http://www.osnews.com/story/15662/Nokia_770_Portable_Fun_But_Still_Needs_Polish Exploring the Future of Computing en-us Copyright 2001-2009, David Adams adam+nospam@osnews.com Fri, 11 Dec 2009 08:16:20 GMT http://www.osnews.com/images/osnews.gif http://www.osnews.com http://osnews.com/thread?156925 http://osnews.com/thread?156925 ...have said the same thing. If I recall correctly, there was one positive review, one or two neutral, and a half dozen "it's not ready" reviews.

So, by the numbers, I'd have to give this thing a thumbs down!

PS - I didn't care for this "review" at all. It wasn't even a good summary of most of the issues reported on so far concerning this device. Tue, 29 Aug 2006 22:51:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ormandj) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?156956 http://osnews.com/thread?156956 Although I'd disagree with you, as I actually have a N770. By ignoring the reviews and buying it, I've found that I use it all the time. Opera works wonderfully. The screen is awesome. The mail reader is a little slow, but invaluable nonetheless. And it's Linux, so I can do things like mount my shared music folder over nfs and have everything Just Work. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:02:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Roguelazer) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?156959 http://osnews.com/thread?156959 Nokia 770 is a nice device. I wanted one, but it doesn't support USB Charging.

It doesn't make any sense to have a portable device if you have to carry even more cables and batteries. So, I'm just waiting a version without this single sin to actually get the device. I really hope they release it, because without this problem it's a really nice device! Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:17:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (JrezIN) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?156960 http://osnews.com/thread?156960 >Nokia 770 is a nice device. I wanted one, but it doesn't support USB Charging.

False. It does support USB charging. You just need to purchase a Nokia USB charger (new small connector type, or older type plus CA-44 adapter). Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mallard) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?156961 http://osnews.com/thread?156961 will buy it, if kde is on it Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:33:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (collinm) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?156963 http://osnews.com/thread?156963 No KDE, sorry. It runs its own DE based on GTK+ and some GNOME components. Look 'n feel is unique to the device. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 01:35:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mallard) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?156979 http://osnews.com/thread?156979 I have one and I use it all the time. The screen in phenomenal. I find the machine to be relatively quick and responsive. Web surfing is a pleasure. I put excel spreadsheets on it and use them. Book reading is beyond excellent. Linux lets you do lots of cool things with it.

I see the next iPod as looking like this. Forget smearing the screen with a virtual dial on the screen. Imagine the nokia thumb pad replaced with a Nano click-wheel and I think we know what Apple should do. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 03:00:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (alcmaeon) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157007 http://osnews.com/thread?157007 The Nokia 770 is great.

I use it with openvpn to connect to all my remote networks though my cell phones EV-DO connection.

I also use it for normal PDA stuff, email, web, contacts, take notes with xournal, etc.

The screen is eye-poppingly good.

I just bought one and feel that the price is probably too low. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 05:41:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (tmack) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157008 http://osnews.com/thread?157008 Good for wardriving. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 05:59:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (netpython) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157010 http://osnews.com/thread?157010 What about this one?
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=3324 Wed, 30 Aug 2006 06:04:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (netpython) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157011 http://osnews.com/thread?157011 You have no idea how I hate the word "polish" in the OSS community and overall. Not just because it doesn't clearly relate to what must be done or what has been done (IMO), but merly because of the fact that I am Polish! Aargh. Needs More Polish... programmers, people?

*grumble*

OK now that I got that out of the way, I must say that this gadget from Nokia is very tempting indeed, but *slightly* too expensive for me Wed, 30 Aug 2006 06:07:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Tomasz Dominikowski) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157012 http://osnews.com/thread?157012 Early reviews of the 770 were very disappointing to me because they claimed that it wasn't very good at wifi. Apparently the receiver was pretty deaf.

Does anyone care to comment on that? Wed, 30 Aug 2006 06:11:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mipeligro) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157022 http://osnews.com/thread?157022 looks promising as a wifi sip device, but all the clients so far (gtalk, tapioca, gizmo) are semi-closed.
there's still no true sip client?

it would be interesting to hear about the wifi issues if any.

it looks like brilliant start. the screen resolution alone is reason enough to buy one. hopefully the next version will have a faster cpu. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 06:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mieses) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157024 http://osnews.com/thread?157024 Yeah, What about it?

