait rotation for looking at pics.
Java

Walter

10-28-2006, 12:58 PM

Country: Austria
Purchase/Arrival Date: arrived yesterday

Likes:

well thought-out design and usability
was up and connected in minutes
battery life is very good
wonderful screen
connectivity via phone (UMTS/GPRS) and wlan
runs Linux
applications available

Dislikes:
There could be even more applications...

Favorite apps:
Opera, SSH

Conclusion:
How could I live without it so many years?

sonoronos

10-30-2006, 11:29 AM

Well, the fire is still there. I take the device with me regularly on overseas business trips and it allows me to get internet access at the World Business Class lounge in Osaka Kansai International Airport, in five-star hotels in Japan, Taiwan, and using city-wide services like Hinet. I can pack my AES-encrypted business laptop into my checked luggage and I can leave the 770 in my carry-on without making a fuss at security. I do my internet banking while away and never have to worry about missing a bill.

In the United States, it works well at places like Panera, although to be honest I feel like a bit of a poseur surfing the web there.

Things I appreciate:
Such a great availability of software.
Great application installer and updater.
Wonderful screen.
Has a great "character" - it is thin, light, and classy.
Good web browser.
Bluetooth and Wifi - excellent support.

Things I don't appreciate:
Low battery power causes crashes

I am looking forward to a Nokia 770 replacement and hopefully the future will bring us better things!

Palitha

11-25-2006, 04:35 AM

Hi Can any one suggest a good online store to buy one Nokia 770 who would be willing to send one to Thailand? Thanks in advance

Drewvt

11-25-2006, 06:26 AM

Hi Can any one suggest a good online store to buy one Nokia 770 who would be willing to send one to Thailand? Thanks in advance

Just to make sure: you are aware that there is no official support for Asian languages at this time, right? It is possible to put in a Thai font using a small tweak for display, but input is out of the question.

The Nokia store ships to Thailand, I think. Other than that, I dunno.

Palitha

11-25-2006, 06:54 AM

Thx, actually I want to use ENG fonts so no probs. It's very difficult to find a proper online store, Pls help if you can. Thx

Psylo

12-25-2006, 09:34 AM

Country: UK
Purchase/Arrival: 19/Dec/06 - Arrived 22/Dec/06 - but missing the Navigation bundle - got it from Dabs which isn't the best company when things go wrong as you don't get a phone number to contact.

Likes:

size - great dimensions - fits in your pockets easily and case is durable enough to just sling in a backpack pocket too
awesome screen quality - size, brightness and colours are all good
Great amount of software available already
App manager for most installations is so easy to use.
Wireless is better than my top line Acer laptop! Detects more networks by far.
that there is a Samba browser that works okay already! It is really nice to sit on the couch and "work"

Dislikes:

Opera browser isn't fantastic - but mostly because many sites don't support it properly rather than the browser being bad. Mozilla base would have been a more sensible default
It took forever to work out how to install libglade (look for matrix mode) which was silly to expect a casual user to do - dependencies should just resolve even if they aren't public viewable
No Skype - pity as it would make life very easy - I'm mounting a crusade to switch people to gtalk or gizmo...
Method to gain root - if I'm installing Xterm I should have a root user, even if first login makes me change password or something...
RSMMC - would have been nicer to use SD if going down this rough form factor but I understand the reasoning - would be a lot cheaper to get cards though :(

Favourite Apps:

Still looking at the moment but nethack is always a favourite, having a web browser in your pocket to "just go online and check" something is fanastic - my wife's appropriated my 770 already for casual surfing so the laptop may well be consigned to the bin for her now.

A great bit of kit and I can't wait to set up my dev enviroment and get Mono working on it so I can start porting some apps.

Psy

Bromo33333

12-25-2006, 10:08 AM

Dislikes:
[list]
Opera browser isn't fantastic - but mostly because many sites don't support it properly rather than the browser being bad. Mozilla base would have been a more sensible default

Glad you are liking the 770! As far as Opera, I have had some difficulty, too, but I found out that Opera adheres to standards much better than almost any other browser out there.

