The 7700 had been due for release in the current quarter. However, the company said at its Nokia Connections 2004 event in Helsinki this week that the device, which is powered by a currently unique variant of the Symbian smart phone operating system known as Series 90 (S90), would not now be brought to market.
Instead, pre-release 7700s will continue to be used for pilot multimedia applications such as visual radio, whereby analogue radio broadcasts received by the device are supplemented by relevant information and interactive services carried over GPRS mobile networks.
While Nokia did not officially give its reasons for the demise of the 7700, the lack of suitable services would appear to be a major contributing factor. Trials are currently limited, with early pilots in Helsinki and Berlin now joined by a similar project in Asia.
Unofficially, one Nokia executive who ComputerWire spoke with gave the impression that the design of the 7700, which resembles a thin section across a circle with a large, landscape-format touch-screen display, may have fallen from favor. A personal opinion is that the device is a bit too big, he said.
The decision to axe the 7700 does not mean the death of S90, however. Nokia will bring Series 90 media devices to the volume market in 2005, promised Nokia EVP Matti Alahuhta.
The 7700 was the most obvious victim of Nokia’s product roadmap spring-cleaning described Monday by CEO Jorma Ollila.