It's a laptop with twistable screen.

How much does it weight? Can you put it in your pocket?

Does it cost less than 400EUR?

So what? =) Wed, 30 Aug 2006 07:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (RenatoRam) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157032 http://osnews.com/thread?157032 I really want a good sip client. Gizmo uses sip but only allows you to connect to their servers. I want a sip client that can connect to my asterisk server so I can use the nokia 770 as a cordless phone. GTalk uses jabber and libjingle so it can only connect to other people with a libjingle client, although I have heard the next version of asterisk will support jingle. Tapioca is the most promising at the moment, but we will have to wait and see. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:25:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (siti) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157033 http://osnews.com/thread?157033 It is pretty good with my testing. Although it is not quite as powerful as some laptops with antennas in the laptop's screen. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 08:26:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (siti) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157040 http://osnews.com/thread?157040 It weighs almost 2 kg for the smallerst model compared to the 770's less than 250g. And although there is no price info, my guess it will cost a bout 4-5 times more than the 770. So it really depends on if you are willing to pay much more for something much heavier and much more powerful.

Basically they are two different products competeing in two different market segments. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 09:48:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (dagw) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157060 http://osnews.com/thread?157060 I also bought a 770. However the screen died and Nokia support (UK) were horrendous to deal with so I sold it after it was fixed. Apart from that it's a nice device but my point is that there are other factors that need to be polished at Nokia apart from the actual device itself.

It does need a faster CPU and the browser even on the newest version of the OS still occassionally locks up or simple vanishes for seemingly no reason at all. Apart from that the 2006 OS is a marked improvement and a step in the right direction. Nokia lost me forever due to the support experience though, so I am hoping that the competition brings something out soon. If the Sony Mylo had the resolution of the 770 I would be an owner now. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 11:54:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (zetsurin) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157061 http://osnews.com/thread?157061 >False. It does support USB charging. You just need to
>purchase a Nokia USB charger (new small connector
>type, or older type plus CA-44 adapter).

That sounds nice in theory and works _provided_ the 770 hasn't run flat. I had the above mentioned setup and could only recharge the 770 when it hadn't yet run flat. It's only good for a top-up. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 11:56:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (zetsurin) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157064 http://osnews.com/thread?157064 The 770 looks amazing and I can think of a thousand things I would use it for. I have a 2 linux media computers in my hose and it would be a great portable remote for it. It would also be damn convinient internet access sitting in a lazyboy. Also probably somewhat useful if you bring it somewhere to someone elses network to transfer files or help fix their computer. I really want one... but... I've read tons of stuff just like this saying "close but no cigar". This article talked down the stability of the software but software is updateable. I've heard the recent software (which is what they reviewed) is MUCH better than the release software. So the maemo developers are on top of things. The problems that are holding me off are hardware problems though. 30sec boot time is sorta lame. Media playback is sweet, but since its ment as a in-home device users probably have better systems with bigger screens and speakers to use. One of the commenters in the article says he keeps it on all day with minimal battery loss, but who cares about that. If its at home you could use it plugged in. Its real usage time that I'm interested in and it is pretty abysmal. 3 hours?!? The lack of a keyboard is also a big deal breaker. On-screen is a nice compromise but I don't wanna look at the onscreen keyboard when typing, i wanna look at the rest of the screen. No matter how perfect the onscreen keyboard becomes it will never have the Tactile feedback that it needs. Its also enormous for a hand-held.

