I rather like the design, and it's not just because of my age. While I appreciate black, I've seen silver done well too and I think this is a good example of it. The retro look is a bit more refreshing and while the design is a bit more rounded, I think that's an advantage. Don't get me wrong, I like the design on the 770, but I think it's just a bit too boxy and bleah. Very straightforward cut and dry. While this may be fine for the business people, it's just dull. Kind of like comparing an Element to a Focus. One looks like a box, and one has some much more interesting curves to give the design a little something more. If cars can have curves, why do hand helds and computers have to be boxes to be considered "professional"?

The increase in processor speed is something I'm looking foward to. While the webcam may seem silly, it would still be good for snapping quick pics while you're out, as I hope you will be out and about with this highly portable device.

As far as the case that they're claiming it comes with, I think everyone would be really happy if it was something similar to the leather case already out for the 770. That would have the fold over cover to protect the screen as well as give you silver-haters a black cover to hide behind. If they could fashion a case (though it would be a bit more complex) that would allow you to use that included stand while keeping it in the case, it would be brilliant! On that note, I really like the included stand as well, as that's a lot easier to use than the little plastic stand that came with the 770. One less thing to carry around at least as it will be built onto the device.

I'm happy it's not a complete redesign of a great device and while they're changing some of the design features on the outside, a lot of the stuff on the inside is only being upgraded, the OS included.

And guys, let's not forget the most important thing here. Nokia is coming out with a SECOND INTERNET TABLET. After the first one, no one was really sure if the market was going to hold and be worth following up on. Even if it's not called the 870, it has been confirmed that it's an internet tablet following the foundation of the 770 and continuing the OS that we've all come to love. What this means is that there's now a solid market for these, or enough of a solid market to Nokia, to keep producing them! This is wonderful news! So if you hate the design or don't want to upgrade now, at least be happy that when you DO want to upgrade, there's a strong chance that there will be internet tablets to choose from.

I think the opposite, to me most open source projects develop quicker than closed source. There are some technologies that have been developed on Linux that are only just coming to MS platforms. I reckon its the closed elements that are the root of any opensouce delays, Adobe with flash, NDA only hardware info required for video etc.

Silver/Metal(ic) is fine, but black plastic, which has been painted with silver color (that comes off after a couple of months of heavy use) to look like a Mac is really quite pathetic looking in my opinion.

I could careless about the 870 at this point, until we have more info. The most important thing is, it shouldn't have WSOD. If it still had WSOD problem, I don't care how good/cheap the 870 is, I won't get it.

It might be a piece of pressed anodised aluminium like the current 770 cover. In which case that would add some tactile value to the product.

Buzz! Wrong assumption. Try again!

Interesting. So there's a possibility that what looks like gray and silver plastic could in fact be metal.

I love it when thinking escapes the box. :D

If that's thinking outside the box, then this is running circles around the box mocking everything inside. :D

Hmmm... that sort of conjecture makes me think the writer has had his hands on one. ;)

Heh, I wish. I have other reasons for thinking there's more goodies on the inside of the new tablet, but that's because of some info gathered for future Maemo development purposes...

I'll be able to talk more... soon. ;)

Like next week? :confused: The suspense and the wait is killing me!

Tex, can you say anything about the dimensions or weight? Also, does that round part at the top contain an optical zoom lens?

Without the case, the 770 is about 6 grams. Is the '870' about the same? ;)

B

Well Bruce.. the dimensions are easy enough to extrapolate from the photos. Some people have made mistaken assumptions but the LCD screen should provide a very good reference.

I'm not at liberty to divulge weight but I will say it would be foolish of the company to make it very much heavier.

Not sure what you mean by "round part". ?

Is there any idea when this would be available? I was offered $240 from nokia repair center for my 770 they have not yet repaired after 30 days. I would consider taking the money, but is this thing real or a long way out. Look how long the 2006 OS took.

Texrat, when you say "soon...", do you mean, "soon -- as in the evolutionary period of the mosquito", or "soon -- as in the lifespan of the Culex tarsalis mosquito - in a California winter"? (ref. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito -- leaves a little room for maneuver). There are many of us (well at least me for sure) who pretty much can't handle the anticipation. :)

I really, really can't say. I'm sorry. But if you have just a little bit more patience than, say, a 4 year old child, you may be rewarded.

Very soon.

;)

Ces
 

It has been previously speculated that the device will be announced at CES which runs from the 8th to the 11th. Certainly that is a reasonable guess. But does anyone know how long it typically takes from the time a product is announced to the time it hits the market?

I'm afraid that we'll need more patience than a 4 year old if it is announced but not made for sale. Then we will KNOW all the yummy features it has and be able to plan how we will use them, but it may not be on sale for months.

There's no real reference for this as it's a different type of product/market than say, a phone or something related. I certainly hope the 770 launch is not a benchmark as that was pretty rough, with months between the first promised release date and the actual release which dragged on for some time. I actually ordered mine over a month before it shipped and ended up getting one from a local store first.

