Nokia today announced the, Windows based, Nokia Booklet 3G, a mini-laptop (netbook) device. Key features include 12 hour battery life, 3G/HSDPA and Wifi connectivity, HDMI port (for HD video out), 10 inch glass HD ready display and integrated A-GPS. The Nokia Booklet weighs in at 1.2 kilgrams and is 2 cm thin. Market avaibailbility and pricing information will be announced at Nokia World next week.
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Wow, it looks great 😊 I think I will replace my girlfriends Toshiba NB100 netbook with this. Looking forward to detailed specifications, but I think it will not differ much from standard, Atom based netbooks.
Battery life is really awesome and built 3G/GPS makes it stand out among other netbooks.
Intriguing. I really hope they make will make some progress with their windows software then 😉
What really makes me wonder, though, is why they are announcing so much before Nokia World. First the gigantic leak about the Maemo Nseries device, now this offical announcement with a commercial video. Does that mean their PR department is really leaky or do they have so much in store to spread some news beforehand?
This is nothing new or revolutionary i hope it not as buggy is they phone.
What has this to do with Symbian?
Time to change name to AllAboutNokia?
Nokia is putting alot of efforts on QT in other product segments.
I simply hope their software stack is written in QT (Trolltech), not that i'm fond of that framework... but, it would make it portable enough to move away from windows once they can
There are a handful of nice MID/Netbook orientated Linux distros (Jolicloud/Ubuntu Remix or whatever the name is, and others) that would make a nice replacement !
any news on the graphics spec?
Two big differences on this one that make it very compelling...
1280 x 720 resolution screen. That 1024 x 600 is getting old.
12 hour battery life. In fact it can last quite a bit longer if you happen to be using the HDMI and shut off the internal screen.
Can they effectively dissipate the heat without a fan? How does that work, is the case metal?
This looks great. Hardware that competes with Apple but actually smaller. Maybe this will prod Apple into making a small laptop (no the Air is not a small laptop). Anyway I think I'll get one if it's not overrpriced, but I'll install OS X on it I think.
I knew Nokia were going to make a netbook, but damn, I never expected it to be pretty.
Since it has an HDMI output and "HD" display I'm guessing it either has a special chipset to handle the HD media or it's based on NVidia's Ion platform.
I'm waiting to hear word on pricing but if this has a decent price tag I may have found my new netbook. :tongue:
With a design like this, Nokia is Apple's pendant right away. Pity it doesn't run Linux.
Takes less than 60 seconds to boot up from cold.
I'd be moderately impressed with 6 seconds, but 60?
Why boast about it? Nokia don't seem to know what they're doing. Again.
Does this have a optical drive? If not, is one provided as a optional accessory? Also give info on the RAM. Hope this is not lacking in RAM like their phones? :tongue:
1. It�s not a symbian device, should not be here!
2. It�s just another netbook / notebook, just like the ones from Dell and HP, at least, with the same things inside.
3. What�s the price of that? Hp sells HP 2530p for 600 - 700€...
So why did Nokia choose Windows? One suggested reason is that most of their PC support software is Windows-only, but I don't think that counts because in the long term Nokia are switching to developing tools which will allow their PC apps to be released on Windows, Macintosh and Linux (Nokia have already said that Ovi Suite will eventually be multi-platform and that it will replace all of their other PC applications). The real reason for Nokia using Windows in their laptops IMHO is probably because every mainstream manufacturer who has tried to sell a mini-laptop without Windows has eventually switched to Windows. Very very sad but true.
Linux was given its best chance so far by Asus, Acer and others who sold it preinstalled on cheap and popular models as standard, but for whatever reason (whether it was consumer pressure or supplier pressure) all the manufacturers switched to just selling Windows machines. Linux on mini-laptops has been either dropped completely, or sidelined by being placed in models that were more expensive than their Windows equivalents.
If it was consumer pressure then there's not really anything anyone can do about that, the customer is always right and if you don't offer a customer what they want they'll just get it elsewhere. If it was supplier pressure (i.e. pressure from Microsoft or related companies) then that would be the basis for an EU investigation if anyone could prove it happened.
