Nokia 770 available for pick-up at CompUSA and my initial, quick review

Although Nokia has been processing my order for the 770 since Nov. 14th and still not shipped, I was able to get my hands on a 770 today at CompUSA.  Price was the same as Nokia, but I didn’t have to pay for the shipping, so I actually saved some money over what it would have cost buying direct from Nokia.  On the one hand, it’s kind of a bummer that Nokia isn’t servicing their pre-order clients prior to CompUSA, but on the other hand, I’m glad I was able to quickly get one.

The guy at CompUSA told me that they had only received 3 total units in the store, so quantities may be low around your area; the closest store to me didn’t actually receive any units, so I had to drive about 15 miles to pick this one up today.

My initial thoughts on the device are as follows (the battery’s still not even fully charged yet):

• The design is awesome.  I love the cover and how it is an integral part of the device operation.
• The little stand holder is actually a very intelligent design; it doesn’t look like it when you unpack it, but the stand does exactly what it should.  I do wish there was a way to route the power cable more efficiently, but that’s a minor point.
• I had a little trouble connecting to my network because I wasn’t entering the full WEP HEX code.  Here’s a tip: the 770 will allow you to continue building your network connection with an incorrect WEP code, so if you get a pop-up error telling you that you have not entered enough characters, you should believe the device and re-enter the data until you do not receive a pop-up.
• The text input screen seems to pop up whenever I need it; very intelligent interface design that makes you not feel like you are drowning with just a stylus.
• Instant-on means instant-on — the screen lights up before you even have it a 1/4 way out of the sleeve.
• Page rendering is very quick and every page I visited looked exactly as it does in Firefox.
• The resolution on the bowser screen is very high and a little hard to read; probably a setting I can change somewhere.
• The default language selection was UK English, which I found interesting.
• When I select the “Nokia 770” bookmark, it takes me to the Nokia Europe site, not Nokia USA.

I’ve heard that there’s already an update available for the device.  Initially I was a little worried about the update because it’s hosted on the Europe site, but after playing with the device, I don’t really think it matters.

More information to come after I’ve had some more time to play with it.

Link (be sure to enter your zip because it’s not available to ship)