Exactly

Larry

I'm tired of hearing about it to be honest about it.

I'll be at CES. iTT will have the latest pics of the device(s). ;)

Would you be happy to be able to buy the device the day after it's announced?

I speculated about the necessary differences in marketing between the launch of the 770 and that of its successor, back in this thread last summer:

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...26&postcount=7

I still think it makes sense.

fpp: I agree with your analysis.

I'd still like to see more software investment than hardware and *that* could be an incentive for me to upgrade, if the new OS was limited to the new device. However, that then disgruntles all the existing developers who have to upgrade their hardware. None of the rumoured features (except perhaps the built-in stand!) are enticing for me.

Of course, perhaps there'll be a gee-whizz feature announced which hasn't been discussed which I Simply Must Have[TM].

Well, Texrat seems to think so anyway, so we'll see :-)

I definitely am. I'll be ordering / buying mine very soon... Although I wish I could tell you how :)

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

Hi-res pics of the UNBOXING of the device are on Engadget now, so I guess it will just be a matter of days before it is announced... AND, judging by the CompUSA sticker that is very noticable on the box, it will probably be in stores shortly after. (Texrat must be ready to pee his pants keeping this a secret for so long!)
With CES starting tomorrow, I wouldn't be surprised if it was available by next wkend. I never got around to buying a 770, so maybe I'll take the plunge with the N800 (as it is called on the box) now that I've got some holiday $ that I held off on spending.

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

I must admit, biting my tongue HAS been very hard! :lol:

Every time someone has posted misinformation I wanted to start hitting the keys. But, now that CompUSA employees have screwed up the cat is out of the bag a bit early (I'm not counting the previous leaks since there was still some mystery).

I've been enjoying the hell out of mine. Ignore the webcam and there really isn't a "must have" revolutionary feature IMO, but there are nice evolutionary improvements. And some of the OS changes hint that there is more to come. I can't wait for third party apps for the webcam to start coming out...

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

Yeah, I can't wait to start solid.gold.coding on that monster. :)

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

After thinking about it for awhile, no, and I'm retiring/selling my 770 (and attendant accessories: the 2GB Kingston and bluetooth GPS.)

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

My 770 is doing a great job of collecting dust on the carpet under my bed, so no upgrade here.

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

The best handheld I have ever had, just a little underpowered in ram & proc (but still perfectly usable IMHO). After have read about such improvements the answer is yes, I will buy it as soon it will be available.
And inspite of its name, I continue to look at it as a perfect handheld device instead of as an Internet Tablet :)

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

Yea I think I will be getting one. The improvements are what I said was needed to be competetive. I did like the older hard cover and the curved silver metal is very "retro" but it has good possibilities and the price is right. A good case for it is a must but one can customise that for ones own preferences.
I want to know where I can get that star treck interface I saw demoed here, that would definitly bring up the cool quality to the next level..
Of course CES has yet to show us all its goodies to us and I want to see what is going to be Gen2 for UMPC devices but this looks like a keeper right now.

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

That's a pointless waste. I'm sure you can find someone who could use it.

I just rewarded 3 people with 770s and so far one was pleased, one was ecstatic and one hasn't said a word...lol. So at least 2 out of 3 people aren't too jaded to enjoy them. ;)

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

Can I have it, please?

I'll pay for shipping...

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

well, now that the guessing is over and we know what it is: no. i will not spend money on it. i will let everyone around me know that the n800 could be a present for my birthday :) so i'll have 2 tablets if someone's willing to spend that much on me ;)

the reason for not buying it: i'm content with the 770. i dont think it lacks memory/cpu-power. i usually have 1 or 2 browser windows open, and the 770 can handle that easily. there's nothing on the n800 that would make me pay for it - except for the SD-slots, that is. but i'm not gonna pay $400 for slots. :)

on the other hand, the 770 has qualities the n800 no longer has: the cover, larger buttons, better design. so why not keep it?

in case i ever get a n800, it would probably become the device for home use while the 770 with its sturdy case and elegant design will accompany me when i leave home.

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

What I'd like to see as an accessory for the N800 is a slip-on cover that also contains a thin keyboard. That would be sweet.

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

After all the troubles i had with my 770 and that lousy support by nokia (3 x WSOD, last repair took over 4 months), i have sworn to never ever by a nokia device again. :mad: :mad:

But on the other hand the n800 looks very tempting. :confused:

So i'm going to base my decision on the price (€399 currently is to much for just another tablet) and more important on the future support of the 770 (don't want to buy a new device every year, just to get updates and bugfixes).

Re: Are you going to get the "870"??
 

I will use it again soon I am sure, I just have lost interest after the last OS upgrade when the scroll bars decided to disappear in Opera. Ebs and flows...

Its not a complete pointless waste - it saves me about .1 of a second when Im vacuuming the floor :)