It wasn't so long ago that the internet was still viewed as a thing you used exclusively at home, sitting in front of a glowing screen as you waited for the latest interactive widget to download over your creaking phone line.

How times have changed. Today's teenagers are growing up accustomed to fast, mobile internet access from just about anywhere. Mobile phones increasingly offer internet services from your pocket. And things are getting even more interesting.

Nokia has just announced details of a new device; and it's not a mobile phone. The Finnish technology company, which now claims to manufacture more cameras than any other company in the world, thanks to the success of cameraphones, is turning its hand to new lines of business.

Later this year, it plans to start selling the Nokia 770 (nokia.com/770), a remarkable device about the size of a paperback book.

It's a powerful tablet computer with a touch-sensitive colour screen.

With built-in WiFi networking, it can connect to any wireless network at home, work, or in a public 'hotspot'.

Nokia is hoping it will come in handy for business types and homeowners. The former can use it like a simplified personal organiser and information manager while travelling. At home, it can become a 'kitchen computer' for use by all the family for things like looking up recipes, weather forecasts, TV listings, and those strange factual questions that pop up at dinner parties.

The target launch price is about £150. That's very cheap, cheaper than many phone handsets and certainly than most pocket computers or laptops.

The price is kept down by deliberately keeping the specifications simple. There's no phone technology inside, something of a courageous move for a company so entrenched in telephony like Nokia. Also, the operating software is based on a variant of free, open source Linux, so there's no need to pay Microsoft a licence fee for a copy of Windows.

The browser is a version of the venerable and widelyadmired Opera application (www.opera.com), already very popular with users of mobile internet devices.

All in all, the 770 looks like an appealing low-cost internet terminal that could be the first of a whole new breed of personal computers.

One crucial factor is the widespread availability of wireless broadband connectivity. Most large rail stations, almost all airports, and thousands of pubs and cafes now offer wireless access to anyone who turns up with a suitably equipped computer.

Most impose an hourly charge, the typical rate being a somewhat overpriced £5 an hour. But some enlightened landlords and managers are starting to see the benefit of offering connectivity for free --it brings in more customers, and encourages them to stay longer. They get free internet, but end up buying lots more food and drink. Everyone's happy.

The Nokia 770, with few moving parts and no noisy hard drive, is a whole new concept for personal computing. Expect competitors to jump aboard, and prices to plummet as a result.

* Giles Turnbull has a web site at gilest.org