Nokia to add Google Talk to updated tablet

updated 6:55 p.m. ET May 12, 2006

LONDON - Nokia Corp. is adding the Google Talk application to a Nokia handheld Internet browsing device, in a move that could help boost the search company's reach in mobile communications.

Finland-based Nokia on Tuesday plans to announce that an upgraded version of its Internet Tablet device will come ready loaded with Google Inc.'s Talk service, which enables users to have voice conversations and exchange instant messages, according to a person familiar with the plans.

The device, which relies on short-range technology known as WiFi rather than cell phone networks, isn't a cell phone.

Nokia expects the device to go on sale globally and cost about 300 euros, or about $390, the person said. Nokia also is talking to other companies about incorporating their Internet communication software onto the device.

Users of the new Google-Talk-enabled Nokia device will be able to make calls — either by talking directly into the device like a wireless handset or by attaching a headset — to other users with the Google Talk software on their personal computers or handheld devices. Users won't, however, be able to make calls to regular phones.

The device is an upgrade to a product Nokia first launched in September 2005 called the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet. The device was the company's first mobile device that isn't also a cellphone. Slightly larger than most personal organizers, it has a wide, high-resolution screen intended for easy Web-page browsing. It also plays video and music.

While Nokia admits the gadget is only likely to appeal to a niche market for now, it says it expects these kinds of devices to gain more mass appeal over time.

Mountain View, Calif.-based Google provides a targeted search engine that indexes and ranks Web sites according to the number of links leading to that site.

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