Nokia launches $820 Netbook

Bangalore: Nokia has unveiled its Windows 7 powered netbook Booklet 3G for $820, which is as costly as a laptop. Nokia has seen its profits drop over the last few quarters and has taken a huge gamble by entering the already crowded PC market with a costly product. But it's a risk that Nokia had to take since many PC makers are now entering the mobile market. "Nokia had to do it. You see more and more PC guys getting into the mobile operators' shelves. It's kind of the counterattack, it's not just defensive," said Carolina Milanesi, Gartner Analyst to Reuters. Netbooks are designed for easy carry and are small in size starting around $250, a major factor for their growth in spite of the economic downturn. Many analysts feel that Nokia's high priced netbook will not work. "That is ($820) too high for the general market, you can get a decent laptop for less. As long as the price remains at that level, the market for this device is going to be very limited," said Jack Gold, an independent Analyst. The Booklet 3G has high definition video capabilities by its HDMI port and 1280x720 pixel screen resolution having a 10 inch screen. This HD functionality is supported by Intel's Poulsbo chipset, which makes 720 pixel and 1080 pixel video work with Atom processors. The netbook can run for 12 hours from a 16-cell lithium-ion battery. Along with integrated Nokia services like Ovi Suite 2.0, Nokia Music for PC, Ovi Maps and Social Hub which aggregates feeds from online social networks like Facebook and Twitter, the netbook has Internet Explorer 8 as the default web browser. It has an in-built accelerometer, a sensor that detects the physical orientation of the device, and the soldered 1GB DDR2 RAM makes it impossible for the users to make any change. It also has a 120GB of storage. The netbook will have GPS embedded to provide access to Nokia's Ovi Maps software and service.