Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Been doing some thinking today and I was wondering what you guys might think if Nokia offered a NIT with a 7" screen instead of the 4" screen it has now? Oddly, if they offered both versions, I'd buy one of each, because I'd have uses for the 4" as well as the 7". It'd still be the same tablet we'd enjoy now (or if this doesn't happen until the n900, then it'd be the same n900 we'd enjoy. ;)), but with a slightly larger screen, and possibly a slightly larger resolution (1024 or 1280 instead of 800 for example) to work with.

What do you guys think? I for one would love both of them because, as I stated, I'd have uses for both a 4" and a 7" model.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

I would only buy something that I can comfortably hold in one hand. Using my trusty ruler and my n810 this gives a maximum of about 5" maybe 6" at a push, 7" starts to need a different way of holding it and means I couldnt get my fingers all the way round it in portrait mode. It would have its applications I'm sure but just not for me.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

At 7" I would consider a netbook. As much as I like my N800, is not the same as a complete computer. The other way is true, I've never found ebooks as enjoyable as with my N800, but if it had a 7" screen it would be no match for even a low end netbook.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

7" takes it into a whole different niche (one that hasn't proven to be very lucrative for the companies already involved). A 7" option with a nice, fat, OMAP3640, big battery and lots of storage options would be interesting, but it'd also be expensive, a lot more pointless than a ~4" tablet (not pocketable, not worth it) and probably not worth the prototyping costs for Nokia to implement.

Leave it to the Atom guys, I say, and install Mer on one of those if you're really hankering for that Nokia experience. ;)

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

That is a good observation, I am interested in the new Viliv X70 Atom due out in April
http://www.myviliv.com/ces/main_x70atom.html

Here is a video of it being held and I can't make my mind up if it just slightly cumbersome
http://www.myviliv.com/popup/x70cf_bae_popup.html

The 4.3" of the N800 is a tad on the small side and perhaps 5" is the best compromise?

So far I have not seen any announcements of MID's with 6" screens though.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

It's worth reading the comment from Peter (about pocketability):

http://www.internettablettalk.com/fo...7&postcount=12

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Well, my uses for a 7" tablet wouldn't be the same as the current nokia n8xx series. It would likely end up being a stationary mounted item in a car or one of my rooms. As you said, it would have different uses, and portability isn't necessarily one of great importance with a 7" model. At least not for the uses I'd have for it.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

I'd love a large (7" screen or bigger) tablet with 2 full-size USB ports, 2 full-size SD slots and video out (maybe composite + HDMI). And the killer feature would be the incredible battery life, far more than any netbook.

It could even have a keyboard/dock, which would turn it into a full-fledged netbook, except for the ability to run x86 code.

You couldn't carry it in a pocket, but it'd be convenient in bed or on the couch.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

4.1"

5" sounds too large to me (especially since it likely implies dropping more buttons). 4.5" at 1024x600 is probably my ideal size (something that could fit in the N800 with a little bit of bezel finagling).

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

The viliv X70 mentioned above is exactly what I was envisioning when talking about how to hold it. With my n810 landscape my little finger sits underneath it and my other fingers across the back, its safe, but the way the x70 is held in the video is just asking for someone to knock it out of your hand. On a desk or your lap it would be fine but not the niche of the NIT.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

If the only difference between the two models is the display, then I wouldn't be that interested. But the key is what is the performance and battery life delta between the two? How much does the larger display hurt battery life?

There is no reason the 4" model can't have a docking station. I'd much rather have that than two models where the only difference is the size.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

I thought I recently saw a headline of Nokia pondering about entering the laptop/netbook market; didn't read the story though.

But I do rather like the NIT format and I'm also waiting to see some compact ARM-based netbooks with long battery life. Generally Nokia has the ability to do nice hardware designs but historically their software approach hasn't been the most customer-centric (although in the mobile industry most players are equally bad so that hasn't been a massive handicap so far).

