This week Nokia released a Beta version of the new Operating System for their 770 Internet Tablet so I loaded the new OS onto the 770 to try out the new features. Let me start by saying that the new OS is a great improvement with some exciting new features. Not everything works seamlessly yet, but the whole point of a Beta release is to identify and fix such kinks. Here is a quick look at the new features.

Google Talk:

The most noticeable feature in the new OS is the integration of the Google Jabber and VOIP service, Google Talk. Current subscribers can use their existing account with the 770 and new users have the option to set-up a new Google Talk Account. The Google Talk VOIP function also works well and the sound quality is surprisingly clear using the built in speaker and microphone.

If you don’t want to use Google Talk the new OS also allows you to use any jabber service of your choice. Just set-up the account details and your online. However, as far as I could tell the VOIP service was limited to Google Talk (I couldn’t find anywhere I could input different VOIP settings). I’m not sure whether this is done intentionally or if different services will be available when the OS gets a full launch. Having said that I’m pretty sure that Skype will be ported to Internet Tablet 2006 eventually so users could soon have another option.

The Thumboard:

This is probably my favourite new feature! The Thumboard is a full screen keyboard designed for use with your hands rather than a stylus and I found it very usable (my fingers aren’t very big though). My typing was much faster than when using the stylus keyboard or handwriting recognition. The Thumboard is also useful if you are using a makeshift stylus which doesn’t have a nib as small as the regular stylus that comes with the 770. I found the rubber-end of a pencil works perfectly.

Interactive Home Screen:

One of the things I found most annoying about the original Internet Tablet OS was that the widgets on the stand-by screen couldn’t be moved round. Thankfully OS 2006 gets rid of this annoyance and allows you to drag and drop the apps wherever you like. As with the origional OS, you can chose which widgets to display. I haven’t been able to verify whether any more widgets can be added to extend the default selection, but I’m sure this will be possible. This is a Linux OS after all.

Improved Application Manager:

The Application Manager has had a complete work through and is now far more user friendly. Users can easily install and remove applications to and form the device. Users can also chose the folder they would like a new application to appear in (in the old OS a new app was automatically added to the “Extras” folder and couldn’t be moved from there) and even move the applications between folders after they have been installed (though you can’t create a new folder you can only use the existing ones).

However the best improvment is the implemetation of the APT-Package manager. I’d have totally missed this feature had Matt not pointed it out to me. Users can add different Application Repositories (or catalogues) to the manager which they can then browser for new applications to install. When you find the application you want, just click on it and it installs itself just like on a regular Linux Desktop. Head over to Matts site for a guide to the best repositories and how to implement them.

Improved Memory Managment:

Another annoying feature of the old OS has been rectified in OS 2006. Both the Internal Memory and MMC Memory can now be viewed via the control panel. But the developers didn’t stop there. They’ve added a feature which allows you to use part of you MMC card (as much as 64Mb) as virtual memory! This helps speed up your applications and makes the whole user experience faster. However I’ve been warned that this could jepordise the life expectancy of a MMC as they are only designed to be written to a few thousand times. The one I’ve been using hasn’t had any I’ll effects after a few weeks of use, but I’ve added the warning just in case.