Last month, Nokia promised to have a significant update for its Internet Tablet out before the end of June. The company just barely made this deadline, as the full version of this update was introduced on Friday.

A beta has been available for a few weeks.

The most significant new feature in this software upgrade for the Nokia 770 is support for Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Specifically, it includes Google Talk, Google's free instant messaging service that lets people exchange instant messages and make voice calls over the Internet.

Google Talk is based on open standards and is compatible with all instant messaging clients that support Jabber/XMPP.

This free software update, called Internet Tablet 2006, is available from Nokia's web site free of charge.

Before installing, users should be aware of this note on Nokia's site, "installed applications designed for OS 2005 will not be compatible with OS 2006 edition and will not be restored even from backup."

A Description of the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet

As its name suggests, this is a device dedicated to Internet access. It comes with a web browser and email application, as well as software for listening to Internet radio, reading RSS feeds, viewing images, and playing audio and video.

However, it does not include a calendar and its address book is mostly to allow users to store email addresses.

It has both Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) and Bluetooth 1.2, so it can access the Internet at a hotspot or through a mobile phone.

The Nokia 770 runs a version of the Linux operating system and has 64 MB of storage available to the user.

In addition, it includes a slot for reduced-size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC) cards for more storage. It comes with a 64 MB RS-MMC memory card.

Its 4.1-inch, 800-by-480-pixel touchscreen display has a landscape orientation.

It is 5.55 inches wide, 3.1 inches tall, and 0.75 inches thick (141 by 79 by 19 mm). It weighs 8.3 ounces (230 g).

Thanks to LinuxDevices.com for the tip.