If someone like Canonical/Ubuntu stood behind the software with Debian-like repos of ARM-ports and by elimating the "planned obsolescense factor", I'd certainly be interested in seeing Nokia's hardware designs for the platform, whether they were in MID or netbook format.

Nokia's competitors in Taiwan, Korea, Japan and increasingly in the PRC often churn out huge number of slightly different devices to see what sticks so I can't see why Nokia couldn't test the waters with a few devices themselves.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

I've got a desire for a lightweight, tablet device (about the size of an A4 piece of paper or so) for use in the home when planning things (romantic getaways, looking at maps etc.).

Effectively, the TechCrunch tablet - but, y'know, really real.

However, it'd have to be cheap to justify the few times I'd use it (but when I did, I'd love it); it'd have to have a docking station to keep it neat somewhere in the living space of the house; it'd have to have a nice fast processor (OMAP3 might do).

Unfortunately, I don't think such a device is feasible (unless it's an RX-71 ;-))

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Well, Ace has some good suggestions for extra features that'd make the tablet more appealing. And given it's larger size, it could be focused towards more multimedia applications too.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

As close to a 7" Nokia you'll be getting anytime soon (if their release date is to be believed)

http://i.gizmodo.com/5162584/always-...e-frankenstein

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

7in seems way too large. The ideal size before sliding and folding would be a device that is all screen and 4x6in.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

I have to agree - a device that has a 7" display is to large to be pocketable & handheld, which makes it a whole know device for me (more of a netbook or small tablet).

For me the size & weight of the current Nxx are ideal to quickly throw in my pocket and go. I agree that with some bezel work, you could easily get a 4.5" display in the NIT & possibly a 5.0" display without a major impact on size. Of course, I don't want battery life to be greatly effected (it's still got to last a full length movie + some).

Having a Video Out would offer the most flexiblity - this lets the user decide which way they want to use the device. If video out could be wireless (either through WLAN or proprietary device), that be the icing on the cake. :p

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

a larger slate which runs the same software/data as my pocketable device and has a telepathic link to show my stuff no matter where I create or use it sounds ideal.

I've got a space on my wall I would really like to put something like this :)

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Definitely interesting, although it'll almost certainly be less capable and more expensive than they promise, like most gadgets.

A couple changes that I'd make: I'd add a OLPC-like handle to the keyboard/dock in order to help stabilize it. I expect its screen is comparatively heavy and makes it unbalanced in netbook mode.

Also, I'd like a full-size SD slot (or two) and video-out. A 2.5" drive bay in the dock would be nice.

Things I particularly like: a second battery in the dock, and plenty of USB ports.

I doubt I'll be an early adopter, but I hope it succeeds.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

If you check the news, you will see that a non-pocketable device called the Kindle has apparently been commercially viable.

Now, what if someone offered the equivalent of a Kindle plus? Color, of course, with some kind of good ebook reader, and good browser -- you'd think it would have to succeed.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

I'm not sure of the finances behind the Kindle, but I'm not at all sure it would succeed if people had to buy their own data access. (Also not sure it would be available at the price it is if not being sold by Amazon with the expectation of making it up on ebooks. I doubt it's a literal loss leader, but I bet it's making a slimmer margin than most comparable devices.)

The Kindle's successful enough, obviously, which disproves any claim that a non-pocketable device can't succeed, but I don't see it as an indicator of success for an even more expensive, but more capable, product, with more typical margin and connectivity left as the user's problem.

If you meant for it to be offered by Amazon (or a competitor, in similar position to handle connectivity), I think it'll be a tough sell. They are expecting to cover the cost of providing you with wireless access by selling you ebooks with almost zero marginal cost of production, and by not having very high data usage. (Regardless of whether they pay per MB, or have negotiated a contract based on low average usage, costs are certainly proportional to either expected or actual usage.) Ebook reading is largely not benefited by color, so this "plus" device doesn't get them any more ebook sales; OTOH, web surfing on the included connection is benefited by color, so they'll almost certainly wind up paying more for your wireless. Why would they do that to themselves? If they charge you for data consumption, the device stands to lose a lot of its appeal as a one-shot hermetically sealed ebook package; it's just another in the iPhone/smartphone/netbook-with-WWAN-and-contract continuum. Not that it can't work, but it doesn't look like a sure shot.

