Following a beta release on June 9, Nokia has released a highly anticipated Linux operating system update for the 770 Internet Tablet. The Tablet OS 2006 update is now available for download by 770 owners on Nokia’s website. The Tablet OS 2006 upgrade apparently completely wipes out all Tablet OS 2005 applications. Specifically, the Nokia 770 upgrade page states, “Installed applications designed for OS 2005 will not be compatible with OS 2006 edition and will not be restored even from backup.”
I’m impressed. Was from the begining when this device came out. Now I’m definately going to go buy one!
I was also impressed….
… until my casing cracked (for no reason) like many others…
… and my lcd screen just died (like some others).
all after just 3 months of light use. Do you want to buy my new replacement one?
Edited 2006-07-01 20:53
Whoa!! Fcuk that! WTF?!? Sounds like they are made cheap as hell.
Yep, something is up and Nokia doesn’t aknowledge anything about it. There are even names for the issues, like ‘white screen of death’ for the screen issue. Of course, hardware always fails but I’ve seen too many other people with similar problems (especially the case cracking) for it to be simply classed as a remote possibility. For comparison, there have been a heck of a lot more Sony PSP’s and Nintendo DS’s sold but you don’t see the posts about how the case is cracking or screen is dying like you do for the 770. Such a shame as it’s really a great device apart from that. I won’t be a returning customer though, I’ll wait for the market’s next evolution in this category of device.
Lots of hardware has “teething problems”. The screen issues are most likely due to the fact that there are very few (if any) devices this small with such high-resolution screens, so the manufacturing tolerances are probably *very* tight, leading to a comparitively high rate of failure.
I don’t really know much enough about the cracking problem to coment on it.
As far as the “cheap as hell” comment goes, I find my 770 to be very well built. I have had no issues, and the device physically feels rock solid. My only concern at first was that the stylus seemed a bit “plastic-y” but it has proven itself in use.
On a related note, has anyone worked out how the device detects that the cover has been applied? My careful examination has found no hidden buttons or such… Possibly some sort of magnetic switch?
The problem is that Nokia refuses to Acknowledge the issues. One guy on internet tablet talk had Nokia insisting that he must have dropped it, and eventually shouting at him. Not particularly impressive support. Another guy has been going around in circles with Nokia support as they are refusing to help him because he can’t give them the phone number of the device he is having problems with! They themselves simply don’t realise that it’s not a phone! Others have had their devices left with Nokia for weeks and all support will say is ‘it’s being looked at’. They need to support this thing or they are going to kill off the potential it has! For people who are thinking ‘Nokia sorted out my phone problem, their support must be good for everything’, then think again.
support is human to human interaction, so it will be highly variable.
and more often then not these days, they hire a company to handle the first line support.
allso, this is a device that have had more interest then nokia first expected. it was more of a engieering and market test then a fully planed product.
basicly im not surprised that they support cant “handle” the problems…
It uses a magnetic switch, it’s located somewhere under the navigation buttons.
Impressed that your old programs get wiped by updating the OS, or what do you mean by impressed?
As a 770 owner, this is great news!
Finally proper package management, Google talk, etc.
I have had no problems with my 770 so far and I will be applying this update asap.
BTW, the reason for breaking old apps is due to changes in the packaging system. Now we get dependancy management, pre/post-install scripts and apt-get repositories (all wrapped up in an easy to use GUI, so I hear…)
And there was no possible way that they could handle these old applications in a way that doesn’t wipe them?
Never mind. It’s linux. Therefore it doesn’t matter what breaks between updates.
And there was no possible way that they could handle these old applications in a way that doesn’t wipe them?
Correct. The OS and applications are part of the same flash filesystem – there’s no way to rewrite that without also wiping out everything else stored in it.
Correct. The OS and applications are part of the same flash filesystem – there’s no way to rewrite that without also wiping out everything else stored in it.
I don’t see why storing the OS and apps on the same filesystem requires that everything be wiped when installing a new version of the OS.
