Hardware I wish the 770 had included: A) IR port to use as a universal remote B) Expandible RAM C) Larger screen (keep the case the same size, expand to the top and right by 1/4th inch each (even if Nokia has to move their name somewhere else, haaa!) D) Ports on the side, not the bottom. {Edit: user does not say why... } E) Ability to remove/insert the stylus without removing the slid-on back cover. {Edit: Unless this was intentional to prevent stylus from falling out somehow.} F) Ability to use the left function of the nav button (joystick) with the slide cover turned around and slid onto the backside of 770. The cover slid on this way prevents us from reaching that leftmost key. G) Scroll wheel added to right side instead of using stylus for up/down in Opera. H) Hard/dedicated volume control (not software/screen driven). --- These further additions by CEklund: I) A stand that actually works, even with the cover on the back side. OR... possibly ... some holes in the bottom to snap in some other kind of stand so we can orient the 770's screen to eye level however we desire. Nokia, you could make money selling stand options to cater to all whims. Currently, the 770 will not snap into anything relevant for our use. www.semens.com (makers of the i-blue GPS) sell a Free Arkon Vent Mount that ratchets down over it okay, but it's not elegant or user friendly. J) A joystick with more height rounding up from the center. The edges of each button should be higher up off the casing for better feedback when depressed. K) Move the power button 1" away from the zooms keys. How many times have I nearly shut off the device just trying to zoom in and out? L) Make the USB Master/Slave capable through the Control Panel after a brief tutorial educating us dummies as to why we can't plug in certain USB devices etc... since Nokia assumes we are idiots about this. Fine, train us then, but give us the option! Wouldn't you like to be able to upload your Mp3's into your iPod without another computer handy? I would! M) Add a hole in the bottom of the front-cover case so that when it's turned around and slid on the backside, you then have somewhere to later attach a Bluetooth webcam device. You can be sure they are coming; let's get prepared for that eventuality. Make a spot to attach a webcam so that it snaps down safely into the case but rests atop the device, centered, facing the user, as it should be. N) If possible, create a left-handed (a flipped) version (maybe not of this 1st version, but for the next version up) for the left handed people out there, if the production costs are worth the number of sales achievable. It seems unlikely that it is, but perhaps Nokia could ask for all of the interested left-handers to vote in a poll ... so they can see how many ARE interested in a left-handed version of the 770 #2 (780?) before they go through the effort.
I currently use a Newton 2100 and a Sony Minidisc recorder to go to meetings. As an engineer, I need to take good notes so the active handwriting recognition of the Newton combined with the ability to search all my text on the Newton is key. As an active meeting goer, I need a voice record of the meeting to update my notes and get them right. As a parent of 2 college students (I bought them Sony recorders as well), I have come to appreciate the value of extended voice recording, as well as being able to search through them later. To make the 770 a truly indispensable students' machine - whether for undergraduate or graduate students (or for an engineers notebook and calendar) - you need to somehow add 4 things: A) improve the handwriting recognition (x 3) etc etc etc... <Edit: Maemopad+ works great as a note taker in lieu of handwriting recognition not being up to snuff at this time! --Ceklund> B) Add voice recording and a 2 gig mmc so it can record all day for going to long conferences. Create option of adding notes (embedded into the audio timeline after the fact) to our recordings so we can search through our recordings and have it queue to that moment automatically. C) Add an active indexing of text entries so that the contents can be quickly globally searched like they are on the Newton. D) Develop active desktop sync programs for linux, MacOS and Windows which would synchronize files, perhaps through Bluetooth not a clunky cable system. Some of these things mentioned here ARE what has made a lot of folks keep using their Newtons 10 years after it has been discontinued by Apple. You might want to think about that, Nokia.
My 770 lies idle due to the lack of a good PDF reader. I was really hoping this would get better with the 2006 OS. It seems a bit faster but otherwise still has weaknesses, including one fundamental flaw - the zoom in/out buttons should skip pages instead. Page turning is the common use case scenario; not zooming.
I can't get over how beautiful and brilliant the screen is. Of course, super-high-resolution on a tablet device means you need good aim with the stylus.