I asked Dr. Ari Jaaksi, head of Open Source Development at Nokia and of internet tablet development, "If you were outside Nokia developing an app for the internet tablet, you -- who knows the device's capabilities better than anyone else -- what would you be working on?"

And he said, "I don't know about the application. But aspects I'd like to see in it . . . an app or service (it doesn't have to be inside the device, it could be on the network) that demands online, constant access."

This underscored something he had said a few minutes earlier when he had described the experience of building a device from the ground up that wasn't a laptop, wasn't a cellphone, wasn't a PDA, but fit in the space between these devices, more portable, better-screened and so on. The internet tablet he described needed to be "really good for the internet experience ... [because it is for the person with a] strong and active online life, [who] wants that internet experience wherever you go." The 770 and the N800, he pointed out, put that first, as those other devices do not.

I'm always thinking about the Nokia 770 or N800 as computers, as e-readers, as entertainment devices. The way Ari Jaaksi puts the emphasis on the internet experience makes me trust his declaration that the Flash and browser issues will be resolved. It's the space where these devices has to shine.