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...)
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
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
