At least two large online retailers are selling Nokia's 770 Internet Tablet for $140. Originally priced at $400, the 770 was Nokia's first Linux-based consumer device — and arguably the first product in an emergent new generation of pocketable WiFi-connected Web tablets.

Compared to Nokia's second-generation N800 Internet Tablet, the 770 has a slower processor, less RAM, only one speaker, and fewer expansion slots. Additionally, the Nokia-sponsored Maemo.org project's newest Linux-based operating system release (“Tablet OS 2007“) is available for the 770 only in an unsupported “hacker” release.

N800 (top) vs. 770

On the upside, the 770 bests the newer N800 in power management and ruggedness, thanks to a hardware slide-on cover that uses a magnetic switch to induce sleep (with or without WiFi keep-alive) much more reliably than the N800's four flakey software suspend options and fabric bag. To boot, the 770 has a spare, elegant, angular industrial design that some might prefer to the N800's slightly puffy 60's retro look.

Availability

The 770 was spotted for $140 at both buy.com and shop.com. Elsewhere — Amazon.com for instance — the device sells for upwards of $250. N800 street pricing appears to be holding steady at about $370.

–Henry Kingman

 
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