Nokia has said on many occasions that the original Booklet 3G, was just them dipping their toes in the water. With MeeGo set to be unveiled on Nokia hardware we should see follow-up devices unveiled by the end of the year for an early2011 release. From what we are hearing we might actually see two devices: a successor to the Booklet 3G  and a keyboard-less tablet running, no surprises here: MeeGo. While we have no clue as to what we can expect from a tablet, we do have an idea as to where Nokia might be taking the booklet.

1.Backlit keys: Nokia is offering the Booklet 3G as a premium device, hence the price, build quality and features. Nokia has also said that they plan on lowering the price, but we expect the follow-up to keep all of its premium features and add some new ones like back-lit keys, a distinguishing feature among premium notebooks, that is slowly entering the sub-$1000 price range, like the Alienware M11x.

2.Nvidia ION 2 with Optimus Technology: The Booklet 3G is equipped with the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 which struggles with 720p and 1080 video, making it virtually unplayable. Any form of 3D gaming is only reserved for the most basic titles. The inability to play high-def video makes the inclusion of a HDMI port less useful. Adding Nvidia ION 2 makes playing HD video an effortless task, while Optimus means two video cards: An Nvidia dedicated video card and a power-saving Intel card. This way it will automatically switch between the two card to save battery.

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1.Backlit keys: This is one of those features that is increasingly  becoming popular among consumers. How many time did you find yourself trying to type in the dark and trying to put your screen at an angle so that you can see keys. This is especially the case for those of us that can’t blind type. This feature used be something reserved for high-end system, but Alienware’s 11” M11x has brought this feature in the sub $1000 range. The Booklet 3G is all about mobility, adding backlit keys means that the user can enjoy this mobility even in low-light conditions.

2.Add Nvidia ION 2 with Optimus Technology: The Booklet 3G is equipped with the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 500 which struggles with 720p and 1080 video, making it virtually unplayable. Any form of 3D gaming is only reserved for the most basic titles. The inability to play high-def video makes the inclusion of a HDMI port less useful. Using the Nvidia ION 2 would equip the Booklet 3G with two graphic system: a dedicated Nvidia graphics card (for HD video and Youtube HD playback) and an integrated Intel Graphics when you need long battery life. By using the Nvidia Optimus technology, the system can automatically switch among the two graphics system depending on the task at hand. One example would be that it automatically switches to the Intel graphics when typing in Word and switches to the Nvidia graphics when a Youtube video starts playing in your browser.

3.Upgradeable RAM:The RAM is soldered to the motherboard and is not user upgradeable. The Booklet 3G actually works just fine with 1GB of RAM, but the user should always have the option to add more RAM. Heavy multi-tasking can in some cases reveal the limits of having only 1GB of RAM.

4.Longer battery life: The Booklet 3G’s 12 hour battery life is impressive, but real world usage is more in the range of 10 hours. Other models half its price, such as the Asus Eee PC 1005PE-PU can already achieve an even more impressive 14 hours of battery life.

5.Drop Windows 7 Starter: The system is supposed to come with various flavors of Windows 7, but so far I’ve only seen Windows 7 starter. This particular version of Windows 7 lacks any way to change the Desktop Wallpaper, Windows Aero and Visual Style. The Booklet 3G has always distinguished itself as a “premium” system and for this reason should at least come with Windows 7 Home Premium and not the most basic form of Windows 7.

6.Better integrated 3G wireless: One of the features I was really looking for, was a netbook/laptop that had integrated 3G. No more USB 3G modems. To my surprise, I found that the 3G wasn’t as good as a dedicated USB modem, in fact it was way below.

7.Thick Screen Bezel: The screen is surrounded by a thick bezel. In this very same space, Nokia could fit an 11” display while still keeping the compact overall dimensions. The Booklet 3G looms impressively thin, but the thick bezel makes it look a bit funny when seen from the front.

One of the cool features of the Nokia Booklet 3G is it’s ability to reset to the original factory state. Basically bringing it to the state it was when it came from the factory. This is handy for those cases when you for example have an unmovable virus or spyware, slow performances and you just want a clean restart.

This can simply be done by pressing F8. You need to press F8 before the operating system logo appears. In the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to select Advanced Boot
Options > Repair your Computer. On the second screen choosing “ImageX recovery utility” should reset the system to factory defaults. Be sure to plug the Booklet 3G in. The entire process should take less than 30 minutes.

While the build quality of the Booklet 3G might be better than most netbooks out there (it even beats many notebooks!) and has some unique extra’s like the built-in 3G and hot swappable SIM, there are several reasons why you should not get the Booklet 3G.

1.Can’t upgrade to 2 GB of RAM: With the  Nokia Booklet 3G you’re pretty much stuck with 1GB of RAM, because the module is soldered to the motherboard and is not user upgradeable. Even an efficient OS like Windows 7 runs much smoother with 2GB of RAM. Not being able to upgrade your RAM is the biggest reason why you should not get the Booklet 3G. More info can be found here.

