Nokia 770, linux-based tablet, 800x480, bluetooth, Wifi, USB, and.... .Net development using Mono!

Nokia just came out with a great new device: the Nokia 770.  It is a Linux based device running Internet Tablet 2005 software edition. It has a small form factor and 800x480 resolution, with 225-pixel-per-inch in 65536 colors. It is a computer, not a swiss army knive. So no phone, no camera. I think this is a pré… you don’t want such a larger device against you ear… use the tool where it is made for, use your telephone!. Make sure you phone has Bluetooth, so you can communicate with the 770 through your phone. Use Wifi when you are at home, that’s what this thing is made for: Bluetooth and Wifi.

Price in Europe is Euro: 359 euro. Available NOW! (And I order it, two days they say!!;-) )

Have a look at the specifications!!!!

It uses a Texas Instruments OMAP1710 processor, which seems to be an ARM based processor.

I’m looking for a device that can solve one of my biggest problems: getting to bed early and be able to browse the web and read a book without keeping my girlfriend out of here sleep, because she can’t sleep when the lights are on. I read the Da Vinci Code on my Cassipeia, at 320x200 resolution. It did the job, but the text quality wasn’t good enough. Since then I’m thinking about what to do… buy a full blown tablet PC of Toshiba, or go for a phone/pda thingy with 640x480 VGA resolution like the MDA Pro (or one of it’s other named incarnations). I think I found my solution!!!

I’m a Microsoft development guy, so a Pocket PC based thing seems to be the best idea. But if you look at applications comming out for PPC I’m not really impressed. Maybe it’s the 320x200 screen that is used everywhere that turns me off… I worked on Linux for years, and I know that getting your system up and running the way you want it takes a while, but as a technical guy I should manage. Maybe the 770 isn’t that bad for me...

Have a look at this article to see what people think about it.

Nokia created a site http://www.maemo.org/ for developers who want to target the new 770. Already quite some info on there. Especially the RSS aggregator page is interesting: have a look at http://planet.maemo.org/.

The 770 runs on X-Windows, and there is a special widget set available for all the UI. It is called the Hildon widget set. See https://stage.maemo.org/svn/maemo/projects/tools/trunk/osso-ui-performances/ (login, password: guest, guest) to see some test code using these widgets.

There is already a huge set of applications made available to the 770. Have a look at the ApplicationCatalog at the Maemo Wiki.

Currently most development for the 770 is done in C/C++. But he, as a C# guy I don’t want to go back there, I’m getting to old for that. Enter Mono for Maemo and the Nokia 770!!

There is one thing I’m missing however: a microphone in line! How to do skype? Maybe an USB microphone can be solution?

Another thing I’m wondering: can the device run applications from RS-MMC? If this is the case it would be great to throw in a 1 GB RS-MMC card!