Nokia branches out with Linux tablet

Nokia has announced a pocket-sized Web browser for wireless broadband networks, the Finnish firm's first Linux-based device and its first product without a built-in mobile phone.

The Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is designed for browsing and email functions, the phone maker said. The gizmo has a four-inch horizontal touch screen with zoom and an on-screen keyboard. It can be connected to the Internet either from a hot spot or using Bluetooth via a compatible mobile phone, Nokia said.

The tablet runs on Linux-based Nokia Internet Tablet 2005 software edition, which includes desktop Linux and open source technologies. The device includes software such as Internet radio, an RSS news reader, image viewer and media players for selected types of media. The company will provide tools to developers using the Maemo platform to work on future versions and OS releases, it said.

The device is slated to begin shipping in the third quarter in select markets in the Americas and Europe. It will sell for $350 (£191) excluding VAT, or €350 (£241) including VAT, the world's biggest mobile phone maker said.

Phone makers have been introducing smartphones loaded with features including Internet connectivity and email functions. On the other hand, computing device makers are designing PCs that are smaller in size and sport additional features.

Janne Jormalainen, vice-president of convergence products at Nokia, said: "This is the first step in creating an open source product for broadband and Internet services. We will be launching, regularly, updates of the software. The next software release planned for the first half of next year will support more presence-based functionalities such as VoIP and instant messaging."

Reuters contributed to this story