2.No Nvidia ION: The Booklet 3G is adequate for most daily tasks, but it doesn’t have enough horsepower to smoothly play HD videos and high quality Flash videos, thanks in part to Intel’s Atom processor, but mostly due to the Intel GMA 500 graphic system.

Netbooks like the Booklet almost always have an Intel Atom processor that sacrifices performance for battery life. But this can be easily solved with a more powerful graphics system, in this case the netbook-friendly Nvidia ION. Many current and upcoming netbooks that have this ION graphic system have enough power to:

A)Do some light 3D gaming with many recent titles (something not possible on earlier netbooks or the Booklet 3G), as they lack the ION which supports DirectX 10/9 graphics

B)Can use the powerful graphics system for general PC tasks previously reserved for the processor, using the Nvidia CUDA technology. This could allow for 5x Faster Graphics and Video Transcoding.

C)Smoothly play Full 1080p HD (And 720P) video, while reserving CPU power for other tasks.

D)The ION will also support hardware acceleration of Flash 10.1 once it becomes available, keeping the CPU free.

E)Better Windows AERO performance in Windows 7

The lack of an ION graphics system, makes the HD display and HDMI port on the Booklet 3G a missed opportunity.

3.Uses the slower Intel Atom Z processor: The Booklet 3G uses the Intel Atom Z530 processor running at 1.6 GHz. Generally these Atom Z processors are slower than the Atom N270 and 280 processors. Nokia chose the slower processor without any doubt to achieve the impressive battery life, but in turn sacrifices performance. With general day-to-day usage the Atom Z can feel slugish at times. Other manufacturers like Asus solved this by allowing the consumer to slightly and safely overclock the processor. Other netbooks from the likes of Asus are already planning dual core netbooks.

4.Relatively high price: With an unsubsidized prices of $599 the Booklet 3G is expensive, with few stand-out features to warrant its high price. Better equipped and cheaper netbooks can be found for a lot less, like the Asus 1101HA or the upcoming Asus 1201N with it’s dual core Atom processor and ION graphics.

Reports are coming in and it doesn’t look so good for the Nokia Booklet 3G. It now seems that you’re pretty much stuck with 1GB of RAM, because the module is soldered to the motherboard and is not user upgradeable! This has probably been done to make Nokia’s netbook as thin as possible. This is definitely a big minus since upgrading to 2GB of RAM is one of the first things netbook users do.

On top of this, Nokia chose the Intel Atom Z530 processor to achieve the long battery life, but this processor is not known to be very speedy. Add the 1GB of RAM running Windows 7 and in some cases the Booklet 3G can feel rather sluggish, when compared to similar netbooks on the market. Other manufacturers like Asus who have also chosen the slower Intel Z processor have solved this problem by adding overclocking capabilities, something the Booklet 3G lacks.

It doesn’t help either that the screen is almost unusable outside due to the glossy screen.

On a more positive note, the Booklet 3G can be folded down to a nearly 180 degree angle, something that many netbooks can’t do.

Considering the premium price, the Booklet 3G has many unique features, but sacrifices on some of the essentials.

Would you still get the Booklet 3G knowing that you’re stuck with 1GB of RAM?

Via:Lilputing

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When the specs of the Booklet 3G were revealed, the addition of a accelerometer seemed surprising, especially for a netbook. For mobile handsets and smartphones it’s mostly reserved for the top tier handsets, used for everything from screen orientation to device control in applications and games. I guess maybe because it was a device coming from Nokia, I immediately imagined a netbook where the screen could somehow re-orient itself or even applications or games that could use the accelerometer. But after all the excitement had settled down, it became clear to me how the accelerometer would be used: Hard drive protection.

A feature now common among high-end and mid-tier laptops, the accelerometer is used to “sense” a sudden fall. In this case the hard drive is “parked” to prevent or minimize damage. This is probably the first time I see this in a netbook, but judging by the segment the Booklet 3G is targeting with its price, it’s no surprise that Nokia included this high-end feature. It wouldn’t be a bad idea though if they could find more creative or useful uses for the accelerometer.

What do you think, are their creative or useful uses for an accelerometer in a netbook?

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Noticed how the Nokia Booklet 3G in today’s video looked a bit…virtual? Reuters photographers caught the real thing and  snapped a few photos of Nokia’s latest netbook posing with a White E71. Like I’ve said before, not the best looking netbook on the market, but it doesn’t look bad.

Do you like the design of the Booklet 3G?

Via:LiliPuting

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The rumors were true: Nokia was creating a netbook and today they officially unveiled their first entry into one of the fastest growing segments in the industry. The netbook market is highly completive with almost everyone jumping into the game, but unlike standard notebooks, virtually all netbooks have about the same specs, due to limitations set by Microsoft and Intel. The typical netbook specs list looks like this: