Internet Tablet’s a journey from nothing to nothing?

Internet Tablet’s a journey from nothing to nothing. Has Nokia gone from filling a hole in the marketplace to creating one? Pehaps not as there are now other arm based pocketable Linux devices emerging, but will Nokia be able to hang on to its large “computer geek” following while bringing in a larger retail market.

I have been trying to avoid rumors and really want to get the device into my hands before I start complaining. To me this seems as though it could mark the beginning of the end for some avid Nokia supporters. I have since 2005 enjoyed the use of my “Internet Tablet”. The power of Linux in my pocket. The first reason I was attracted to the platform was to use the 770 as a support tool. I was on-call and the 770 allowed me to login to work, over a phone or wifi. I no longer needed a laptop tethered to my side and I no longer needed to sit at home and wait to see if something was goin to break at work. I was freeeeee. I quickly became an avid supporter of the platform and tried to push for more of the Linux like looks and feel, which I eventually worked on myself by porting alternative desktop’s and window managers. Nokia seems to have chosen to take a step now away from “Internet Tablet’s” and are using some new terms like “mobile computer” and statements like “Maemo brings the power of computers to mobile devices. Designed with the internet at its core, Linux-based Maemo software takes us into a new era of mobile computing.” and “Maemo is available on the Nokia N900 – a high-performance mobile computer with a powerful processor, large internal storage, and sharp touch-screen display.”

Don’t get me wrong I love these new mantras, but I am left wondering what will be delivered. Will it be the same watered down “internet tablet” like experience or will it truly be a “mobile computing” platform taking on new roles like running office applications and printing and usb periphal support. I am guessing that is not what Nokia means by “mobile computing”. One of my biggest concerns is that the screen which was already small will not be as useful as the 770/800/810 screen. Although there is video out support that is really not a feature I have to have. The usefulness of the mobile computer is reduced if I have to carry around a screen big enough to do the “mobile computing”. I know Nokia is working on a netbook, I am seriously hoping they will also be creating another pocketable “Internet tablet” device to fill the hole. Unfortunately with a name like the n900, I can only assume this is the predecessor to the N810. A guy can still wish though. How about a N910 with a 4.5inch screen 1024×600 and no phone features. Sorry, I am off in dreamland again.

In conclusion I am hoping there will be a really good developer program so I can prove myself wrong. Quietly waiting wondering what will be the future will bring. So many rumors, changes, disappointments. The 770 was an improvement over anything in the marketplace, the N800 was and improvement over the 770, the N810 was an improvement over the N800. I was also disappointed in some ways with the N800 (It was ugly), and the crappy GPS in the 810, the switching of memory formats between each revision. I can only assume the N900 is an improvement over the N810. I will do my best to keep positive until I get one of these buggers in my hands, at which point I am sure I will be very happy, and if I am not, I am sure, you’ll be the first to hear about it…..

penguinbait…