If you don’t know anything about Nokia’s nerd-eriffic Internet Tablet series, here’s a quick breakdown. Nokia launched the 770 in 2005 as the first in a new category of devices, the Internet Tablet. Based on a version of the free open source software (FOSS) operating system Linux, Maemo was designed to provide a powerful user interface in a small space. The 770 sported an 800×480  touchscreen display and a 200MHz CPU. It could play music, video, and surf the web via Wi-Fi or a Bluetooth connection via your mobile. Later, Nokia updated the 770 with the N800 and has recently released the super slick N810. Each of these run a version of Maemo, at least until a nerd gets his or her hands on it.

Now we zip to the present to examine exactly what Nokia has done. First, however, you’ll need to understand that Linux folk prize new markets, primarily because a lot of companies won’t support it directly, instead opting for the safe Windows compliance. Of course, when someone like Nokia experiments with something like the 770 and its brethren, they tap into a rabid community of Linux devotees who are more than willing to snap up the devices as fast as they can, sometimes even several at a time.

One of these drooling nerds is yours truly, sporting my beloved 770. Another goes by the name PenguinBait and he took the time and trouble to re-compile a version of KDE (a complete Linux desktop environment) for the 770, N800, and N810. He even included the desktop applications, utilities, and toys. Wow! Take a look here for some video and some larger pics. If you have any nerd in you at all, this will spark an interest.

written by Tyler Regas