UMPC As A Nokia 770 Replacement?

First, no, I will not become a Windows user, of course I will put Linux on it right away.

It seems like Samsung will be releasing a $700 UMPC on May 1, 2006, which is just after I get my annaul raise and bonus. It seems the Samsung Q1 is way more expesnive then the Nokia 770 I had, but is much more powerful in that it is a full fledged computer, not a portable computing device or Palm on steroids. I loved my 770, but it couldn't replace my laptop, even though it offered me the mobility that I wanted. The Q1 will easily be able to handle a linux install, though maybe not a full out GNOME install. I'll sell my laptop and just have one kickass desktop for at home and while on the go, use the Q1. Plus, the leaflet (see the attachment) indicates that I can hook up a keyboard to it, something I would have loved ton my 770 from time to time.

Nokia 770 Screen?

I bet this is using the same screen the Nokia 770 used. I'm sad to sell mine, but it can't replace my laptop and while gadgets are nice, paying bills is nicer. Man, did that 770 have such a fine screen.

Nokia 770 And Nokia_770_SE2005_3_2005_51-13.bin

I updated the firmware for my Nokia 770 last night. I made sure to create a backup first, which took roughly a minute. First, as of this time, you must get the update from Nokia Europe. For whatever reason, the firmware can't be found on the American website. To download it, you need to enter in your devices MAC address located underneath the battery. You also need to download the Linux flasher. You need to turn the device off and unplug the power adapter and then plug it into your computer using a USB cable. Then you need to run the flasher:

brian@alpha:~/Nokia$ ls -al
total 120608
drwxr-xr-x   2 brian brian     4096 2006-01-01 23:56 .
drwxr-xr-x  73 brian brian     4096 2006-01-01 23:55 ..
-rw-r--r--   1 brian brian   645032 2006-01-01 23:54 flasher
-rw-r--r--   1 brian brian 60691661 2006-01-01 23:53 Nokia_770_0.2005.45-8.bin
-rw-r--r--   1 brian brian 62016973 2005-12-29 12:20 Nokia_770_SE2005_3_2005_51-13.bin
brian@alpha:~/Nokia$ chmod +x flasher
brian@alpha:~/Nokia$ ./flasher -F Nokia_770_SE2005_3_2005_51-13.bin -f -R
Found image 2nd (length 8576)
Found image secondary (length 79360)
Found image xloader (length 13824)
Found image initfs (length 1581824)
Found image kernel (length 1481856)
Found image rootfs (length 58851328)
Suitable USB device not found, waiting
USB device found found at bus 002, device address 002
Error claiming USB interface: Operation not permitted
brian@alpha:~/Nokia$

When you get that Suitable USB device not found, waiting message, you need to either plug the power adapter in or turn the 770 on while holding the home button. However, I forgot to run the flasher as root, so I got the Error claiming USB interface: Operation not permitted message.

brian@alpha:~/Nokia$ sudo ./flasher -F Nokia_770_SE2005_3_2005_51-13.bin -f -R
Password:
Found image 2nd (length 8576)
Found image secondary (length 79360)
Found image xloader (length 13824)
Found image initfs (length 1581824)
Found image kernel (length 1481856)
Found image rootfs (length 58851328)
USB device found found at bus 002, device address 002
Found board Nokia 770 (F5)
NOLO version 0.9.0
Sending X-Loader image (13 kB)...
100% (13 of 13 kB, avg. 750 kB/s)
Sending secondary image (77 kB)...
100% (77 of 77 kB, avg. 945 kB/s)
Flashing X-Loader... done.
Sending kernel image (1447 kB)...
100% (1447 of 1447 kB, avg. 955 kB/s)
Flashing kernel... done.
Sending initfs image (1544 kB)...
100% (1544 of 1544 kB, avg. 996 kB/s)
Flashing initfs... done.
Sending and flashing rootfs image (57472 kB)...
100% (57472 of 57472 kB, avg. 754 kB/s)
Finishing flashing... done
brian@alpha:~/Nokia$

The 770 rebooted, I restored the backup and it work just fine.

But it can't replace my laptop, even with a bluetooth keyboard, so I'll be eBay'ing it today. While the 770 is portablilty in ways my laptop can only imagine, it cannot replace my laptop for Intarwebbing on the go and using my desktop computer as my main computer. I'll try using the Hipster PDA next.

Nokia 770 At The Family's Holiday Party

I'm at my grandmother's house for the holiday and I had my Nokia 770 in my pocket. I'm also stealing some wifi from someone. This afternoon alone, I can easily justify the $400.00 price. If you were here, you'd agree.

My grandmother, someone who can't operate a VCR, asked what I had in my hands. I told her the Internet. "All of it?" was her response.

Cingular GPRS Settings For Nokia 770

Since Cingular's website sucks greatly, for posterity, here are the GPRS settings that I've entered on my Nokia 770:

Access Point Name

wap.cingular

Dial-up Number

*99#

Username

WAP.CINGULARGPRS.COM

Password

CINGULAR1

Remember to be mindful of what dataplan you have.

Cingular Service And My Nokia 770

I noticed that my last cellphone bill had extra data charges on it. I contacted Cingular via email to find out why and was told that it was an error. However, I did more research on the matter and found out that Cingular charges you per KB of data sent or received when you are connecting through your phone to the Internet. Now since my last phone was a Treo, I surfed the web on that. Since my new phone is a craptastic RAZR, I haven't bothered. For some reason, visiting Google News on my phone is somehow different when I visit it on my laptop or on my sexy new Nokia 770. To Cingular, it is still the same 1's and 0's, however, it will cost me more. So I told them I wanted to switch to their unlimited laptop data plan and that I was willing to pay more for it at a flat fee since that would be much less than charging me by the KB.

But sir, you do realize that in forgoing the unlimited Internet plan you have currently, you will no longer be able to surf the web on your phone without incurring any per KB charges?

But I'm paying for unlimited Internet, now with the more expensive plan. What the fuck do you care what device I use? Something tells me that no matter what, the telco's will never understand the Internet. A word of warning to fellow Nokia 770 users, watch your cellphone bill if you tether your 770 to your cellphone with that nifty bluetooth connection.

Nokia 770 First Post

First post from my new Nokia 770. The sceen is awesome, however, the mail client sucks and I had an initial pairing problem. More later.