Nokia enters the netbook market: an important milestone for the mobile computing industry
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After many rumors, Nokia finally announced that the company will enter the netbook market with its new Nokia Booklet 3G.
The new device, despite the fact that it will bring a couple of enhancements to the current available models (see below), marks an important move on an exciting and rapidly changing industry. If you watch Jobs and Gates describing their take on the future of computing, both tend to agree that most people will have their main large-screen computer for work and productivity and a second, mobile device.
What this mobile device will be, nobody knows. There are speculations about flexible screens, some say it will be the size of an iPhone, many believe that soon we'll see an Apple tablet, but the devices that are really accelerating the mobile computing industry are the 10-inches lightweight and affordable netbooks. And that's the market where the world's best-seller mobile phone maker will start to compete from now on.
Nokia's move seems to make total sense, but it will be very interesting to follow how the cell-phone company will perform against the entrenched computer makers (Dell, HP, Acer) and the emerging current leaders on the netbook industry, the Taiwanese ASUS and MSI.
According to All About Symbian:
The Nokia Booklet reinforces Nokia's Ovi strategy, which sees software and services (such as Ovi Maps and Nokia Music Store), running across multiple devices - on multiple platforms, a key trend for the future and an important growth area. The Nokia Booklet 3G will feature multiple Ovi services, including Ovi Maps (on desktop gadget), Nokia Music Store (including streaming services), Ovi Files (cloud storage) and enable full sync to Nokia's mobile devices through Ovi Suite software.
Key hardware information
- Intel Atom Chipset (Z530 running at 1.6 Ghz). No fan, which means near silent running.
120 GB hard disk- 3G / HSDPA and WiFi connectivity, plus integrated Bluetooth for local wireless communication
- 12 hour battery life
- 19.9 mm thick x 264 mm width x 185 mm depth
- 10.1 inch glass HD ready display
- Front facing video camera mounted, on top of the screen, for video calling
- 1 x HDMI port (for HD video out), 1 x integarted SD card reader, 3 x USB ports, 1 x audio port
- Integrated A-GPS
- Stereo speakers mounted on the front right and left corners
Besides the expected features related to other Nokia's products and features, the highlight goes to the 12-hour battery life, which represents double the time currently offered from the most advanced netbooks. The device will run Windows 7.
There is no word on pricing nor availability dates. However, with such advanced specs, it seems hard to believe that pricing will be competitive. Well, there are always the subsidized plans, a business model that Nokia understands very well.
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