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Tags : Netbooks, Nokia

Nokia Booklet 3G – From “Ooh I Want” To “You Have To Be Kidding” In 60 Seconds

Posted on 15 November 2009 by


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I stopped by my local Best Buy yesterday to make a return and the demo unit of the new Nokia Booklet 3G caught my eye. I was impressed. The device is small and has gracious curves. It is thin and has almost no breaks in its super-clean lines. And it is solid. And I mean SOLID! Like the uni-body MacBook Pro, it is carved from a solid piece of aluminum. This gives it a high-end feel and makes it stand out from the rest of the netbook crowd.

I thought I might want to get one once they were released.

That thought left me a few seconds later.

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Once I started reading the device rapidly became less attractive. There are, in fact, two areas that will keep the Booklet 3G from Netbook glory. One is ugly. The other is hideous.

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Ugly… The Specs

Netbooks are underpowered. We all know that. Then again, they aren’t designed to be full replacements for notebooks and desktops. Instead, they are companion devices for couch-surfing and being on the go. Even so, once I tricked out my Toshiba NB205 I found that it runs quite well. It now has 2GB RAM and an SSD drive.

The Nokia Booklet 3G?? 1GB RAM and a slooooooooow 4800RPM drive. This is the drive I had in my Fujitsu P1500. It was a great device but the slow drive killed it. (And the Booklet has a 120GB while most netbooks have at least 160GB.) At that configuration (and it is unclear how easy it is to upgrade the internals) this promises to be at the low end of the netbook scale from the perspective of power and that’s not pretty.

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Hideous…. The Pricing

The Nokia Booklet 3G comes with an internal 3G modem using WCDMA 850/1900/2100. It cannot be used for voice calls but does promise a constant connection. (Okay, it is using AT&T Wireless so take the “constant” with a grain of salt.) The device will just cost $299… so long as you sign up for a data plan.

And the plan you need in order to get the subsidized price? An activation fee PLUS a commitment to take a $60/month data plan for two years. That brings the total cost for this device to over $1700. Yes $1700 for a netbook!!!!!

And remember- that locks you into this device for two years and two years is an eternity in the world of netbooks. (Consider this, the first true “netbook” was released by ASUS in later 2007 and it is only later 2009  right now.)

You can, of course, also buy the Booklet at the unsubsidized price of $599 but for that price you can get something with a lot more ooomph! No it won’t have the same design features but are those aesthetics really worth paying double the price you would for a similarly priced netbook of equal or greater power??

The Nokia Booklet 3G is a good looking machine. There is no doubt about that. But this is a case where beauty is only skin deep… and it is going to cost you big!

This post was written by:

- who has written 2789 posts on Gear Diary.

Having a father who was heavily involved in early laser and fiber-optical research, Dan grew up surrounded by technology and gadgets. Dan’s father brought home one of the very first video games when he was young and Dan remembers seeing a “pre-release” touchtone phone. (When he asked his father what the “#” and “*” buttons were his dad said, “Some day, far in the future, we’ll have some use for them.”) Technology seemed to be in Dan’s blood but at some point he took a different path and ended up in the clergy. His passion for technology and gadgets never left him. +Dan Cohen

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  • http://www.geardiary.com Judie Lipsett

    OK … I’m not interested at all. Thank you for squashing those 5 seconds of gadget lust. ;-)

  • http://www.geardiary.com Carly Z

    Seriously…I was floored when I saw how much Nokia was charging unsubsidized for this…

    Especially since one of the selling points, good battery life, can be had from my trusty Toshiba…for which I paid significantly less than the Nokia Booklet.

    Frankly, I think Nokia’s pulling a Foleo.

  • http://twitter.com/iphoneblogs/status/5739848427 IphoneTrax

    #iphone info Nokia Booklet 3G – From “Ooh I Want” To “You Have To Be…: Related posts: Nokia Bookl.. http://bit.ly/2oRVq1

  • http://twitter.com/mikecane/status/5744122508 Mike Cane

    Nokia Booklet 3G – From “Ooh I Want” To “You Have To Be Kidding” In 60 Seconds http://tinyurl.com/ycdxxku

  • http://somenewstuff.com MicroZealous

    Not sure your 100% correct on the data plan part. If you would upgrade to a different machine – you can transfer your dataplan and continue to fulfill your contract. It’s not quite the same as w/ a cell phone – ie the dataplan and computer are not linked.

    At least that’s the case w/ Verizon. That said if you are going to buy a subsidized netbook – at least get one w/ some juice.

  • http://twitter.com/surfinggear/status/5755242819 DC Warner

    Nokia Booklet 3G – From “Ooh I Want” To “You Have To Be Kidding … http://bit.ly/1k9fMF

  • http://twitter.com/sixstringsensei/status/5757200289 Danny Cruz

    RT @SurfingGear: Nokia Booklet 3G – From “Ooh I Want” To “You Have To Be Kidding … http://bit.ly/1k9fMF

  • Q

    Yes, you can transfer your data plan to another machine. However, you’ll most likely be paying retail price for that second machine until the carrier says you’re eligible for an upgrade (meaning close to two years).

  • Joel McLaughlin

    It doesn’t matter. I don’t want a netbook with built in 3G when I can get a USB dongle for free/w plan. I don’t need to subsidise a netbook. They are cheap enough without the danged 3G. Plus the small slow hard drive and only 1 GB of ram for what Nokia wants for it unsubsidised is too danged much. Nokia needs to back the FAIL wagon up and pick up the Booklet 3G.

  • DavidB

    I’m thinking that Blackberry Bold of yours is more powerful…

  • http://twitter.com/dalvarez/status/5769558499 Daniel Alvarez

    Nokia Booklet 3G – From “Ooh I Want” To “You Have To Be Kidding” In 60 Seconds | Gear Diary http://ow.ly/CMMz

  • Phreakshow

    Ok, I'm tired of every reviewer of an device with embedded broadband adding the cost of the wireless service into the price tag. You are not paying $1700 for a netbook. You are paying $299 for a netbook and the rest is for mobile broadband service. It's like saying you are paying $1400 for a USB data stick. It's a fixed cost no matter what device you pick. I do agree that buying embedded devices is stupid since you are locked in to that hardware for 2 years…

    • dancohen

      I would agree with you if you were not locked into a data plan for a set
      period of time once you bought the device. But you are. Buy the device and
      you MUST continue the data plan so it DOES factor in.

      Sorry if you are tired of hearing it, though.