For adherence to standards, point the browser under test to: http://www.webstandards.org/files/acid2/test.html :eek:

But I agree, Seamonkey/Mozilla owuld have been great. But Opera isn't too bad.

linuxbear

12-26-2006, 01:54 AM

Actually, I have found that Opera works a lot better on my Linux-box at home than firefox, Firefox seems to be more optimized for windows, while Opera seems to perform very well on both platforms.

Also, would love to see a USB charger cable for the 770, I have a battery pack I built with a USB plug, it looks like I am going to have to build or get the parts. So far I think I have found USB to the old style nokia power plug and the CA-44 adaptor should plug into that. But if they are not exactly like the pictures and the description on Amazon, I will have to break out the side-cutters, tape and the meter and do some cut/splicing

Karel Jansens

12-26-2006, 09:43 AM

Also, would love to see a USB charger cable for the 770, I have a battery pack I built with a USB plug, it looks like I am going to have to build or get the parts. So far I think I have found USB to the old style nokia power plug and the CA-44 adaptor should plug into that. But if they are not exactly like the pictures and the description on Amazon, I will have to break out the side-cutters, tape and the meter and do some cut/splicing
As the USB socket in the 770 is not physically connected to the power, it's not going to happen, at least not without major surgery on your 770.

dgturner

12-26-2006, 02:35 PM

I must admit, I am very impressed with the feel of the device. The screen is beautiful, the response is decent, and the application base is good and getting better.
The only downsides are the lack of storage space (fixed with a 2GB card and patch) and the lack of a keyboard.
I immediately installed Mapper 1.3.2 and paired the device with my GPS unit. :) :) :)
I was miffed that my Sprint PPC-6700 would not pair with it to allow for downloading maps on the fly,

D. Turner

Texrat

12-26-2006, 02:36 PM

My issue with Opera has to do with my bank (Wells Fargo) not allowing its use in account access. That stinks. No problem with any of my regular sites. Come on, WF, relax!

sebastian.linux

01-08-2007, 09:44 PM

Why don't you install minimo (MiniMozilla). It is at the repositories. Ask for help if you don't find it.

Salut.
sebas.

Texrat

01-08-2007, 11:35 PM

Why don't you install minimo (MiniMozilla). It is at the repositories. Ask for help if you don't find it.

Salut.
sebas.

Wells Fargo won't allow that browser, either.

rattis

01-08-2007, 11:49 PM

Wells Fargo won't allow that browser, either.

That's when you tell them they are incompetent and are driving away business.

zippy

02-14-2007, 12:02 PM

Wells Fargo won't allow that browser, either.

Their site is probably looking at the user agent field that your browser sends. On some browsers, you can set this field to look like IE or Firefox.

Update: according to Opera's web site, you can go to "File -> Preferences -> Network settings" in Opera to change the user agent. I don't know if this is the right path for the Nokia version of Opera, but it should be somewhere in there.

Drewvt

06-25-2007, 08:38 AM

Why don't you install minimo (MiniMozilla). It is at the repositories.

BTW, has anyone gotten this version of Minimo to work on the most recent OS 2006 (version 49)? I never got it to work on the older OS 2006, but I'm about to make the switch to 49, so I'll give it another try...

Slakker

07-03-2007, 02:43 PM

Mine just arrived today:

Likes:
As stated by everyone and their brother...the screen is crisp and clean.
Not nearly as sluggish as it's been made out to be by some reviewers (granted I've had it for 10 minutes and haven't really played with it at all)
Good, quality feel to it. It feels solid, and though the protective cover feels more like plastic than brushed metal, after leaving the tablet sit down here in the basement for a few moments it's obvious that it is, in fact, metal.
Paired flawlessly with my Nokia 6165i (granted, I have no data service...so...whatever)
Perfect size to take with me wherever I go.
The touch sensor is accurate enough that I can use my thumbs for just about anything

Dislikes:
I wish the stand was oriented more upright.
I don't have WiFi here in the house, and everyone around me runs encryption (I live in a neighborhood full of old people...what were the odds?)
The stylus feels a little weird, but i'm sure I'll get used to it.
Did i mention how lame it is to not have any unprotected networks around?

