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jkontherun has a nice, thorough review of the forthcoming Nokia 770 “Internet Tablet” up on his techblog… And despite a few shortcomings, this slick little geek toy looks like it might just end up a winner. It’s more than a PDA, less than a laptop or tablet PC, and it runs Linux, so you get that warm fuzzy open-source feeling when you use it.

With mixed reviews out of the bag, the 770 has yet to give me that gutteral, “I must have one of these the day they hit the market” feeling the way the Rio Karma or the Kahr PM9 did. That said, my Karma has long since been replaced with an iPod mini, and I have yet to drop the better part of a week’s pay into a PM9. I rarely (if ever) pay any credence to that feeling anyway; I much prefer the old standby of “the best things come to those who wait”. I also like it’s corollary, “the best prices come to those who wait!”

According to jkontherun, “those who wait” for the 770 can expect to be richly rewarded by Nokia with software updates and stability improvements. And they’ll also get to keep that extra $350 in their wallets that much longer, which is what I plan to do.

All this said, I doubt the 770 will ever make my shopping list anyway – unless companies like ePocrates start making their mobile medical software packages available for the Maemo operating system! Since my [older, but functional] Sony Clie is up for replacement in the not-too-distant future, and Kelly will be in the market as her graduate courses progress, I’m thinking “his and hers” matching PDAs are the way to go. No, this is not because I’m a sap who wants us to look cute when we’re sending wireless e-mails to each other at the local Wi-Fi-enabled bagel shop. It’s actually functional – I’m a big fan of beaming contacts and schedule entries (so I never again need to hear “but you didn’t tell me about that [insert event here]!”) and of being that much better prepared to fix problems and explain features.

Perhaps a pair of Tunsgten Es are in our future?