Nokia's Linux Handheld

Nils Faerber writes "Today Nokia announced the introduction of the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet device along with the Open Source based Maemo Development Platform. With this new product Nokia enters several new worlds all at once. A new concept for the use of a handheld device, a new fully visible open source based development process and the explicit use of open source software in a commercial grade product. The typical use case for the Nokia 770 is to be the internet usability extension to your mobile phone or other wireless internet access equipment. It is extremely portable by its small formfactor, usable for almost all internet applications thorugh its exceptional resolution of 800x480 pixel and its multimedia capabilities by making use of a TI-OMAP CPU and a accompanying digital signal processor (DSP) core. The consequent use of open source software and technology basing on the Linux kernel 2.6, X11-server technology and the GTK+ toolkit the resulting new Hildon graphical user interface creates a fully new user interface experience for portable Linux devices."

The nokia Internet tablet

Take 2 and call me in the morning....

Good

If this gets popular, and as presumably the interface will be similar to all other Nokia products, people will realise that Linux is not necessarily hard to use.

Re:Good

people will realise that Linux is not necessarily hard to use.

If by "people" you mean the general non-computer-geek population, then I really don't think they care what OS the unit is running. Tivo is easy to use and runs on Linux. Archos media players are easy to use... The list continues.

Linux *can* be difficult to use, especially as a home OS. UIs that lay over the kernel and OS don't have to be.

Re:Good

The FAQ [nokia.com] confirms that "the user interface has its roots in the smartphone Series 90 user interface."

Left-handed model?

I doubt there will be a left-handed model. Pretty much every PDA or device like this one has buttons on the left side, which I can't use because I'm holding the device with my right hand because I need to write on it with my left hand.

Oh well, sucks to be me I guess.

Re:Left-handed model?

Well, it is Open Source, so some enterprising leftie will write a screen/button flipper for the thing - you'll just need to learn how to use the buttons upside down (left arrow will change to right via software, but the pad will be at the bottom, not the t

you're in luck

It's open source and it's X11 based. That means that RandR probably works on it and you can just rotate the screen 180 degrees.

Re:Left-handed model?

... pregadous ...

wtf?

No ethernet

I know it kind of goes against the whole portability idea, but no ethernet?

Re:Forget ethernet, no bluetooth??!!!

What do you mean no bluetooth ?

(Straight from the site:)
Connectivity:
* WLAN: 802.11b/g
* Bluetooth specification: 1.2

GStreamer

Please note that it is also recently revealed that Nokia has been funding GStreamer ! Thank you Nokia!

... but shame on you, Nokia...

for wanting to impose software patents on us in the EU!

Re:... but shame on you, Nokia...

Nokia is really mixed up in these matters:

• it supports open source stuff like this
• supports the anti-microsoft side in eu vs. microsoft battle
• on the other hand, supports software patents

I'd wish they'd just make up their mind and vouch for FOSS

Battery Life

3 hour battery life seems to be a little short if you are going to be traveling and want to use it.

I suppose you could charge it in your car...

Re:Battery Life

3 hour battery life seems to be a little short if you are going to be traveling and want to use it.

It's only 1500 mAh, your average NiMH AA is at 2300 mAh each. This battery must be puny.

An external battery pack would be a cool option. 2 AA's in a small tube with wire could provide nearly 10 hours.

Stylus

I've been using my Gateway tablet for about half a year now and while the stylus works and works well, it's not something I felt the same level of comfort using as I do when I use a pen or pencil. My guess would be that the stlus seems to slip more over the very slick screen.

In regards to the Nokia 770, the stylus seems to be the primary form of input and command for this device. Unless Nokia has changed the feel of stylus, this might hurt adopters of what looks like a neat PDA/tablet hybrid. Indeed, implementing a small keyboard similiar to the Sharp Zaurus PDA's would be very nice.

Better picture

Here [telecomskorea.com]

I've seen $350 quoted as a price point - once more and more devices start offering control access over TCP/IP (think TiVoweb, Xbox Media Centre etc) I think we've got a good candidate for the much-trumpeted "terminal" device that everyone uses around the home. I had the PSP pegged as a good place to start, providing a vibrant homebrew community springs up around it. This Nokia device offers that sort of functionality and development possibilites right out the box.

PDA please!

Looks exciting; can't wait for them to make a PDA out of it. I just wish they'd used regular SD instead of reduced size memory cards.

AP says it runs Opera

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic le/2005/05/25/AR2005052500555.html [washingtonpost.com]

"In one similarity to Nokia's smart phones, the tablet employs the Opera browser from Opera Software ASA."

Screenshots!

http://www.maemo.org/screenshots.html [maemo.org]

No 3G/GSM?

I think it's a pity that the rather beautiful design and obviously neat software doesn't include Nokia's core function: mobile phone connectivity (and not through BT).

It's $350

Not sure where you got the price from, but my sources [forbes.com] say it's going to be $350.

Jolyon

Compared To?

What can you compare this to? The Palm devices? It seems to have a good screen 800 x 600, Wi-Fi... I can imagine teachers carrying something like this around to hold teacher edition texts, and accessing the school network. IMHO, this is very cool, and coul

Re:Seen it already...

cough PSP cant surf the web *cough*

nor can it read emails, play streaming radio and at least 60 other things.

the PSP is a neat portable game but a webpad it CERTIANLY is not.

so how do you click on a fricking link because the PSP lacks a touchscreen? and when is FLASH going to be released for the PSP?

*cough*

Re:Ogg vorbis support?

I talked to Uraeus about this a bit. The machine has combined ARM9/TI DSP cores. The idea is that you want the codecs running on the DSP, and apparently the free Xiph codecs we're included in the launch because there's no DSP port of the reference implementations. (There's no GCC back end for the dsp, although some folks [berlios.de] are working on a related series.) This includes Ogg Theora, Speex and FLAC as well as Ogg Vorbis.

Whether the ARM is too slow (or battery consumptive) to run the decoders on its own, I'm not clear but with everything open source it will be easy to check.

I'll be a Guadec, where they are apparently also doing a demo, so hopefully will know more next week.

In the long term though we need help with the DSP gcc port and someone to do hand-optimized asm for the xiph codecs. If anyone's interested, please let us know.