I just got the little guy and already have wandered thru a few posts discussing a newer version with improved hardware. Is this expected or just talk?

It's expected eventually... but I wouldn't call the 770 a raging success story yet. There's still a lot more that can be done to push it to the limits, but so far as I'm concerned, the recent slew of 2006 apps justifies my reasons for getting this sucker... and reaffirming my belief in open source.

I'd be willing to buy a new model in about two years. There are things I'd love to see in the next version, including a/b/g wireless.

802.11a wireless - suspect you're in a distinct minority there... are there enough 11a users on the planet for Nokia to include this in a future iteration? I would expect (hope) that 11n/MIMO is a more likely candidate in future 770's than 11a (which must surely be dying a slow and painful death, although it may linger a while within corporate environments)

Your last sentence nailed it on the head. I want to be able to do scans for illegal access points at work. Corprate Security requires us to scan for A/B/G. But that's just for the company I work for I'm sure. (sarcasim) I'm willing to bet that the other Two major car companies don't use A at all (/sarcasim) although some of the smaller ones like BMW does.

Personally I think it's a great war walking tool, and since I can state a business case for it, I hope it's included. I'm not expecting 802.11n for a few years (the vendors are trying to rush it to make more money) it just seems like the IEEE wants all the wrinkles out.

I think Nokia would be remiss not to release an updated model. I personally think they should expand the product line with a couple versions, each with differing screen sizes. Perhaps one with a 7-10" screen and internal flash drive. Something to rival the UMPCs but with the power and slim line build of Linux.

The trouble with an updated hardware model is compatibility. One thing to avoid this which I could imagine - and would recommend to Nokia - is a device which would electrically be identical, but just have a bigger screen (double the diagonal = 4 times the area. Same resolution, just bigger pixels). Same look. Possibly two batteries instead of one, but no other extras. Then sell it at exactly the same price as the 770.

Why that:
diversify for different user populations without getting into trouble with incompatibility issues.
Relatively easy to develop 9electrically identical). Bigger screens as lower tech, might even be cheaper in purchasing. Manufacturing would also not be that different (well, somewhat, for the mechanics...)

I assume that the 770 - and the whole maemo idea/family, commercially, has not reached break-even for Nokia, and will not, for quite some time to come. So there is money being invested without sufficient return. And a bigger (but not "better") device would be an easy option to test the market agains other devices: what I have seen from the windows world : they are biger than the Nokia 770.

Just one thought: Nokia is a phone company. And phone companies are universally praised for their concern about backward compatibility. (what's the smiley for sarcasm?)

Heck, their first OS update already broke everything.

Imho, we don't have to forget that N770 is something born to test the market. First release had its problems, and many things changed. But it's only a question of time and everytihng will be ported to 06. The hardware is the same and in a few month every program that run on the old one will work on the new OS, too.
The biggest trade factor for N770 had been battery vs power, and I like and decided to buy my N770 thx to its long battery life. I never had a laptop because I don't need something that could live 2 hours without a power plug, sometimes I have no chance to charge it for a week, and N770 lives for a week in standby without charging when used as a palm without WIFI.
For a business company, it would not have been a big job to patch the code to adapt to 2006. HW backward compatibility instead should be taken in account, nobody likes to spend $ in something that lasts for only few months...
And the data format has the same importance, too. The lack of a simple way to move your contacts/todos/datas is something well perceived by everyone.
BUT
don't forget that N770 is advertised as an IT, e we should try to think at it this way! I myself am a geek instead (well, N770 is perfect for me and for my job), so I should be the first person to shut up

Screen is it for me, as mentioned above. When I first saw the pictures of the 770 I thought it was the size of an A5 piece of paper. Its deceptive in photos If nokia brought out a bigger model tomorrow I would buy it despite only having my 770 for 1 week.

The resolution and quality of the screen is lovely but it can still be quite a struggle to read small fonts.