The Nokia Booklet 3G Unveiled

The Nokia Booklet 3G has just been unveiled! It is basically a netbook with full connectivity for WIFI, HSPA, A-GPS, Bluetooth, and HDMI. The Booklet will run on an Intel Atom chip and is rated to have a 12 hour battery life. Detailed specs and pricing are to be announced at a Nokia event in the next couple of weeks. However, sources on the internet point to typical netbook specs such as a 10.1 inch glass HD screen, SD card support, webcam, and other essential netbook features, encapsulated in a 2 cm thin aluminum shell weighing in at about 2.2 pounds. It will be running Windows 7.

While I havent seen the netbook yet, the specs are quite impressive. Interestingly, though, there was no mention of computing power. Practically all netbooks in the market today use either the Intel Atom N270 or N280 processors running at 1.6 and 1.66 GHz respectively. It is likely that the unit will have an SSD drive built in as well, given the impressive battery rating for such a small and light package. For comparison, I got myself an Asus EeePC 1005HA, with rated battery life at 10.5 hours. However, the unit is significantly thicker than 2 cm with quite a bit of space and weight taken up by the 6 cell battery. Even then, I am getting an actual battery runtime of about 7 to 8 hours with WIFI on. Since the 1005HA sports (as far as I know) the longest battery life of any netbook, the question on my mind is how Nokia actually pulled 12 hours of battery life off in a smaller sized unit. There had to be some sort of compromise somewhere.

Finally, price is the big question. I also found it interesting that Nokia did not call the Booklet 3G a “netbook”, but a “mini laptop”.  The device is basically a netbook in look and specs, so why not call a spade a spade? Netbooks typically have a price of anywhere from USD350 to USD500. Nokia’s high end devices sell for more than the USD500 price tag. Are we in for a device priced like the beautiful (but ridiculously expensive) Sony Vaio P Netbook (at USD900)? Remember that the Nokia E90 was priced at retail around just below this level when it just came out.

Most mobile operators around the world are saying that the netbook is a game changer for mobile devices particularly as more and more feature HSPA connectivity built in. It was therefore just a matter of time before the number mobile phone manufacturer in the world would get in the game. Success for the device at this stage, in my opinion, will be hinged on price of the device, considering that all other specs are up to par or even better than current offerings.

My fearless forecast? I would probably put the device somewhere around the price range of USD600 to USD650. Nokia will likely use its relationships with mobile operators to push the device to the market bundled with a data plan, probably at around the USD50 to USD75 range and a subsidized upfront cost of around USD 200 or so.

With the rumored Apple Netbook / Tablet / Upsized iPhone due to be out soon, the next few months will be pretty interesting for the mobile industry.