Nokia's First Notebook A Netbook In Sheep's Clothing?

world's largest mobile device maker

Nokia today unveiled its first foray into the notebook market. The Nokia Booklet 3G is a light weight, mobile notebook aimed at widening the Finnish-based mobile device maker's product portfolio while also helping the company become a fully fledged mobile solution provider.

"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, in a statement. "We are in the business of connecting people and the Nokia Booklet 3G is a natural evolution for us."

The Nokia Booklet 3G is housed in an aluminum chassis and tips the scales at about 2.75 pounds while measuring about 0.78-inches thick -- less than the thickness of two Apple's iPhone 3Gs, which measure about 0.48-inches thick, stacked on top of each other.

Nokia's Windows-based notebook offering is powered by an Intel Atom processor, allowing the Booklet 3G to achieve up to 12 hours of battery life. Connectivity on Nokia's device is handled by a variety of options, including 3G/HSPA and Wi-Fi.

The Nokia Booklet 3G has a built-in HDMI port for HD video-out and front-facing camera for taking video. The hardware also includes Bluetooth capabilities and an SD card reader. The screen size on the notebook measures about 10-inches and the machine comes with Assisted GPS integrated out of the box.

Nokia is also touting its suite of cloud computing capabilities in conjunction with the release of the Booklet 3G. The Ovi Suite, the phone maker's application and content marketplace, allows Booklet 3G users to take advantage of applications like Ovi Maps or the Nokia Music Store.

Nokia may want to call the Booklet 3G a notebook, but the specifications clearly put the device in the netbook category. By calling the Booklet 3G a notebook, Nokia runs the risk of confusing and disenfranchising consumers who are looking to achieve the full functionality of a notebook computer on a device with a smaller footprint and lower price point. But the connectivity, light weight and, most telling of all, Intel Atom processor all wrapped up in a clamshell device measure about 10-inches reveals the true colors of the Nokia Booklet 3G.

Pricing and availability information on the Nokia Booklet 3G is not yet available, but the Finnish phone maker plans to provide more information at Nokia World on September 2.