It's a shame because as an owner of Linux-based Asus and Acer mini-laptops I have to say it's an excellent OS which really suits being on netbooks. Both of the bundled interfaces are actually much easier for beginners to use than Windows due to their simplified "nothing but the essentials" design, and I've happily recommended them to technophobes who just want to check their email or surf the web. Linux-based computers are also a lot more secure and boot up much more quickly too. I'm gutted that Windows has dominated the mini-laptop world, and amazed it happened so quickly after all the hope there was just a couple of years ago that Linux's route into the mainstream had arrived.
I'd hoped Nokia would bring Linux back onto mini-laptops with some form of Maemo (which has been run on laptops in various public demos), but it seems now that Maemo was only ever intended for smartphones.
It's a very nice machine but I can't say I like the OS.
Why not develop an os on its own, like a desktop version of maema?
There are tousands of Windows-Netbooks, why should i buy one from Nokia. Also the Outlook sync of birthdays still sucks. The sync converts birthdays to appointments which last from 0:00 to 24:00 h. So everytime after i change time zones while traveling, the birthday is converted to an appointment covering e.g. 23:00 the first day until 23:00 the second day. After i switch back to my home and sync again, all my birthdays now cover 2 days.
Once again, it's "nice hardware, shame about the OS" from Nokia... 🙄
They can introduce the follow-up in 6months, the
Nokia Booklet 3GS?
😊
Unregistered wrote:any news on the graphics spec?
No, we'll hear more about this next week at Nokia World.
zunguri-2 wrote:Two big differences on this one that make it very compelling...1280 x 720 resolution screen. That 1024 x 600 is getting old.
12 hour battery life. In fact it can last quite a bit longer if you happen to be using the HDMI and shut off the internal screen.
I suspect, like all battery life figures, you should take this with a pinch of salt. Clearly thought its going to be decent. There's no obvious battery bulge which make me think this may have a custom battery.
Unregistered wrote:I'd be moderately impressed with 6 seconds, but 60?Why boast about it? Nokia don't seem to know what they're doing. Again.
That's decent compared to most Windows based devices. I imagine they want to emphasise its quick access.
malerocks wrote:Does this have a optical drive? If not, is one provided as a optional accessory? Also give info on the RAM. Hope this is not lacking in RAM like their phones? :tongue:
No optical drive, but you'll be able to use any standard (USB) based optical drive. Ni information on RAM yet.
Unregistered wrote:1. It�s not a symbian device, should not be here!
2. It�s just another netbook / notebook, just like the ones from Dell and HP, at least, with the same things inside.
3. What�s the price of that? Hp sells HP 2530p for 600 - 700�...
1. Unlike you, I'm the editor of All About Symbian, therefore I get to decide what goes on the site. In case its not obvious, this is a story that is clearly going to be of interest to our audience. You may have noticed us covering wider topics in recent months (more comparisons etc.). We've always tried to underline that Symbian devices are not in isolation either in the home or in the market. You can expect this trend to continue.
2. I'd call it more of a netbook+ given the specs and design.
3. Will have to wait and see on price.
Unregistered wrote:Why not develop an os on its own, like a desktop version of maema?There are tousands of Windows-Netbooks, why should i buy one from Nokia. Also the Outlook sync of birthdays still sucks. The sync converts birthdays to appointments which last from 0:00 to 24:00 h. So everytime after i change time zones while traveling, the birthday is converted to an appointment covering e.g. 23:00 the first day until 23:00 the second day. After i switch back to my home and sync again, all my birthdays now cover 2 days.
and
celios wrote:Once again, it's "nice hardware, shame about the OS" from Nokia... 🙄
Windows is the logical choice. Its the market leader and has, effectively already defeated Linux in the netbook market. Consumers made their choice. I suspect Windows 7 is only going to cement this.
Geeks may wish it wasn't the case... the reality is that Windows is, and looks sets to remain for the foreseeable future, the dominant force in the PC OS space.
Maemo might be nice in theory, but it's not ready now (maybe in a few years?), but probably more importantly can get no where near matching the Windows Ecosystem.
Why would you buy a netbook from Nokia? Brand promise and integration with existing devices? Design heritage etc etc. Different for everyone I imagine.
Dynite wrote:They can introduce the follow-up in 6months, theNokia Booklet 3GS?
😊
Yes that's when they're adding copy and paste to the product.
A respectable choice, of course. Still I think it's sad that all the efforts (gnokii, kmobiletools, gammu..) to integrate Linux desktops with mobile phones, Nokia in particular, are not supported by Nokia.
Having a Nokia netbook with a Linux distribution and a proper Linux PC suite would have been really good. I have no objection to Windows but I rely heavily on the Linux network features for my job and I can't really use Windows.
As a result, I can't easily syncronize my E90 with my Linux pc (address book, appointments, manage installed software...)
Worth pointing out it will probably only take a couple of hours to convert this to Ubuntu or any other distro. The hardware might have a few issues (GPS)... but I imagine this is going to be a popular device to 'hack'.... I mean can anyone say NokiMac mini-laptop...
Wait... I think I've just uncovered a conspiracy plan. Nokia is secretly producing the Apple netbook... (just in case: this is a JOKE).
Nokia europe has now opened preview pages for this thing. I'm not that critical about the OS choice. Mostlogical choice really.
Still it made me little bit sick to see the sentence "Nokia recommends Windows" appear on:
europe.nokia.com/find-products/mini-laptop
now we know how the nokia Microsoft collaboration for smartphone office services happened, they are scratching each others back in some behind the scenes deal with a "you use our OS we'll develop for yours"
I will probably get one if its priced in the same range of other products it wil be competing against
It's all about cost
@Rafe, I understand why it would be easier for them to get a Netbook out the door running Windows... but what is the point of this?
It looks like it will cost more than existing Netbooks, and there have been 3G-enabled solutions based on Dell, eeePC, etc netbooks available for 6+ months and sold on contracts via network operators.
My trusty Acer aspireOne has given me less (hardware and software) trouble than my N97, so I would be less inclined to buy Nokia hardware running Windows, even if it does have the 'may potentially be useful one day as long as it's not raining' built-in GPS.
As an earlier posted, I would be keeping 60 second cold boot times to myself if I was Nokia!
Meh, zero interest. When I want a netbook I'll go with the original concept of an 8-9" cheap and relatively disposable thing, not a premium priced 10" monster. If I was willing to pay the price of these sort of branding exercises (eg Sony) I'd just get a normal laptop. For me personally, the 10"ers seem to sit uselessy between both laptops and netbooks, taking the advantages and disadvantages of both and swapping them to create a freak that fails to have any of the plus points of either.
Basically it looks like a very expensive way of Nokia trying to introduce Ovi to a wider market. Why not just do a deal with Dell or someone to pre-install it ? The N900 is far, far more interesting, and hopefully there'll also be a more tablet-like device that sits in between, an N8xx series update.
celios wrote:It looks like it will cost more than existing Netbooks, and there have been 3G-enabled solutions based on Dell, eeePC, etc netbooks available for 6+ months and sold on contracts via network operators.
Dell or Asus pitches their netbooks to an operator: Here buy this netbook from us. It will cost you x amount.
Nokia pitches their netbook to an operator: So it will be 500 000 cellphones and 100 000 smartphones. Tell you what, why don't you get this netbook from us as well. Oh, and we'll make sure that Nokia Siemens Networks gives a good deal on those LTE upgrades that you need to soon make on your network.
Unregistered wrote:Dell or Asus pitches their netbooks to an operator: Here buy this netbook from us. It will cost you x amount.Nokia pitches their netbook to an operator: So it will be 500 000 cellphones and 100 000 smartphones. Tell you what, why don't you get this netbook from us as well. Oh, and we'll make sure that Nokia Siemens Networks gives a good deal on those LTE upgrades that you need to soon make on your network.
Yes, but they are 12 months too late. Also, the point of netbooks is they are small (10" != small) and cheap. You can get a reasonably specced laptop for �350, which is the price they are probably going to pitch this at.
Sorry, but no interest from me. If it offered some kind of seamless integration with my smartphone, it might be worth a second glance. But it's just a small, slow laptop running Windows. Too expensive to be purchased without thought, too poor a spec to replace my laptop.