Nokia talks up mobile internet appliance

Nokia will add instant messaging and internet telephony to its 770 Internet Tablet

Nokia plans to issue an update of its 770 Internet Tablet early next year, adding instant messaging and internet telephony to the device that started shipping last November.

The company did not disclose which applications it plans to bundle. But Nokia's director of product management, Olavi Toivainen, told vnunet.com that he would favour applications using open standards over proprietary platforms.

This would rule out a bundling deal with parties like Skype or MSN Messenger and makes the Jabber client a prime candidate.

A future hardware version will also feature high quality audio to give the tablet better media features.

Nokia declined to say when consumers could expect a new hardware model. Instead the company plans to focus on increasing performance through software upgrades, according to Ari Jaaksi, Nokia's director of open source operations.

"It is interesting to see how long we can improve the software and what can we do with this hardware. That is going to have an impact on the decision about when we need to move on [with a hardware upgrade]," he told vnunet.com. 

The Nokia 770 is a handheld computer running Linux with a built in Wi-Fi radio. It comes with several internet applications including a browser, email client, Real player and Macromedia Flash. Users can download and install additional software.

Nokia aims the devices at consumers who are considering additional computers because in most cases these are solely used for web browsing and reading email, said Toivainen.

"The proposition is: 'Are you going to buy a fourth computer for your home?' Don't bother. Buy something that is more free from your location and can be used outdoors," he said.

Meanwhile Nokia consciously stays away from the traditional PDA market that is centred around electronic address books and calendars.

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The 770 Internet Tablet is an oddity in Nokia's line-up of mobile phones. The device lacks a cellular radio that would allow it to connect to a mobile data network, but is equipped with Wi-Fi.

Bluetooth allows users to connect to the internet using their mobile phone's data connection. This enables Nokia to develop a single device that works all over the world without having to worry about the local wireless technologies that would render the tablet more expensive.

The 770 is also Nokia's first consumer device running Linux. Nokia's mobile phones run a proprietary operating system such as Symbian for its smartphones. The vendor plans to stick to this strategy. But the open source platform is tailormade for an internet appliance, argued Toivainen.

"The internet world moves so fast that this is the most effective way for the consumer to get affordable and up to date innovation versus something that is proprietary," he explained.

Jaaksi added: "It gives us the possibility to quickly move and test different avenues. You don't have to put a large pool of people and resources behind trying out something. You can get something out reasonably fast and then move on to the next phase using the large pool of developers."

Using the Debian desktop Linux distribution also allows the Nokia device to tap into the vast library of software titles that is available for the operating system. The open nature of the device will also enable users to add functionalities as they please. Nokia plans to use this user feedback for future enhancements.

While there is a real risk of confusing the internet tablet for a traditional PDA, Michael Gartenberg, research director with Jupiter Media, believes that Nokia is "on to something here".

"Nokia needs to carefully craft its marketing strategy to make sure that potential buyers understand what the tablet does," he said. "Nokia needs to make sure that the market hears its message."

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