I have heard a lot of users clamoring and practically demanding that applications be ported or created for the 770. This same thing happened with the Apple Newton. People have needs, I know - they want to have everything their desktop has, in their pocket. Hey, who doesn't?

You know, personally I would love to sync Outlook to my 770, right this minute. And I am a software developer (it is my profession, not just a hobby for me), so people think - well, just write one!

I think people have to realize that every real software developer that I know already has a regular 9-5 job. My next-door neighbor is a lawyer; do you think I walk next door, bang on the door and tell her, "Hey, get out here, I want to sue somebody today!"?

Another thing about software development is that with the advent of Microsoft Visual Basic (or ‘VB’, and sometimes referred to as Virulent Basic), everybody thinks that software can be created in an afternoon. They also think it will be great, and it won't destroy your files, disable your computer, or expose it to mal ware. VB has given thousands of wannabe programmers the ability to create truly dangerous applications, which have already cost the world billions of dollars and incalculable productivity, with viruses and the like. It has also done some good things as well.

Sure, you can slop some code together in a weekend, (if you don’t have to cut the grass, or fix the shower, or move furniture or the hundreds of other “honey-do” things that come up). And then you will spend the next six months trying to get it right. There is no VB for Debian Linux, which is kind of a good thing.

I heard it before, with the Newton – “if somebody creates this software, I will even pay for it.” Yeah. Software is expensive to create. Hobbyists do it for free, and that’s great. If I can get something going on this Outlook sync in the next few weeks, I will give it away to the community, just because I want to.

Honestly, the best way for a developer to make any money on software for the 770 is to be the first to create something really great, and then just sell it to Nokia, so they can bundle it. Notwithstanding that, it is just a hobbyist effort, doing it for fun.

I have also seen people complain about free software. Hey, it’s free, as in beer. There is nothing easier to code for than an application that is specified completely, so if users want a program that does something, they should try describing it in great detail. If a developer can find a few hours here and there to create the application someone desires, and give it away, then great, everyone is happy.

I guess all I am saying is, understand that developers are people just like you, trying to make a living, learn a new language and platform and have fun.

Okay then we'll offer bounties.
I could hypothetically put up $100 via PayPal to the first person/team to create a GPS application with:

• Street-level moving maps
• Vector maps (fitting all of Phoenix on under 384M)
• Route planning
• Route recalculation
• Warnings about upcoming turns

That $100 isn't for the license when it's released... If it's GPL that's preferred but if it's commercial then the $100 is for the bounty and I'll purchase the software once I see that it matches the qualifications above.

Any takers? Anyone else want to contribute to a software bounty?

Michael: Great post. I'm stuck doing SQL development so I know about "Can't you snap your fingers and give me results in 3 seconds" syndrome or the dreaded "I need a favour" ("Yeah? I need 3 weeks to accomodate that 'simple' 'favour'"). I think the only comment I've made that could be construed as negative has been that it seems that the flow of new apps has slowed down. There are some that have been on the Maemo 'not yet ready' page for months and are gathering dust. There are also a lot in which they're done to the point where they're semi-stable but need to be Hildonized so the menus are legible... and then they get put on the shelf. It's frustrating to the end users but also probably surprising to them that someone hasn't picked up the project and continued. Also odd that games are the greatest volume of releases.

I think Deja PIM was one of the first non-widget apps that I've seen created directly for the 770. The rest were ports. I think in this capacity it's truly showing itself as a niche product, someone would have to be nuts (or really passionate) to spend umpteen hundred hours creating a native maemo app for a single hardware platform.

Sharp Zaurus all over again ? I hope it doesn't end that way, but there are similarities.

This is where toolkits like Python + pyGtk or pygame could really help. Faster prototyping and development, and your app runs everywhere from desktop to PDA to 770, with little if any modification. It actually works. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which is less of a niche, the 770 platform or the above tools :-)

I have to admit to finding it hard going at the moment. I just got an N70 which is a top phone - the email works fine, it synchs with Outlook and 3G connectivity is pretty nice (I got 1gig a month on a three month trial).

But for me, the HUGE problem is that I can't ready any of my eReader books on the 770, and there is no sign of this ever happening. If eReader/Nokia collaborated on this, I'd be sold for life but as it is I have a load of DRM'd books I can't read so I'm drifting back towards using my 4700.

Oh and as for browsing, well the new Opera for PocketPC/Windows Mobile beta looks very promising.

fpp: The Nokia 770 has a few advantages over the Zaurus:

Integrated WiFi AND Bluetooth
800x480 screen
Several years of ARM Linux application development beforehand.

That alone gets it out of the gate running.

You're one of those guys who literally plays with fire, aren't you!

Glad you're on board. I will help you with those Icon issues that you've been dealing with, mostly in the sense that I will connect them to some applications that are especially useful. I've only just ordered my first 770 today - I'll be reselling them - so when it arrives I'll be in touch. See ya around.

thoughtfix -- I should know, I have both :-)

I was speaking of the third-party-contributed software situation on both platforms.

More than hardware enhancements, I think the difference between the two will finally hinge between Nokia's open, international and community-oriented approach vs. Sharp's closed, domestic attitude and neglect of its hacker base.

But nothing is won yet : Nokia needs to push a lot of these babies to create an installed base (with enough of these in the hand of hackers and not just end users), and to play its strengths well. Within six months we need a new firmware with significant stability and performance improvement and a couple more killer apps (VOIP etc.), PLUS a surge in the nascent and still fledgling offering of third-party apps. If both don't happen, within a year the 770 could be just another famous curio in the history of mobile gizmos and suffer from intrenal politics at Nokia.

Literally plays with fire? Yes. I used to. I was a fire eater/breather/juggler for about 5 years. I can post pics if you'd like.

With all this going on, I can only offer "hacks" and "tricks" and "how-to docs." My skill doesn't permit me to offer actual CODE. That makes me sad.

I converted a few Perl scripts to shell for the OpenZaurus project WAY BACK WHEN, but sold my Z a couple years ago to have a Christmas budget. After all that - and now even owning a Nokia 770 - I still need a PDA. My life is too busy/hectic to live without one.

HOW TRUE! Sharp had VERY little communication and rapport with their hacker base which, by comparison, was probably much larger than Nokia's current base. Let's hope the former Z owners convert to Maemo.

On another note - I would like to see something like OpenZaurus get released for the 770. It'd be nice to have a fully open, user-built OS on the device - built ground-up by the hackers. We'll see.