Texrat

07-03-2007, 02:47 PM

Mine just arrived today:
though the protective cover feels more like plastic than brushed metal, after leaving the tablet sit down here in the basement for a few moments it's obvious that it is, in fact, metal.

Not quite. It's aluminum anodized plastic, ie, hard plastic with a very thin coating of aluminum. I mean REALLY thin. It's very unusual to anodize plastic... usually it would be painted or powder coated.

And are you one of the Gearbox refugees? :D If not I'll let you go on the "old people" remark. :p

Slakker

07-03-2007, 04:19 PM

I thought it felt plastic-ish...but then it got all cold and stuff and I got confused...lol

Nah, not a gearbox refugee, but who would have expected a neighborhood filled with baby boomers to ALL run encrypted networks?

roadranger

07-03-2007, 06:52 PM

...the screen is crisp and clean.

I just got two 770's after having received a N800 the week before. The N800 screen is MUCH crisper!

Slakker

07-03-2007, 10:16 PM

Yes...but costs $300 more :)

Another to my list of likes after getting a chance to do relatively stupid things with it: Periodically updating connections list. Awesome.

Did a bit of a "war drive" on the way home from work (after discovering that the WiFi at the campground I work at wants me to sign up for an account and pay $4/day to use it...however, I think a short chat with the owner should take care of that.) I actually found an unprotected connection about a half mile away from my house that gave me enough of a signal to browse for a few minutes. Unfortunately it wouldn't give me enough WiFi lovin to download Doom (shucks...) though, but I did get a smaller application to work out okay.

All in all, though I haven't been able to log more than 5 minutes of online time with it, I'm really pleased. This guy is going to be amazing when I move back to school and have WiFi all the time (or pick up a wireless router for the house...)

770gerd

07-04-2007, 07:06 AM

I love my N770!

I use it since January now, got it for free. I was allowed to choose: A new mobile (nah! my old Siemens S65 just works fine!) or a IT N770! Yeah, I took that device, hey it was for free :P

What I didn´t like in the beginning: It took me days to find out how to add repositories and software to it. Had to browse through the whole maemo.org complex to find out about that! Not too user-friendly. But hey, I was a windows-only user before. That maemo-platform rocks when you got into it!

What I like about that device:

1) It´s small and lighweight. I carry it anywhere, there are so many open hotspots you can access! [Germany]. Even in the smallest tows and cities! On trip to spain I was able to surf the web nearly anywhere!

2) All the software! E-mail, Even two different browsers, photo-tools, flickr tools and so on!

3) The batteries capacity is ok as well! I most often use the screen not @ brightest setting, so it lasts even longer.

What I don´t really like is that the browser and other software crashes too often. Not like every day a dozen times but too often!

Another annoying thing is: When you upgrade your device´s firmware to use new functions, all your fricking programms and even your rep. catalogue get lost! I know there´s a way to backup the repositories but hey: Not everyone has the time or the will to hack around in x-term!

So, many of the functions you can add to the device should be more user-friendly! No hacking just to be able to backup your repositories!

Thats what comes to my mind atm. I have to re-flash it BTW... Because of a stupid bug. Internal memory got too full and now the whole tablet is wasted. The UI is totally wrecked, it reboots all the time. Not a too uncommon bug. This time I´ll use the MMC to upgrade my internal memory!

Slakker

07-04-2007, 01:25 PM

So I get up this morning to a tablet that won't boot. I left it on standby on the nightstand overnight and had to pull the battery momentarily to get it to start up.

Minorly annoying...I guess we'll see how common it turns out to be.

Slakker

07-11-2007, 04:04 PM

Boot problems haven't happened again yet. My 2gb Kingston card arrived today, and I have to say...it's wondrous. I hope we start to see 4gb MMCMobile/RSMMC soon.

