Several sites around the Internet are reporting on a rumored successor to the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet that could ship in time for the 2006 holiday gift-giving season. The so-called “330” tablet appears to be smaller, more entertainment oriented, and to have built-in GPS capabilities. Nokia had no comment.

Commercial GPS software is already available for the 770, which supports Bluetooth GPS devices — possibly a better setup for driving, since the radio and display devices can each be positioned for optimal performance.

The 330 rumor story was apparently broken by T3, a British gadget rag with a split focus on tiny bikinis and tiny gadgets. Several other gadget sites have bitten, including Engadget, which claims the device will use a “SiRF Star III GPS chipset.”

According to various reports, the 330 will also support DivX movies. However, it has a smaller 3.5-inch screen with a 3:2 aspect ratio, down from 4 inches and 16:10 ratio in the 770.

From various fuzzy photos, the 330 will also apparently feature a simple-Simon splash screen featuring large, kindergarten computing-style icons for application mega-categories such as:

• Photo
• Navigation
• Movie
• MP3
• Setup
  

Given Nokia's recent acquisition of digital music clearinghouse Loudeye, supplier to Apple's iTunes store and others, the 330 may also include sophisticated music download, storage, and playback capabilities.

Nokia's media relations manager, Camilla Gragg, told LinuxDevices, “This announcement did not come from us, and no media photos of data sheets for such a device are available.”

However, Gragg added, “We do anticipate making future announcements in this space.”

Stay tuned. The T3 story, which includes the best photos, can be found here. Engadget's report, which has slightly more technical detail, is here.

Sony, meanwhile, is expected this month to ship a small Linux-powered Mylo device (short for “my life online”) featuring a range of messaging capabilities, including VoIP. Additionally, Archos and Pepper Computer both have new handhelds freshly on the market or about to launch.

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