I had few days to think it through about Nokia’s recently unveiled netbook and unfortunately I’m sad to report I’m disappointed. Here are few thoughts I had about it.
In bed with WinTel
Basically what Nokia has unveiled is yet another notebook. Sure, there’s the built-in GPS receiver and a great battery, but I’m sure other computer makers will follow the suit pretty quickly. After all MSIs, Acers, Dells and HPs of the world have more experience in notebook/netbook computers than the Finnish giant.
The way I see it is that the Nokia Booklet 3G is yet another WinTel netbook. If it’s affordable, that would be something, but judging from the press release, Nokia hopes to get a premium for that aluminum frame and exceptional battery life — we’ve heard rumors Nokia will ask $799 for its computer, which is way out of line. Sony has its premium offering in Vaio P series that is really different from the rest of the pack, and which Sony refuses to call a netbook. Netbooks sell like crazy because they are cheap, and to make something that’s effectively a premium cheap laptop doesn’t sound like a winning strategy. It sounds like nonsense.
Why not Linux?
That brings me to my second point. Nokia has its own flavor of Linux – Maemo, which is based on Debian, just like Ubuntu. In that sense, they could’ve unveiled a Linux-powered netbook that would certainly be faster than any similar Windows based product. You may argue Maemo is created for ARM-based CPUs to which I say – fine, make a Snapdragon-powered computer. It runs on 1 GHz, after all, but then again – this would go against Nokia’s alliance with Intel.
I love netbooks, but I doubt I’ll buy the Nokia Booklet 3G
I’m writing this on my Dell Mini 9, which runs Ubuntu and works great! I thought Nokia had a chance (and still does, BTW) to bring Linux to the masses. Just imagine a Sony Vaio P kind of device which is more affordable and because it runs Linux – faster. Moreover, it could sport a touchscreen! Now, that would be something I would instantly buy, even without a touchscreen. This way, when I already have a netbook, I don’t see a reason to get one made by Nokia, especially if it’s going to be more expensive.
Anyway, the main point I wanted to make is that I don’t see the unique selling proposition of the Nokia Booklet 3G. GPS and great battery life are not something I’m willing to pay a premium for, and I doubt many users are — except hard core Nokia fanboys. I want my next ultra-portable computer to be lighter than my existing one (Mini 9 weighs 1kg with 4-cell battery), smaller and that it doesn’t cost a fortune. If there were not for the last reason, I would’ve bought the Sony Vaio P long time ago. 😉