Nokia’s 770 Internet Tablet ($360) looks like a large smart phone or personal digital assistant, but it doesn’t make cellular calls or manage your calendar and contacts. Its primary purpose is pretty specific: to provide quick, convenient Web browsing and e-mail access.
Small enough to fit in a coat pocket (5.5 x 3.1 x 0.7 inches), the 770’s biggest selling point is its screen—a sharp, landscape-oriented, 4.1-inch display. Resolution is high enough (800 x 480 pixels) to contain the entire width of many Web pages. You can rescale a page to see its entire length, too, or zoom in on a specific section. Buttons control common navigation tasks—zooming, clicking on hyperlinks, going back to previous Web pages, et cetera. Touch-screen commands offer an alternative and trigger additional functions. You can write e-mail messages on screen using the included stylus and handwriting-recognition software, or tap out text on a virtual keyboard.
To connect to the Internet, the 770 must be within a wireless network hotspot or near a Bluetooth-enabled wireless phone that has access to cellular data services. An upgrade of the 770’s Linux-based operating system due out this year will add an instant messaging application and voice-over-Internet technology, so users can make phone calls as well.
