Nokia Multimedia Device Captures Web 2.0 Spirit

Nokia rightly picked the Web 2.0 Summit in San Franciso to announce its N810 Internet Tablet, a wireless multimedia device. Although it does not include a phone, Nokia N810 Internat Tablet is another of the Web media devices or programs that are cropping up seemingly everywhere at the summit.

The device will be a competitor of Apple's recently released iPod Touch Internet mulitmedia device, which also lacks a phone. The Nokia device allows users to connect to WiFi hotspots or over a Bluetooth mobile phone and allows users to check Google Mail or a Facebook account, watch videos on YouTube or update blogs using the device's slide-out keyboard and touch screen. It comes with built-in maps and satellite navigation.

The Nokia device will ship in mid-November with an estimated retail price of $479. It uses Linux as its underlying operating system. The wireless device carries a Mozilla-based Web browser, with fully interactive AJaX technology and an Adobe Flash 9 video player.

"The Nokia N810 packs the power of a traditional computer into a pocket-sized format. Its open standard technology accelerates the convergence of multiple functionalities and services into a single device," Ari Virtanen, Vice President, Convergence Products, Multimedia, Nokia, said in a statement. "Our new Nokia N810 offers users a true Web 2.0 experience in a compact, stylish, yet affordable package -- it connects people to what matters to them."

Among the key differences from the Apple iTouch, users can choose a touch screen, writing stylus or pop-up keyboard that hides behind its screen that is more than 4 inches across -- larger than Apple devices, Reuters reported. The Apple device costs $299.

Adding conventional phone features would be easy, technically speaking, for Nokia, a company that produces more than 100 million phones a year, Reuters said.

Nokia has worked with Google to incorporate Google Talk instant messaging features that allow users to know when other friends using Google Gmail are online, Reuters said. Users can also choose Skype or other Internet-calling applications.