Country: US (Houston, TX)
Purchased From: Fry's
Purchase/Arrival Date: January 30, 2005

On the whole I really like the 770. I've used a Zaurus for several years but find that I prefer the Nokia. In part that's because of the built-in connecti\vity but it's also the case that the Nokia are doing a great job of really making the device open (at least software wise) as well as producing a really sol\id device.

I've owned the portrait mode and landscape Zauris and while I can say that I miss the thumboard occassionally it's not a major loss. I have a ThinkOutside \Stowaway Bluetooth keyboard that I keep handy. It's much easier to type on for longer messages (although not handy when you're at the store). Perhaps the most telling difference between the Zaurus and Nokia for me is I carry the Nokia everywhere. The Zaurus, espcially the clamshell, has been left behind numerous times.

I'll echo the comment about RAM but really it doesn't cause me much trouble. I have a 32 Mb swap partition and that totally eases the pain.

Likes:

• Screen - 800 (rather than 640)x480
• Size and weight -- thin and light
• Debian and gnome/gtk based -- makes porting apps easier (not easy just easier)
• Bluetooth -- connected to both a T-Mobile and Verizon DUN
• 802.11b/g
• Usable dev environment and good documentation

Dislikes:

• RAM (needs more)
• USB 1.1
• USB-host mode requires power

Favorite apps:

• Video Player
• FBReader
• Opera
• AbiWord
• XTerm :P

Discoveries:

• 'User' must have a shell of /bin/sh -- I'll post a separate message detailing the boot troubles I had after setting the 'user' shell to tcsh after I comp\iled and installed it (and no, it's not a bad compile)

Tips:

• Don't set 'user' to a shell that's not compatible with sh -- invoke the new shell from your .profile

What I would add without increasing the price:

• USB 2.0
• Powered USB-host mode
• Additional 32 - 64 MB RAM