Why Nokia is Launching a Netbook
This post was originally published on my Forrester blog.
Today, Nokia announces its first netbook, called the Nokia Booklet 3G (press release, Nokia blog post). Like all netbooks, the Nokia Booklet 3G is essentially a miniature laptop PC and has more capability in common with the PC than with handheld devices like mobile phones. Despite misinformed advance speculation, the Booklet will run Windows and has an impressive claimed battery life of 12 hours.
In the flesh, the Booklet 3G has a neat modern design and a modern metallic appearance case. The screen and keyboard are both relatively large and well-proportioned.
Mobile operators are increasingly looking to extend their early successes in the mobile broadband market. This is the Booklet’s key differentiator: unlike almost all other netbooks, Nokia’s has an internal mobile broadband card with a SIM slot. Other netbooks rely on external USB mobile broadband modems for Internet access. The presence of this internal wireless modem is why the Booklet 3G is a natural extension to Nokia’s traditional phone handset product range.
Unlike most of Nokia’s key phone handset rivals — such as Samsung, LG, Apple — Nokia does not sell laptops today, and so is in danger of being outflanked by other handset makers that do offer laptops. Nokia will use the Booklet to support their operator customers and discourage them from taking rival handset makers’ netbooks.
Nokia’s challenge with the Booklet 3G will be how to communicate the offering in the market. Over the last couple of months Nokia has had to rebut repeated rumours which are at odds with its current strategy. The name of this netbook, the “Booklet” makes the device sound more like a MID or Internet tablet running a custom version of Linux, rather than the contemporary Windows netbook PC that is the Booklet. Additionally, Nokia now faces new and different competitors for the Booklet that are strong in the laptop PC space such as Dell, HP and Sony that are weak or non-existent players in mobile phones.
Nokia’s first Netbook deserves to do well. But Nokia must work hard to gain traction in this new product category.
Further reading:-
Refining Mobile Broadband Strategy In The Netbook Era
The Mobile Broadband Future – Tactics to Position On-the-Go Mobile Broadband for PCs
“Unlike most of Nokia’s key phone handset rivals — such as Samsung, LG, Apple — Nokia does not sell laptops today, and so is in danger of being outflanked by other handset makers that do offer laptops.”
But, unlike netbook makers, it does have good carrier relations. Carriers recently began offering subsidised netbooks as sweeteners for new sign-ups – by offering its own netbooks, Nokia could both a) head off the proportion of carrer-subsidised devices that are not Nokias and b) build a beachhead for its Ovi services suite.
But I think a) is more likely to happen than b).
Robert Andrews
August 24, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Hi Robert – I was alluding to (a) in my original post, but you are more explicit.
Adding Ovi on to the Nokia netbook is a natural thing to do but won’t on its own drive much adoption. For that, Nokia would need to look to work with other PC makers to get Ovi shipped on many PCs as standard.
I think the main way the PC version of Ovi suite will be delivered is on the CD that comes with new Nokia phones.
Ian Fogg
August 24, 2009 at 7:09 pm
With Nokia’s history in the phone market I would have thought that there would have been more “telephony” included than just a built in 3G connection, is there any word on apps/functions that will allow you to make calls through this connection? And does a built in 3G card not lock you down to certain operators?
Questions from a n00b so please excuse if they are silly!
Si
Simon
August 24, 2009 at 3:43 pm
No information yet on other apps included pre-installed.
A 3G card may be locked to a particular operator or it may not. It depends on Nokia’s route to market and channel strategy and whether wireless operators choose to lock the internal card to their network. Likely some operators will and some won’t.
Ian Fogg
August 24, 2009 at 7:12 pm
My thoughts on the Netbook mobile carrier subsidy merry-go-round…
http://www.last100.com/2009/08/24/nokia-booklet-3g/
Steve O'Hear
August 24, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Windows on netbooks seems to be a guarantee of unprofitability based on sales figures so far, so Nokia is clearly hoping for the clueless brand-buyer rather than the informed consumer. Sadly, they may well be betting the right way, but this still smacks of desperation to me. (Unless of course Steve is right, and they aren’t expecting to sell it to consumers at all.)
Impressive battery if true; let’s see it used on a real machine.
RogerBW
August 24, 2009 at 6:38 pm