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Nokia 770 for $139.99 at Buy.com
June 26, 2007 | 2:06 pm
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By Roger Sperberg, New York Editor for TeleRead
Planet Maemo has pointed us to Buy.com’s offer of new Nokia 770′s for $139.99. Free shipping too.
The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet runs FBReader, which is a world-class open-source e-reader that accepts books in a large variety of formats, even inside a zip archive: OEB, HTML, FB2, Plucker PDB, CHM and non-DRMed Mobipocket, among others. FBReader runs not only on the Nokia 770 and N800 but also the Linux desktop, Windows, PepperPad, Sharp Zaurus and IRex iLiad. The program is still under development (the most recent version is 0.8.4a) and has not yet implemented bookmarks or annotation.
Probably no other device at this cost matches the 770 in features, capability or fabulous screen resolution (I include PDA’s and computers, not just e-book readers when I say this). The display contains five times as many pixels per square inch as the typical LCD monitor, making it the first on which 6-point type can reasonably be read. (And being 800 pixels wide means web-pages can be viewed without scrolling horizontally.)
The Nokia 770 was released a scant 20 months ago in November 2005, running a full version of Debian Linux adapted to the device’s keys and on-screen keyboard. Scarcely a year after that, Nokia unexpected released the N800, with more robust hardware, effectively capping development for the 770 in order to take full advantage of the N800′s capabilities.
The 770 has a hard case that protects its screen when not in use; removing it makes the weight a mere 6 ounces. FBReader adapted itself very well to the 770, allowing the content to be rotated 90, 180 or 270 degrees, virtually uniquely among Internet Tablet applications. Control buttons sited on the device’s top are significantly larger than on the N800, and FBReader’s use of them for page navigation is ideal, especially page forward and page back with the 770′s +/- rocker. Since it has the same 225 pixel-per-inch resolution in its 800 x 480 screen, the 770 has significant advantages over the N800 as an e-reader.
At my home, I usually read on the 770 when in bed and use it for surfing and listening to certain audio (well, language tapes), so as to keep the other tablets free for the rest of the family. PDF works fine on the device as well. It won’t run every program that the N800 will, it lacks the webcam that may make that device the essential Video-IP tablet, and more demanding apps benefit from the N800′s additional RAM and CPU cycles. But the full range of applications, games, business software discussed in these quarters over the last 20 months haven’t been shut off — they work on the 770 as always, making it a terrific deal for someone who wants an e-reader primarily but also wants to access the web, read e-mail, read their RSS feed, IM, listen to music, edit Word and Excel documents, play chess and other games, and make free voip calls using Google Talk or Gizmo.
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Comments:
“Since it has the same 225 pixel-per-inch resolution in its 800 x 480 screen, the 770 has significant advantages over the N800 as an e-reader.”
I’ve read this several times and I still don’t quite understand what you’re getting at here.
Buttons, hard case; 770 is more ergonomic
N800 is a more powerful computer and has inbuilt camera, but 770 is better for e-books where the power and camera do not count.
I would not trade my 770 for any current e-book reading device.
In general, the N800′s greater RAM makes it a superior computer. But it doesn’t have a better screen than the 770.
Looking at them strictly as e-readers, the 770 matches the N800 in screen and excels it in weight and the physical process of navigating from page to page.
Sorry I expressed myself so clumsily in the first shot at this.
Btw, I’m told you can save an additional $10 by using Google checkout when you purchase at Buy.com. I can scarcely believe it even as I type it: $129.99 for a powerful computer and great e-reader.
I’m a bit on the fence here.
On the one hand, it’s a nice e-reader.
On the other, it doesn’t have Skype, which the 800 does—and given that I have a paid Skype account it would be nice to have.
On the first foot, it’s $230 less expensive than the 800.
On the other foot, I just shelled out a lot of money for a scooter and I haven’t yet paid that off.
On the tail, I’m sure that it’s going to stay around for a while and keep on getting cheaper. (But then, so is the 800.)
Man, I dunno.
I have a 770 (which I paid quite a bit for to be honest). Its a great ebook reader but I prefer my old ebookwise-1150, which is currently broken, over the 770.
My reason is simply the size of the screen. I need something a little bigger. The other thing is that this device doesn’t have a great battery life, although it is decent. My eyes get too tired on the 770 though. The screen is very high quality though.
I’m hoping the tablet (DT375) I just bought will replace my ebookman. Still, I’ve been reading on my 770 for quite some time and for $129 it is a fantastic buy. Recently, Nokia planned on no longer supporting the 770 since they released the 800. That didn’t go over too will with the large base of unix-using Maemo folks that own the 770 and they were forced to agree to some OS support after all – but the quality of that support remains to be seen, especially on a device they have already said they stopped any new development for (as pertains to the Maemo operating system it uses).
The web browser built into the 770 is iffy at best – often crashing for me. I actually loaded the Minimo browser (which you can find linked at http://www.maemo.org) and found that to work far more stable on newer web pages. One of the buying points for me was being able to browse the internet with wireless that is built-in. The connection wizard is fantastic. I have my reservations about lack of updates to the built-in browser though. On a device as cutting edge as this, it should be one of the most updated pieces of software for the device.
My last comment is that you can really feel the quality of the 770. It feels like something expensive. The protective case is very sturdy and the way you can close it to protect the screen is great when you travel (this feature is not available on the newer expensive 800).
I have an Ebk1150 too, and for me the ratio of e-reading is 70-75% on 770 to 25-30% on it.
I never found the smaller (though much bigger pixelwise) physical screen of the 770 a problem since it’s so crisp and you can fiddle with fonts, colors and brightness.
When I got the 770 and it had the old OS2005, browsing and reading pdf’s was a pain so I used it exclusively for e-reading, but with the newer OS2006, I never had any problems browsing the net with a decent wi-fi connection, and reading pdf’s is a much improved experience. I even installed games and some children software to keep my son busy in the car on longer trips, much better than carrying a portable dvd player with you or those cheap arcade handhelds that are now all the rage among children…
I agree that you have to charge the 770 often for heavy use, but I got a car charger and an extra charger for work
now selling for $79 on ebay
Thanks, Robert. Got a URL? Here’s what I found when I looked. David