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Nokia Booklet 3G mini laptop looks absolutely brilliant

It’s been no secret that Nokia was considering a move into the laptop space. Indeed the company’s CEO has made comments to this effect now and again for quite a while.

Well, it’s here.

The first generation “Nokia Booklet” will be hitting shelves soon. And it’s a looker.

First, let’s have some pictures:

This is an exciting move. Let’s go through the announced features:

– 12 hour battery life. Impressive.
– 1.25kg (Lighter than a MacBook Air’s 1.36kg)
– A-GPS
– 10.1″ screen
– 2cm thick when closed (“19.9mm”)
– WiFi (b/g)
– Integrated 3G mobile broadband
– Microsoft Windows
– Ovi services
– HDMI out
– USB ports & SD card slot
– Bluetooth
– Front-facing webcam
– Rumour: Hot-swappable SIM slot (see SlashGear)

There’s no specific news on pricing — we’ll have more details at Nokia World. I imagine it will compete nicely with the offerings from existing mobile operators — e.g. the Dell Mini I bought from Vodafone was free at £25 per month on an 18/24 month contract.

I can see myself getting one of these Nokia Booklet devices. I’m particularly impressed by the 12-hour battery. Indeed if it’s anywhere near as good as that (using WiFi or 3G data), then that alone will be a compelling reason for many of us to consider swapping.

There’s no word on storage as yet. Although I wonder if Ovi’s online services will help with this.

The PC/mobile market has just got very interesting indeed. If Nokia can use their industrial might and know-how to knock these devices out at a brilliant price point, they could well become one of the biggest players in the laptop marketplace very, very quickly.

On the strength of what you’ve seen so far, will you be buying one?

Here’s the promo video:

Here’s the actual press release from Nokia:

After more than 25 years as a pioneer and leader in the mobile industry, Nokia will bring its rich mobility heritage and knowledge to the PC world with the new, Windows based, Nokia Booklet 3G.

Powered by the efficient Intel Atom processor, the Nokia Booklet 3G delivers impressive performance with up to 12 hours of battery life, enabling people to leave their power cable behind and still be connected and productive. Delivering the rich experience of a full-function PC inside an ultra-portable aluminum chassis, the new mini-laptop weighs 1.25 kilograms, measures slightly more than two centimeters thin, and has the features one would expect from the world’s leading mobile device manufacturer. A broad range of connectivity options – including 3G/ HSPA and Wi-Fi – gives consumers high speed access to the Internet, including Nokia’s broad suite of Ovi services, and allows them to make the most of every moment and every opportunity.

“A growing number of people want the computing power of a PC with the full benefits of mobility,” said Kai Oistamo, Nokia’s Executive Vice President for Devices. “We are in the business of connecting people and the Nokia Booklet 3G is a natural evolution for us. Nokia has a long and rich heritage in mobility and with the outstanding battery life, premium design and all day, always on connectivity, we will create something quite compelling. In doing so we will make the personal computer more social, more helpful and more personal.”

The mini-laptop also comes with an HDMI port for HD video out, a front facing camera for video calling, integrated Bluetooth and an easily accessible SD card reader. Other premium features include the 10-inch glass HD ready display and integrated A-GPS which, working with the Ovi Maps gadget, can pinpoint your position in seconds and open up access for a truly personal maps experience. The Nokia Booklet 3G also brings a number of other rich Ovi experiences to life, whether its access and playback of millions of tracks through the Nokia Music Store, or using Ovi Suite to sync seamlessly from your Nokia smartphone, to your mini-laptop, to the cloud.

The Nokia Booklet 3G will widen the Nokia portfolio, satisfying a need in the operator channel, and bringing another important ingredient in the move towards becoming a mobile solutions company.

Further information, including detailed specifications, market availability and pricing, will be announced at Nokia World on September 2. For more information on Nokia World, visit: http://events.nokia.com/nokiaworld/home.htm

Finally, check out more details at Nokia’s own blog.

34 COMMENTS

  1. my Samsung NC-10 is getting sold as soon as I get back from Nokia World and will be getting one of these!.

    Looks a stunning machine and has some great specs. I thought 6hrs on my Samsung NC-10 was good but that is so getting sold when i get back from Nokia World!.

    The aluminum design with built in 3G, HD, 12hrs battery life and GPS just blows me away. Nokia World can't come soon enough!