I can't wait until I move back to school and have unlimited access to wifi...lol

njadwards

07-27-2007, 10:33 PM

Country: USA
Purchased From: Buy.com
Purchase/Arrival Date: July 12,07

I have one Nokia 770
Pros:
1.Easy to connect to internet (through Wifi or Edge). Can be used as
unit to search for wireless (Better than windows at this one for Linux)
2.Flexibility at installing the software (Gemapper, a lot of tools including PIM, Calculator and games)
3.The screen and design is easy for reading the website (better than most
of smartphones)
4.Support Bluetooth so that can be used to view the pic on the phones and
pcs (no need for digital frames)
5.Support one software(Gizmo) similar to skype so that u can use
the internet call
6 touch screen support chinese reading and input(need to download the
software from one smart Chinese google guy)
7 Cheap (Compared to Iphone $600+ and 800 $400)
8 Formal forum to support: maemo.org
9 Support MP3,WMA and most of vedio format
10 Good battery time (8+ for regular use)

Cons:
1. Use MSS card which is rare and expensive (800 use SD card and have two
slots)
2. No camera to support vedio chat or vedio phone
3. The integrated web browser is Opera 8.0 which only has flash player 6.0
and does not support youtube (until now)
4. The CUP is 160 (Compare to 800's 330) and the ram is 64M (compared to 800
's 128M) but can use the extenal card for ram (maximum 64M)
5. You need spend some time to config and learn how to use

Conclusion:
Can be used as PDA or laptop substituion in most of situation (this is why it is called tabelette). Good for internet broweser, PIM, mapper(can download and support GPS), E-mail reader, PDF reader, photo viewer, internet phone, chatter and more.

Good for the people who like to learn something in usage.
Not Good for the poeple who want to instant use (like women, edler, children)
My evaluation: 4 Star and half
(If you have money, I suggest you to buy 800. But if you like me as a student who like the new tech, try this one)

Jelly-0

07-30-2007, 02:42 AM

I love my 770- however I find once I installed the hacked 2007 I thought- nice- the GUI doesnt half look nice. But I have had so many problems with the hacked OS- im back to the 2006 OS.

dal

07-31-2007, 06:07 AM

I love my 770- however I find once I installed the hacked 2007 I thought- nice- the GUI doesnt half look nice. But I have had so many problems with the hacked OS- im back to the 2006 OS.
Can you tell us what the problems were?

atthehop

08-01-2007, 09:57 PM

I Just love it. Right now I am posting and watchinger A Rod trying to get # 500. Cannot wait until I get my Navocore GPS package I picked up on e.Bay.

This forum is fantastic.

thatsfearagain

08-08-2007, 03:04 PM

Pros:
Most of these have already been covered here so I won't go into much detail. Screen is amazing, GNU/Linux, good battery life, etc...

Cons:
Lack of support from the OSS community/Nokia. What's up with OS2007 being N800 only? UGH. Lame, guys. The RSMMC thing is also totally bogus. I can't believe that they couldn't fit a CF card in there (4GB microdrives are cheap now). No USB host mode by default/unpowered USB port. Seriously, what gives? I understand that spinning up a 2.5" HD on the 770's power would drain your battery pretty quick, but that choice should be left to the user. I'm still also confused as to why, once I enable USB host mode and build a custom, powered USB cable, my USB flash drives won't automount. It's a PITA to have to open xterm and run a shell script every time I want to swap drives. There's probably a solution I haven't come up with yet (I've toyed with the idea of writing a status bar plugin to mount/unmount flash drives, but the whole cross platform development thing still scares me a little, and from what I've read, Python status bar plugins are OS2007 only)

(Feel free to tell me I'm nuts and offer corrections, despite its flaws, I love my 770.)

maxinflixion

08-09-2007, 09:45 AM

Mine was just delivered yesterday. I wish I could experience the smell and excitement of opening up new electronics everyday!

