Nokia 3G Netbook: Win7 Equipped but Not Cheap

There are two reasons the netbook market has emerged as the most popular in the tech industry: portability and price. However, Nokia -- best known for its cellphones -- is challenging the traditional price point, and will soon offer its powerful Booklet 3G Netbook for a whopping $820.

Despite several unique features the notebook is very expensive, indeed. So, exactly who will buy the Nokia notebook? Most analysts are already guessing that the Finnish company has misinterpreted the best plan of attack for entering the netbook market and will immediately alienate most customers after launch.

Price is Excessive, Says Analyst

"The price is pretty excessive," said ABI Research anaylst Jeff Orr. The average price point for the more popular netbooks, including HP's Mini 1000 series and the Acer Aspire One, is about $250-$400. Nokia's machine will double or triple the cost of these products. (Source: computerworld.com)

It's likely that consumers will be instead drawn to Acer's more basic Aspire One netbook, which can be had through AT&T with special contract for just $99. Nokia might offer a similar deal, but Orr feels that "the most [he] could see is a $250 or $300 discount."

$820 Netbook: What's Under the Hood?

There's certainly a bunch of new features not found on cheaper netbook alternatives from HP, Acer, or Dell.

Software wise, the Nokia Booklet 3G offers several integrated Nokia services, such as Nokia Music for PC, Ovi Maps, Ovi Suite 2.0, and its special Social Hub, capable of compiling data gleaned from several social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter.

Hardware specs include a 1.6GHz processor, 10.1-inch screen, 1GB RAM, and 120GB hard disk drive, a webcam, HDMI port, 3 USB ports, SD card slot, plus wireless connections (3G, WiFi) GPRS/EDGE ready, Bluetooth, A-GPS, and boasts a 12 hour battery life. All this comes wrapped in a very nice looking aluminum case with your choice of 3 colors. (Source: cnet.com)

Of course, the most mentionable feature of Nokia Booklet 3G is the fact that it runs Windows 7.

The Booklet 3G is one of the first netbooks we've seen to have the new operating system built in, and it better be up to the challenge -- thus far, most netbook makers have yet to sign on with Win7, afraid they simply won't be able to produce the kind of processing power needed to arm the new operating system. (Source: informationweek.com)