  2. i love the Aluminum style of the MacBook but £900 is just silly money. The Nokia one looks great, has great features like the built in 3G which is perfect for me and as you point out… its lighter than the MacBook Air!

  3. Given that the N97 at it's peak might have set you back almost 800-900 quid, what do you reckon the Nokia Booklet will retail at?

  4. hmm tough one. Whilst it is heavy spec it is a form of Netbook so that will lower the cost.

    Anything around £400 and I will be very pleased but i also hope it goes on sale very soon and we not have to wait months for it to become available like on some Nokia phones

  5. Finally, netbooks are starting to looking good. I'll be torn between this and the HP Mini 5101 – but the Nokia is the most attractive yet. I'm assuming the display is not glossy, since a reflective screen would narrow mobility considerably. How on earth do they get 12 hours from a machine that thin, or do you need to add a bulky battery not shown in the photos? Personally I don't need 3G or GPS, I just want a well-designed, functional, quiet netbook. Well done Nokia, I hope it lives up to expectations. 11 or 12 inches would be nice for the next model, especially for HD resolution. So, if the display is matte, the keyboard is not covered in potentially toxic nanotechnology (thank you, Samsung) and it doesn't sound like a jumbo taking off when the CPU flexes its muscles, then I'll be queuing up for one and trying not to drool.

  6. If Nokia pitch it right, I could see a lot of mobile operators being able to upgrade huge swathes of their contract customers to one of these as an additional line.

  7. I have a Vodafone Business Modem over 30 days i was cancelling. Its the one where you pay £18+VAT and get 5GB but if you go over there is no charge just slower speeds.

    Going to keep that going to put in the Nokia Booklet now 🙂

  8. That's the best looking netbook I've seen in a while and I'd absolutely love one. I'm keen to hear what sort of resolutions it can put out, both on it's “HD” screen and out via the HDMI port. This may well be my next netbook…. fancy running a competition? 😉

  9. If it's £400 I'll definitely be having one, I suspect it will be more like double that without operator subsidy. At that price the MacBook will kick ten bells out of it on performance, and overall usefulness as a computer. I just wish Apple would get with the programme and put a HSPA card and SIM slot in.

  10. Wow – thanks for posting Ewan. Its great that Apple entered Nokia territory and now Nokia is fighting back by entering Mac territory. I will be happy to have a decent laptop that all my Mac friends won't make fun of.

    I was having major issues switching to Mac – I am based in the Middle East/Developing world markets and want to teach people online – the problem is if I get a Mac that people can't relate to it (so few can afford it!). Having a cool PC might solve some of my issues! Hope that Windows 7 isn't as craaapy as Vista was and so I don't have to switch to Mac…

    You have to love capitalism and the way it makes companies work for their money!

  11. give that a) nokia are consistently WRONG about their battery life estimates, even if we half it to 6 hours with wifi/3g usage its still quite userful and good looking. a macbook air it ain't, however if it is affordable and gets 12 hours battery life, woohoo, my money is waiting for next wednesday. I guess being nokia, they will a) over price it ALA DELL b) have an utterly normal 3-5 hours battery life c) fall apart at an alarming rate. Lets hope for the best, but im not. NOKIA PLEASE SURPRISE ME… 399.00 anyone?

  12. A ten inch screen is just too small to be useable for a laptop.

    Either I need a decent sized laptop or there are times when my iphone will do the job. This falls somewhere in between and doesn't really tick any boxes.

    It looks nice though and the battery life is great but it definitely isn't for me.

  13. This looks very nice…if Nokia made cars I think they would be Audis. Very nicely designed, excellent build quality and materials, all the options list ticked and a pleasure to use on a daily basis. This Nokia Booklet reminds me of an Audi TT RS, silver with black interior…enough to threaten much bigger kit.

  14. This looks very nice…if Nokia made cars I think they would be Audis. Very nicely designed, excellent build quality and materials, all the options list ticked and a pleasure to use on a daily basis. This Nokia Booklet reminds me of an Audi TT RS, silver with black interior…enough to threaten much bigger kit.

  15. Anything about the price of such a nice Nokia gadget? I would surely want one as I am a Nokia fan, but the price range is important too. You can't just spend lots of money on new things just because they are new.
    _____________________________________
    used cisco equipment

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