The Good:
-Screen is great
-WiFi worked instantly
-Bluetooth connected to my Nokia e62 right away
-Got setup with Maeomo repos right off the bat w/ no hiccups
-More to come (haven't played with it enough)

The Indifferent:
-Video player/Conversion was a bit wonky (not what I bought this for anyway)

The Bad:
-Had to do a couple of shutdown/restarts (is there a force quit application anywhere?)
-The Mic placement

suitti

09-21-2007, 05:54 PM

Got my 770 a couple days ago. I have no wireless or blueteeth devices, yet.
Wireless router on order. Should arrive in a week.
So, despite this, it is really quite functional.
Discovered that a neighbor has open wireless - thanks, whoever you are.
I was able to download stuff from an open house window. As i've only been home after midnight, my neighbor probably didn't notice.

Good:
770 is discounted - probably due to new model. I might get a spare. This strategy worked well when i bought my Palm.

Awesome display (i've got excellent vision for close fine stuff, despite my age - YMMV). Readable outside in daylight - though not as good. My Palm happens to totally rock outside - passive B/W LCD. My Palm happens to also be awesome at the telescope. It's totally punny backlight does not destroy night vision. Will need red cover for 700. Tech i have.

Performance - like my old Pii/360 in CPU, memory, slightly less disk (flash). Both do full screen video. But 770 fits in my shirt pocket. My Palm is currently there, but for how long?

Quiet. I'll actually use it to read PDFs. I never used to like PDFs. You'd either print them or sit next to a noisy box in an uncomfortable chair.

Multitasking - i'm replacing my Palm, this is a real plus. The Palm really does not compute unless you wait for it. Runs Linux, like my desktop. I've been using Unix since 1982 - so the learning curve is mostly behind me. Even for the new stuff.

Battery life - seems good, charges fast. My Palm is better - two weeks on twin AAA's, and i can carry spares... and replacement AAA rechargables are cheap, but the two are otherwise hard to compare. My palm doesn't play audio or video, and IR compares unfavorably with WiFi. Both do USB.

Stand alone - can operate without the network.

xterm, perl come standard, other languages available. Is there emacs? (i can cope with vi).
perl just works. Is there a maemo GUI library for perl?

Stable - no crashes (yet).

Works with my images (jpg).

Works with my audio (mp3).

Browser should allow usable HTML book reading (offline). Haven't tried it.

Sound (especially with headphones) is high quality. Many x86 laptops come with brain dead sound - for example, you can hear electrical noice when CD changes tracks, or hard disk head moves. But also, laptops have fans, and hard drives that make noise - which effectively reduces quality. The supplied ear buds actually fit in my ears. One of my ears makes this difficult at best. This is the ONLY pair that seems to work.

Bad:
If you shut down, PDF reader, mp3 player, etc., forget where they were. Two days to figure out how to put it to sleep. The case does NOT have any remotely obvious mechanism to make this happen. Difficult to see that the screen has actually turned off when the cover is on. How does it work? Magnetism? RFID? Dark magic?

Two days to figure out where the escape key is. Killed xterm, but vi was orphaned several times. Rebooted to get rid of them. Why isn't there a keyboard screen with control chars and escape? I'd have found that...

None of my downloaded videos play. What do i need to do? Hard to imagine that there's enough local space for video files. Barely enough for audio. Maybe streaming audio or video will be something i'll use one day.

One of the open WiFi places i frequent redirects to an agree-to-our-terms page. The 770's browser can't get by it. Probably some javascript error. Feh. Another browser?

Though screen responds to fingers, my oily fingers mess up the screen. Now carry a lens cleaner rag in bag. High res screen is best clean.

Power cord barely works while device is on a stand. Have right angle headphone jack - is there a right angle power jack?

Manual says "don't overcharge". If powered up while charging, it tells you when it's topped off. But not if it's powered down. It'd be MUCH nicer if you could leave it on A/C and it would internally do the right thing by the battery. The device clearly knows. So all it has to do is do something about it.

Unknown:
My Palm has a totally awesome planetarium app. No idea if i'll be able to settle for 'stars'.

My Palm comes with an adequate calendar app. I can cope with a calendar that doesn't sync with other hosts. Depending on a net connection eg:google's calendar) is a non-starter.

I'll need a plain text book reader. Might just use 'less'. On palm, weasel reads compressed books. So, maybe zless. There's pkzip/unzip - is there gzip? bzip2?

