Nokia is traditionally known for their mobile phones where they hold a significant lead over their competition in the cell phone marketplace. They are apparently looking to expand their horizon and are doing so with a fairly unusual new product. They have released details of the Nokia 770 which is a small touch screen tablet PC with a 4 inch (800×480) screen running a more or less standard desktop Linux. The primary use of said device is to use as an extra Internet device for broadband houses. It has Bluetooth and Wireless for connectivity. Software for the first version will include a browser, RSS reader, multi-media player, Internet radio and an image viewer, the software is apparently user upgradeable and future upgrades will include VOIP and Instant Messaging. Photos of the device have also been made available.
The way all the big cell phone and PDA manufacturers are jumping on Linux is truly astounding. I’d guess that in about 5 years Linux will hold a considerable piece of the market, Mostly due to the fact that there are no license costs owed to the likes of Microsoft because Linux is freely available and has proven to be a stable mature and open platform they can use as a base for their own applications.
Update: You can read an excellent review of a pre-production version of the 770 at jkOnTheRun.