Again, I know this is a at home device, but it is so powerful and versitle that it would be an incredible portable device! Medai player, wifi internet, games and useful *nix-like programs. No other media player can use ssh or the like! But the problems with the hardware make it just not plausible. I'm afraid that it will sell poorly and nokia may give up on it. It may be opensource but nokia makes the hardware and its the hardware I want improved upon. I'm holding out for the 2nd gen but not holding my breath.Edited 2006-08-30 12:29 Wed, 30 Aug 2006 12:27:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Corey) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157065 http://osnews.com/thread?157065 @siti

Gizmo does connect to asterisk: http://www.gizmoproject.com/press-asterisk-compatible.html Wed, 30 Aug 2006 12:40:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (ealm) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157074 http://osnews.com/thread?157074 Mobile phones are rubbish! They will NEVER take off! They all have a different interface! The only people who have them are txtmsging tweens in their parents basements! I'm going back to my pulse-dialling rotary telephone!
[/sarcasm] Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:34:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (twenex) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157075 http://osnews.com/thread?157075 What's wrong with more Polish (programmers,people,reverse notation)? :-PEdited 2006-08-30 13:38 Wed, 30 Aug 2006 13:36:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (twenex) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157082 http://osnews.com/thread?157082 The review mentions a 30 sec boot time but no mention of whether a suspend mode is available. If it has that, then the boot time would be much less of an issue as users would keep the device on suspend most of the time (providing it doesn't use too much battery). Does anyone know?

I've also been considering trading my trusty Palm for the 770 but these reviews keep holding me back.

Has anyone experienced using the wifi with wpa? Wed, 30 Aug 2006 14:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (zerohalo) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157088 http://osnews.com/thread?157088 First of all, there should only be one port for power and communication, a mini usb port.

Motorola really did that nice with the Razor phone, one port that you can charge with, plug into a computer. No proprietary plugs that change every fricking model either. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:15:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (Tweek) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157091 http://osnews.com/thread?157091 Gizmo 2.0 does. They have only ported the 1.x line to linux and the N770 which does not support asterisk. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:29:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (frantzen) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157095 http://osnews.com/thread?157095 You down-modding trolls could do with a healthy-dose of self-respect and a sense of humour. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:42:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (twenex) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157101 http://osnews.com/thread?157101 >The review mentions a 30 sec boot time but no mention of
>whether a suspend mode is available. If it has that,
>then the boot time would be much less of an issue as
>users would keep the device on suspend most of the time
>(providing it doesn't use too much battery). Does anyone >know?

Yes, it is designed to be on suspend mode most of the time. I don't really see why so many reviewers seem obsessed with what is effectively the soft-reset time. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 15:57:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mallard) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157124 http://osnews.com/thread?157124 If it had one of those Intel XScale 416 MHz ARM CPUs, and a little bit more memory (perhaps a micro-HD, à la PalmOne LifeDrive), the 770 would be absolutely perfect (SSH? NFS? That's just too sweet to let it pass)

Meanwhile I'll keep looking for a similar system running Linux, but with more beefier hardware. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:16:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (espinafre) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157127 http://osnews.com/thread?157127 May I add that an ethernet interface would absolutely rock my world? Wed, 30 Aug 2006 17:20:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (espinafre) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157162 http://osnews.com/thread?157162 pol‧ish  /ˈpɒlɪʃ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[pol-ish] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object)
1. to make smooth and glossy, esp. by rubbing or friction: to polish a brass doorknob.
2. to render finished, refined, or elegant: His speech needs polishing.

? Wed, 30 Aug 2006 18:50:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (eggs) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157175 http://osnews.com/thread?157175 >May I add that an ethernet interface would absolutely rock my world?

So you want to add what is fast becoming a legacy port to a handheld device!?
An ethernet port would comprimise the mobility of the device (it's the size of a PDA, imagine that with an ethernet cable attached), and would either have to hang off an annoying dongle or add significant bulk to the device.

If you are really desperate, the device supports USB host mode (unpowered), so it should be possible to rig up a USB ethernet interface. Wed, 30 Aug 2006 19:14:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (mallard) Comments http://osnews.com/thread?157228 http://osnews.com/thread?157228 A PCMCIA slot would do as well; maybe that would be better than having an integrated eth port. I asked for an ethernet port because I'm a sysadmin/network admin/programmer/techie on my company, and I'm looking at the 770 both as a toy and as a tool Wed, 30 Aug 2006 21:09:00 GMT donotreply@osnews.com (espinafre) Comments