Haven't tried the handwriting recognition. On Palm - grafitti and 'keypad' are same input speed - about 8 WPM. But grafitti doesn't consume screen area. Will want to get wireless keyboard - to make use of 70 WPM skills, from time to time. First, i'll log into the unit from desktop, to see if i like it.

If 770 can do USB TCP networking, can it act as a host to a USB thumb drive? USB 160 GB external hard disk? USB printer? USB iPod? Palm doesn't print. Does 770?

What's the biggest flash card available? Where? What cost?

There's a microphone on it (for internet phone)? Where is it? Are there sound recording apps? If not, why not?

Some of these are doc issues. I've only read the manual once. Maybe it's there, and i missed it. This forum has answered several of my questions.

suitti

09-24-2007, 11:11 AM

OK, so i can answer a question or two of my own.
I've got Maemo Recorder now - and it works. That handles sound recording.
I've got Password Safe - for recording passwords, and other secret stuff.
I've got FBReader, and it seems to rock.

I've got mplayer, but am having problems with it.
I downloaded another browser - but there are problems with it.

I'm having problems with some repository - can't do updates. Will have to track it down. Until then, can't download abiword or Python, probably etc.

Rome wasn't built in a day or two.

suitti

09-24-2007, 11:24 AM

A new questions have come up. I had more, but i'm having a senior moment.

Sometimes, (but not always?) when you install an app, it asks you if you want it somewhere else. For example, it's really a game, but defaults to "extras". But if you've got all this junk there, you have to scroll. I'd like to move the games to games, and the utilities to... you get the idea. Bugger if i know how.

tso

09-24-2007, 07:03 PM

control panel->task navigator->organize

suitti

09-25-2007, 02:55 PM

Thanks!
I think i know why i missed it.

rs-px

10-10-2007, 04:16 PM

Well, I might be the last person posting on this thread. It's perhaps becoming useful for people getting N770s second hand because the places where they're sold new is drying up.

I got mine in an excellent deal along with the Navicore Personal 2007 navigation kit. Effectively the N770 cost peanuts if you deduct the cost of the GPS unit and navigation software.

So the question is: In October of 2007, is the N770 worth consideration?

God, yes. Definitely. If you can still buy one new, do so. They're so cheap as to be the biggest bargain this century.

I sit here in shock having played with the N770 for a day. I can't understand why the reviewers were so down on it, although I understand the firmware has been significantly improved since the early days in 2005. But, really, it's a terrific and usable device. Yes, it's experimental. But a lot of love has gone into making it work well. And it does. Mostly.

The Good:

The browser. It's a real browser, not a mobile browser. You see sites as the designers intended, or you can opt to let the browser rearrange the contents to make them fit better (which I find I do rarely).

Once you set the swap properly, and increased Opera's cache size, it's pretty stable. I've just used the full Gmail website -- the complete AJAX experience. Composing mail, reading... It works. Even Google Maps works... just about. It's insane. Yes, it's not lightning fast but, let's be honest, web browsing rarely is, even on high-powerd computers. The system is mostly responsive, in a similar way -- not lightning fast, but OK.

Also good is the software installation system which, like Ubuntu, is repository based so that dependencies are managed automatically. This is the only bit of Linux foreknowledge I've actually needed. Otherwise I have no clue that I'm running Linux, although I did download an Xterm, just to have the thrill of running shell scripts while sitting on the loo.

The battery may well have come through a time loop from the future because it lasts an unbelievably long time. I spent a few hours wifi browsing (screen at full brightness), and then spent an hour or so listening to Internet radio through the speaker, and then a while more browsing, and still the battery is alive. I'm locked into a battle of wills with it. When will it eventually die?

The Bad:

The stylus keyboard is annoying. I'd just prefer to type the complete word and ignore the autocompleted entries, but they eat into the spacebar area so I often end-up hitting one by accident. I can't find a way of turning this off and that's one other complaint: The OS is surprisingly un-customisable for a Linux distro.

