Devices that do one thing well can become quite successful, which is the approach Nokia seems to be taking with its recently-announced and much-discussed 770 Internet Tablet. This small Linux device, scheduled for release later this year, focuses solely on the Web and e-mail.

While prototypes of the 770 have been scarce, I got my hands on one this week at a conference in Helsinki sponsored by Nokia. My brief test spin confirmed the intriguing potential of the 770 as a "leisure device," to use Nokia's term. I also discovered, however, that the device needs more work before it can succeed.

More Like A PDA

Despite its name, the 770 Internet Tablet is closer in size to a PDA than a Tablet PC. It measures 141 millimeters (5.5 inches) by 79 millimeters (3.1 inches) and is about 19 millimeters (.75 inches) thick. It weighs about 230 grams, or about 7.4 ounces. It comes with 64MB of DDR RAM and 128MB of Flash memory.

In a twist for Nokia, which is the world's largest manufacturer of cell phones, the 770 connects to the Internet direction only via Wi-Fi; it can't directly connect over cellular data networks. Customers with a phone equipped with Bluetooth 1.2, however, can connect the 770 to their cell phone via Bluetooth to reach the Internet.

The initial version will include a slew of applications including an Internet radio player, RSS reader, e-mail client, video player, a stripped-down drawing application and an image viewer, among other applications. It supports many media file formats, including MP3, Real Audio, JPEG, GIF, MPEG4, Real Video and many others.

I tried streaming Internet radio, listening through the built in speakers, and it worked without a glitch. Users will also be able to plug in head phones. The video I watched was a bit choppy but bearable. Some pre-loaded photographs looked fantastic on the 800 X 480 high-resolution display, which displays 65,536 colors.

The RSS reader, pre-fed on the device I used, was a convenient way to check out headlines at a glance and go directly to the stories and Web sites that caught my eye.