Imagine if you could shrink your whole computer into something that fits in your hand. The Nokia 770 comes close. The first thing that must be said is that it's not a phone. Not at all. It's a palmtop PC, with a colour touchscreen, 64MB RAM expandable via a reduced-size MMC slot, bluetooth, WiFi, built-in 'quiet speaker' as well as a mini-socket for microphone and speakers, USB port and a few buttons including a four-way rocker with centre-select.

It came to market later than planned, but the pocket-sized Nokia 770 feels like a worthwhile experiment in portable computing. The 8.1-ounce unit is a bit larger and heavier than a high-end PDA. Unlike a PDA, this device wasn't designed to keep your contacts and calendar up to date, but to be used as a secondary Wi-Fi-enabled Web surfer.

It's out now -- the OS 2006 for your Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. No longer a beta. You can now upgrade your very own Nokia device with a new firmware, with new functionality

Rob Pegoraro of The Washington Post has written a negative review of the Nokia 770 internet tablet. I asked a friend who owns (and likes) the Nokia 770 to comment: [tease] (emphasis added) The Washington Post article is junk.

Nokia has announced OS 2006 for the N-770 internet tablet, enabling Google Talk, SIP support and other enhancements Nokia today announced OS 2006 for the Nokia 770 Internet tablet. OS 2006 is a major update for the 770 and includes a host of new features and performance enhancements. Probably one of the most prominent additions to OS 2006 is the addition of Google Talk.

May 26, 2005 Nokia introduced the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet at the LinuxWorld Summit in New York here yesterday. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is a dedicated device optimized for convenient Internet browsing and email communications in a sleek pocketsize format. The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet features an high-resolution (800x480) widescreen display with zoom and on-screen keyboard, ideal for viewing online content over Wi-Fi. Aside from Wi-Fi, the device can also connect to the Internet utilising Bluetooth wireless technology via a compatible mobile phone.

Sorry. I hate to be harsh and I fully respect Mr. Mossberg for his overall breadth of technology knowledge, but I really haven't seen an article worth reading from him on mobile tech yet. It's not his writing skills, style or general computing knowledge; it's fair to say those are all excellent. The problem is one of perspective and it applies to many "tech journalists" out there today. If you aren't a mobile device user / expert, you're essentially doomed to miss or just "not get" how a mobile device is to be used and in what circumstances. If you agree with that premise, then why are you writing about mobile devices? That would be me like writing about mainframe technology when I only have a cursory understanding of 'em. (And yes, they're still used today!) I liken this to being handed a hammer when I need to cut some wood and then saying that "this saw" just doesn't work.

Sorry. I hate to be harsh and I fully respect Mr. Mossberg for his overall breadth of technology knowledge, but I really haven't seen an article worth reading from him on mobile tech yet. It's not his writing skills, style or general computing knowledge; it's fair to say those are all excellent. The problem is one of perspective and it applies to many "tech journalists" out there today. If you aren't a mobile device user / expert, you're essentially doomed to miss or just "not get" how a mobile device is to be used and in what circumstances. If you agree with that premise, then why are you writing about mobile devices? That would be me like writing about mainframe technology when I only have a cursory understanding of 'em. (And yes, they're still used today!) I liken this to being handed a hammer when I need to cut some wood and then saying that "this saw" just doesn't work.

Update: RogerS over at InternetTabletTalk has a response to Mike Cane’s Nokia 770 complaints. Interesting reading. I think if I had known a little more about the 770, I might have purchased it instead of the Palm TX back in January. The 770 is nowhere near as exciting as the UMPC. I bet the handheld linux community is actually more excited than most of us about UMPC.

ELSINKI, Finland (AP) - A new version of the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet will include a Google Inc. program that enables users to talk to each other and exchange instant messages over the Internet, the world's largest mobile phone maker said Monday.