And why aren't there any cursor keys in the text entry area? And why can I never actually get the finger keyboard to appear?

It looks like the Maemo community has forgotten the those using OS2006. All I can find is a website with a list of apps so long that it causes Opera to freeze. The new cute interface at Maemo.org throws up OS2007 software that I can't use, and I can't find a way of filtering the results, unless I'm searching for a specific software package.

But these are minor complaints.

What you have with the N770 is a very usable Internet computer. Mine is also a pretty good in-car GPS unit too. If you want stuff that "just works" then this 'ain't for you. If you don't mind putting in a little effort, and can withstand the odd unexpected event, then the N770 is for you. You'll love it.

manchuia

11-17-2007, 02:01 PM

Well I have given it a good month with my nokia 770. I think I have gotten over the honeymoon phase, and have some real impressions.

First a little background. I am a computer "guy" and have toyed around with Linux (enough to be dangerous) but I am a huge fan of good interaction / user interface design, and I have gone through an exhaustive comparison between the IT, the Archos, and the Iphone. I will still get an Iphone (after I buy Xmas presents for everyone else), but while I had a good deal available for the IT, I decided to take it.

I currently use a Sidekick as a phone, so I am, again, a big fan of KISS. I like "power" but I like the option of not always having to think to use my devices. I have used a number of different cell phones and operating systems, so I am used to relearning something new.

My unit was a used model (like new condition) with IT 2007HE installed as well as the microB browser, and a few other programs. I was really impressed with the "fingerability" of the device. I don't like styli, so i was happy the OS was accomodating. I could IMMEDIATELY see why this was not a huge splash for consumers, the device was a bit sluggish, and the steps I had to go through to find/add software repositories would turn off most people immediately. The Internet Tablet School is/was a brillant idea and I have NO idea how noobs got around before it.

The device speed is comparable to a windows mobile phone, or a S60 phone. Some processes take 1-3 seconds to load/act making the user think they did not press they key right. I often ended up with having to reopen menus or had two items open at a time because of this. This is less of an issue if you turn unit sounds on (you can hear the click of a successful selection), but I hate system sounds, so it took me a while to get used to this.

The browser was slow as well. So slow in fact that I began a comparison to the proxied speed of my sidekick 2 on GPRS. The browser challenge stalled a couple of times as the microB browser had issues with:

* pages that auto refreshed (ESPN's scoreboard system for example)
* flash based clickable banner navigation (The expandable banners on top of Autoblog)
* Ebay in general. (No idea why, but links would just randomly stop working).

I knew there were other issues with the tablet as I could not browse the file system from any program other than file manager (for example, if I went to change the background to an image that I had on the memory card, the program would crash).

At this point of frustration, I opted to change the OS back to the "original" IT 2006. The nokia OS manager was an easy tool, and 15 minutes later, I had a new tablet.

Tablet Review: Round 2

SO MUCH BETTER!!!!

Seriously, the browser, operating system, all the loaded programs are much better than the IT2007 HE firmware. I know I know, the HE was never meant to be end user material, but I didn't think there was going to be this much difference between the two.

The OS change coincided with a restyling of Maemo.org that improved usability and software downloads exponentially. All in all, this combination would be nice to show off to end users. I am assuming IT2007 on the N800 is the same, as is IT2008 on the n810 (both are on the "to buy" list).

I have to make a side note. I hate using styli (mentioned before), but the 770's is really useable and I find myself not minding as much. The overall experience has been good on with IT2006, and I have found enough software to meet my immediate needs of pdf/e-book reader, web browser, and entertaiment unit. For the prices they are going for now, used, (~$100 USD) I consider it a real bargain.

It's a bit like windows mobile OS. Out of the box, it's ok, but to make it worthwhile, you have to play around with it. I think the line would do well to have something along the lines of what apple has done. Maybe fork the product line. An internet tablet that requires little to no thought to run it and do exactly what it's designed to do REALLY well, and then a HE edition line that allows a number of people to play with it will.

I am very happy with my purchase, I can't say I would have been had I taken the plunge earlier, my background really helped get over a lot of frustration.