with new hardware elements..and 390$... sounds that it's the same 770, with the new os version and a bluetooth headset.

If there's already a physically new version of the tablet coming out, yes, I'm pissed off. No, I won't buy the new one. I haven't bought a single Sony product since they screwed me on billing for StarwarsGalaxies. That $50 they got out of me lost them several hundred in other purchases. I'm bitter like that and more consumers should be.

I hope that should a new device be released, that they might offer some sort of trade in/trade up offer. I wouldn't mind paying a little bit and swapping my old tablet for a beefed up new one... But after spending a few hundred on V1 and being an early adopter, it's people like the ones frequenting this forum that kept the device alive by using it in the meantime... and the developers who kept at it cranking out apps for it...

So far as VOIP goes, VOIP is just that. Voice Over IP. Nobody promised the ability to do this over the phone system.

So, along with these lines, i give you my two cents.

so we will be having 2006 OS, finally. They will be maybe doing only the unveiling of the teamwork on tuesday, hopefully they will release the OS 2006 to developers (in maemo.org and as in us.). And the additional hardware ?

I hope something along the line of a webcam that integrates to the Google Talk and lets you show your funny face as you talk with your frinds, how to do this when the usb-port cannot push 5V i have no idea, maybe a webcam with one AA -battery inside that will power the webcam and they have host-mode enabled by default?

Next, what do i think about this whole stuff.

I think its awesome, with google having a ton of webstuff, i think they will have a lot of usefull software. If they make client software to use them as someone pointed allready. If they dont do this then its kinda pointless because you would need to have webaccess allways when you want to use them and on the road, this is not the case.

I mean, think about something like google desktop in 770 that lets you browse your own files that you have in your desktop computer. Or something similar.

And if this isnt enough, if they integrate google software to symbian, were going to have three different devices, that all link to eachother. Of course this is my dream, and i doubt google and nokia will have it done now, or in the next few years. But let's say in the period of 3-5 years things will move gradually towards this.

This Google partnership stuff could be awesome, relaunching the 770 with VOIP along with google would make some reviewers give a 2nd look to the tablet, and hopefully allow them, those that took the what-no-phone position, to jump on board. From a marketing point of view, it would be a good move.
The only thing that dsturbs me is the higher price tag though.
Regards,

I agree that you would need some kind of client app to run as a "front end" for web calendaring, etc. But I think there is a move towards format compatibility for this kind of thing anyway, on Macs and PCs. I tried Intellisync to synchronize my Outlook 2003 data with Yahoo's online services, and it worked fine. The problem was that the process was cumbersome; it took a few minutes, and it didn't have any automatic features that I recall, like background operation or scheduling. Given the relatively small amounts of data involved in PIM applications, the process of synchronizing data with web resources should be capable of a lot of improvement.

I wouldn't be that unhappy if there were a new piece of hardware coming out down the line. In a lot of ways, the 770 never really saw a major product release. If I remember correctly, the default homepage for the 770's browser was the Nokia Europe customer feedback website, which I thought was pretty telling (I live in Boston). So if Nokia is gearing up for another push for the 770 (much in the way that Bryan Adam's "Heaven" made two runs on the top 40, once with the single release, and again when it was part of the soundtrack of some unmemorable movie), that would be a sign that Nokia has decided not to scrap the 770.

In that case, we might see a wider release of the 770, which would be an opportunity to do something with the hardware. But I don't buy the idea that a major hardware update will come in so soon at basically the same price. Either it's the same piece of hardware that has about the same initial MSRP, because that's the price point Nokia was shooting for to begin with, and they would like to get some profit from a wider release after supporting the development for the past year or really more. Or it's slightly upgraded hardware, or the same 770 plus an accessory that we would be able to get separately. But for current 770 owners, the question is, will the existing 770 hardware support all the expected functions of any hardware update to the Internet Tablet? If not, then we might be in the same situation as the people who bought iPod v1.

But to be optimistic, a wider release for the same form factor in an updated device always means more accessories: face plates in multiple colors, etc. I would love to see an attachable thumb board in the form of a dock or a hinged screen cover. And I don't see why you couldn't route 2-way voice quality audio over USB along with KB or mouse data. And adding standard BT profile support for HIDs and headsets, along with increased web app support like Google Talk, would push the 770 a long way just by themselves.

By the way, I got my first gmail invitation from eBay.

Finally, let me add that my very long post of last night was in part due to my having been somewhat intoxicated.

This might have something to do with the timing of all this:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphone...res-170247.php

Summary: high end Nokia retail stores in NY and Chicago on June 21st.

Nokia moved their top design guy to a new division, so that he can focus on fashion phones. This officially creates a two-tiered system for product design. So this is a clear strategic commitment to pushing into the US and other markets with higher end gadgets, like the music phone and the communicator phone, which are also seeing releases, giving the new retail stores something to show:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphone...ter-173458.php
http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellp...e61-171277.php
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphone...ted-171010.php

The 770 is Nokia's only non-phone product that I know of. It would be helpful to have a popular non-phone product for Nokia to get into the US market: since we tend to get our phones through cellular carriers, fashion phones and "phone accessories" that are not readily available through US carriers are a good way to get in. And on the other end of things, after watching the UMPC release, I believe the 770 is pretty safe from competition from a $1000, 2lb. Windows PC with a 2 hour battery life, as long as you can Google Talk, Google Map, and do some banking on it.

And I have some suspicion that the basic design of the 770 could be a winner, in the way I suspected the iPod would be a winner when Apple added the touch wheel and Windows compatibility at v2. No other product comes close to delivering something that consumers want, IMO. The dualcor cPc has a 5" 800x480 touch screen, and runs WM5.0 (a first for this video resolution) and Tablet XP. But dualcor decided to have no built-in wireless hardware in the cPc, and it comes in at $1500. I think Nokia was dead on accurate about the 770s form factor and design, the size, the basic operating environment, the screen quality, the wifi and BT hardware, the battery life, and the MSRP. I don't think you can expect much more success in a "gamma" release product, or whatever.

Another thought: if Nokia is 'partnering' with Google, at the least we can hope for continued improvements in web browsing, flash support, etc.

A somewhat unflattering rehash of the WSJ article on the The Register.

The Reg suggest Nokia are launching a successor to the 770 but to be honest their story is based entirely off the WSJ article without offering any further insight or substance, and thus appears to be as confused as we are about the upcoming launch.

I don't know whether there's a connection but the Nokia UK link to the 770 software update page has been unavailable for about a week.

I hear you on the sony issue. More people need to stop spending money on companies that see them as walking $$$ instead of the reson they stay in business. However that's not what the bean counters see, and we live in a consumer market.

I hope if it's a true v2, that we can send them the old units with upto $100.00 (depending on what the upgrades include, I only say that much because of depreciation over a year, I'd really not be happy giving them more then $50.00) for the upgrade.

People keep mentioning how google will allow a web-based pim. Fine and good, but since I don't live my life on line (regardless of what my family says) I would like a pim that doesn't require a net connection to access it.