The only way I can see that it would "have to succeed" would depend on negotiating appropriate deals to provide video content. I'm thinking specifically of TV shows, if licensing and distribution could be solved. Ideal method would be using bittorrent (or similar) to run DRMed low-res shows with a closed tracker, starting the release when the show starts or, at worst, finishes airing. (If you're subscribed to that show, your device starts downloading immediately without action from you, so the show's ready when you want to watch it, and to boost downloads to nearby customers who want to watch it live or shortly after.) It's also necessary to prevent devices which haven't bought the show from accessing the tracker, the seeding servers at Amazon, or any other (non-hacked) Kindle Plus (which would have to forward an (encrypted) authentication comm between you and some Amazon server, and receive a go-ahead from the server, before they'd share with you). This should have a low enough circumvention rate to be viable for a while, anyway :rolleyes:, and hopefully distribution is fast, mobile and flexible enough to compete with DVR, Hulu, thepiratebay, and other options. Now all you have to do is negotiate pricing and get the TV networks to sign agreements letting you do it. Maybe in 3 years, they'll think about it....

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

It will be interesting to see how well the dual mode OS works.

8.9" is way too big - it's a convertible tablet/netbook and not a MID. I think I would prefer a traditional docking station with a HDD, USB ports, and using video out to a larger monitor. That way I get my handheld and a 17" desktop computer.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

theflew: Nice netbook. Now if only they would release it with Linux instead of Windows. >.<

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Per their site it says "OpenEmbedded system and is a variant of the Ångström distribution"

I don't care for this form factor much. I had a PepperPad 2 and the problem with that/this size is you might as well have a traditional laptop. Even in tablet form this thing needs a dedicated case since it can't fit in a normal pocket.

I think Nokia is on the right track. I would love for them to have a docking port on the next tablet so you can use a larger screen/keyboard when home.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

I have a N810 for daily use, I would buy the 7" Touch Book as a travel companion.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Well, if anyone's interested, and *assuming* I get one, I've requested one of the Touch Books for review. If I get one for review, I'll let you know what I think of it if anyone's interested. :)

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Sure would be interested, especially that touch screen UI and dual mode OS.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Depends. For a pocketable? yes, too large. But I don't need a pocketable. My G1 fills that role just fine.

What I do need is something that is smaller than 24cm long (the size of my gadget bag; a maxpedition collosus), but bigger than a pocketable screen. Basically, I want a tablet/netbook.

Until I saw the TouchBook today, I was thinking "convertable tablet", like the Asus EeePC T91, or the CTL 2Go tablet. As long as they had linux versions.

But the TouchBook looks like it could give me an interesting alternative. My main problem with my NIT was: too small. I want something just a little bit bigger, just a little bit more connectivity options (video out, USB ports for full size keyboard and mouse, ability to connect to a KVM). I want something I can read a little more conveniently than the 4.1" screen on the NIT.

7" or 8.9" seem pretty ideal. And the OS choices are great (Android and Ubuntu ... and I hope some enterprising NIT fan puts Maemo on it).

If it lives up to the promise, I'm pretty sure I'll end up buying one.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

I definitely want to read a review of it.

Re: Just a thought - A 7" Nokia MID?
 

Imho the current tablets aren't all that pocketable really - they certainly don't fit into my jeans pockets.

So, yeah, I'd actually love to see a 7" tablet - if it was slim (~1cm) and had great battery life (8h? 10h?). A better companion to a small touchscreen smartphone than current tablets, imho.