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Nokia to make laptops?

Categories: Nokia, Rumors
By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 3:44 AM

Next Nokia Internet Tablet?

It seems Nokia is considering to enter the laptop business. In a recent interview to Finnish national broadcaster, the company’s CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, said that they are looking “very actively” at this opportunity.

He went on adding, “We don’t have to look even for five years what we know as a mobile phone and what we know as a PC are in many ways converging. Today we have hundreds of millions of people who are having their first Internet experience on the phone. This is a good indication.”

The problem, though, is that unlike smartphones, laptops are a low-margin business. However, with many of the world’s carriers slowly adding netbooks and laptops to their offerings, Nokia may be tempted to cover that segment of the market, too. In addition, as Nokia moves more toward services, they may sell computers with integrated Ovi suite and compensate on the low margins of the business — something other laptop makers can’t do that easily.

The way I see it their best bet is to go for some high-end netbooks, like Sony’s recently unveiled VAIO P series. Moreover, I bet they plan to release a new Internet tablet device this year, which I hope will be more powerful than the current model – N810. More on what I expect from the new tablet can be found in a separate article.

Anyway, I’m eager to hear your thoughts. Should Nokia enter the laptop market? And if so, what kind of products they should release?

[Via: Reuters]

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About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

  • Titanas

    It certainly makes sense especially with Maemo 5 supporting 3G and the like. That said I’d consider a smart tablet, on steroids, or maybe a netbook like computer but not a laptop.

  • vasra

    It’s a misquote by Reuters.

    When asked if Nokia is looking at the convergence of mobile phones and netbook-type form factors, he replied never say never and all options are open.

  • Moorgast

    It seems like there is a slow progression toward convergence if you look at umpc. I would go for a N810 design with more computer capabilities. Is the E90 moving in that direction anyway?

  • cubeover

    It remains to be seen how “dumb” notebook (~no software) can be more successful than “smart” (~many years of software devt) phones.
    Although…maybe…few years from now…when Apple have created THAT market…