With the introduction of the N800 Internet Tablet, Nokia originally planned to not release the N800’s software improvements to the original tablet, the Nokia 770. After seeing the incredible amount of negative customer feedback that decision caused, Nokia is rethinking their decision and, in an open way, is researching how they can release Internet Tablet OS 2007 for the 770.

At first, I wondered why people were complaining. When a new Palm device comes out, I never expect the OS changes to be made available for older devices. However, per the most popular argument, these customers feel that they purchased a COMPUTER, not a PDA. COMPUTERs generally get new versions of their OS even after an updated model is released.

So, like Nokia, I’m slowly starting to understand where these customers are coming from. Also, like Nokia, my mind is racing with the negatives of a move like this. Backwards compatibility often has a price. Just ask Microsoft. Effort that is spent on maintenance can’t be spent on new features. For a device as early in its development as the Nokia Internet Tablet, I think I’d prefer innovation over backwards compatibility. Note – the two aren’t ALWAYS mutually exclusive and in those cases you should always lean towards back compat.

I own both devices and I would certainly upgrade the 770 to the newer OS if given the choice, but I can understand both sides of the argument and I don’t plan to complain in either case.

I’d like to see a list of blogs that write about the Nokia 770 and n800 (even those that don’t write about the exclusively). If you know of a blog that falls into that category, leave a note in the comments section. I’ll update this post every few days with the complete list.

Thanks to ThoughtFix, we have more great information about the N800.

Some highlights for me:

• The primary use case is the Internet.
• This (and the 770) is the first device built from the ground up for the Internet experience.
• Leaving out the keyboard makes the device smaller, more durable and cheaper. Makes sense, but I’d like to see a keyboard that optionally attaches as a slide-out device.
• Adding proprietary software (Skype, Rhapsody) is not a departure from open source. The 770 and the n800 were only possible because of Open Source and they are maintaining a commitment to open source.
• Development and support for the 770 will not end. I actually think this is true, but not necessarily because of Nokia. Developers are not going to stop supporting the 770, because they’ll most likely be keeping them. Ari does make the point, too, that the 770 currently beats the pants off the n800 for in car navigation.

And some lowlights:

• No ETA set for getting Youtube to run well on the N800. Could a more n800 optimized version of Flash solve the problem? This is a HUGE oversight.
• I was hoping to hear about upcoming accessories for the N800. Navigation kit?!

Also, Ari repeated that the SD slots can handle 2GB cards. As mentioned previously, at least one user on ITT forums says 4GB cards work.

On his blog, Ari had a lot to say about the N800 launch and what it means for the Internet Tablet line of products.

• Apps compiled for the N800 will not work on the 770, but the platforms are similar enough that many apps can and will be built for both devices.
• Nokia will continue to support the dev community on both devices.
• Internet Tablet OS 2007 will not be back ported to the 770.

The pressure is on from the dev and user community. They want Nokia to make OS 2007 available for the 770. That would be ideal, yes, but I’m not upset. I do hope Nokia sees the community reaction and keeps it in mind when they launch the next device, though. Really, I’m just glad that the platform was successful enough to launch another product.