Do you need to wipe it all each time you install a new app as well? If not, how come you need to wipe everything when you install the new OS?
they introduced a improved app management system from what i understand. and maybe allso a updated framework.
im guessing that to avoid problems they basicly remove legacy apps.
im guessing that its not a full filesystem wipe btw. you user files should still be there…
Already ran the beta before this.
Seems to be a bit faster, tetris and some nice themes for download from a provided repository.
posted with my 770.
ps: zetsurin: ny case also cracked, the entire thing at the bottom came off, it’s ok, the case is’t open there.
Nokia is being a bitch about it and insists that i dropped it … which i didn’t.
Browser: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; ; Linux armv5tejl; U) Opera 8.02 [en_US] Maemo browser 0.4.31 N770/SU-18
the SIP features look promising. i’m hoping to use the 770 as a wifi sip phone.
I was very tempted by the 770. Even tried to get a developer’s discount. Nokia has done interesting things with maemo and they’ve given back to the community well through their involvement with scratchbox.
But I spent my money on other toys, and now I will wait and see what the next generation looks like.
I’ve had a 770 since Christmas, and no problems so far with the casing or anything else hardware-related. Very happy with the little gadget up to now, in fact.
As for the 2006 update, it makes the device much more useful. For me, the big differences are:
* The software repositories (finding individual .deb files was a pain, now it behaves like any self-respecting Linux distro).
* The googletalk VoIP. Yes, I know, many people don’t use gtalk, but my wife and my friends do, and as long as I have access to a wireless access point, it’s like having a free cellphone – the built-in microphone works very nicely.
* Software can now wake the tablet from sleep. I can set an alarm and, even if the 770 is covered, I hear it. Or if someone calls me through gtalk, it rings. Might sound silly, but before you needed to have it on and active (guzzling battery time) to be accessible.
* Swap. With the old OS, as soon as I opened a few apps I’d get a low memory warning. And even though you could create swap, you had to work for it, while now it’s a part of the OS with a GUI and very easy to use. I don’t get low memory errors nearly as much (I can’t remember any now) which means I can even see some flash-heavy sites that killed the 770 before.
All in all, even though I’ve only used it for a couple of days, I’m very happy with the update. Yum!
did you test the on-screen thumb keyboard?
i was wondering how its like to use…
did you test the on-screen thumb keyboard?
i was wondering how its like to use…
The keyboard itself is very nice (by the way, the VoIP interface has pretty large buttons so you can use it with your thumbs too).
It doesn’t *always* pop up properly though – you know how it’s supposed to detect if you’re tapping a text box with the stylus or the finger. Well, most of the time it does fine, but sometimes I use the thumb and the normal “stylus” keyboard comes up. Other than that it’s pretty nice.
Edited to add the quote I was answering to.
Edited 2006-07-03 05:43
so in theory it should present a diffrent keyboard depending on the size of the area thats tapped?
while its a good idea, i can see how it will not allways work as planed…
It wipes old programs as they wouldn’t work anyway. All old programs need to be recompiled.
Browser: Nokia6131/2.0 (03.50) Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1
can we install kde on it?
On a related note, has anyone worked out how the device detects that the cover has been applied? My careful examination has found no hidden buttons or such… Possibly some sort of magnetic switch?
Yep, it’s a magnetic switch – you can see the little magnet on the inside of the cover.
I’ve had my Nokia 770 since Dec 20 2005.
I’ve had no cracks or white screens.
The device feels solid and high-quality, not plasticy at all.
I’m sorry others have experience cracks, but I felt I needed to speak up before the impression is given that these are cheaply made devices.
I agree with you there, it doesn’t look or feel cheap at all. But there just appears to be an alarming amount of people with these same issues. I always kept mine in the silver case and then in the bag it came in, just sitting on the bookshelf when not in use. Yet… the dreaded crack formed. No abuse and minimal use. I was quite surprised because it actually does appear well made. But there seems to be a pattern: peple are still getting the cracks, the most anal users as well. Right now I think it’s Russian Roulette as nobody knows whether they have a good one or a bad one. 3 days ago I would have been here saying I had no problems with my screen, then 2 days ago I switched it on and immediately became a casualty.