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The Booklet 3G is a netbook designed and manufactured by Nokia which runs Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system. It features a aircraft crade aluminium slim body design and has 3G and WiFi connectivity. Coupled with it's 12 hours of battery life you can be ensured that you will never have to carry your charge with you again. The trial device was sent to me by WomWorld Nokia.
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The Nokia Booklet 3G is still not available in Sri Lanka, so I felt quite fortunate to get my hands on one courtesy of the folks at WoMWorld. This is my first trial device from them, and after a long consideration of choosing to trial a mobile phone I thought I would give the first Netbook from Nokia a run for its worth.
The Booklet is priced at $600 and can be purchased for $300 with a 2 year AT&T contract. This is quite high compared to the other netbooks available in the market, so I am curious to see how the Booklet 3G stands out.
Design and Construction
I have made it a point to generally steer clear of Netbooks. I feel always comfortable with a normal laptop, and prefer to use my mobile device if I want to check email or surf the web when I am on the move.
My first post on the booklet was on first impression, and I have to say I was impressed. The device is crafted out of an aluminum frame, which is beautiful and sleek. I can’t help get the feel of using a MacBook device holding the Booklet in my hand. The top has a plastic face (available in black, white and blue), which I note to be quite a magnet to fingerprints. The trial device was well maintained by the users before me, but I quickly realized that the bottom of the device could easily get scratched. When closed the device boasts a thickness of less than an inch (0.78’ to be exact) which is impressive with its huge battery.
The device has an impressive set of extension ports, which are 3 USB, an HDMI port, a 3.5mm 4-pole headphone jack, a SD card slot and a SIM card slot. I am somewhat used to the lack of the Ethernet port, since I have been using a MacBook air for a few months now and having the additional 3G connectivity option was more than welcome, even though I found the internal 3G device to be less powerful than some 3G USB devices I have used in the past.
The booklet has a 10.1 inch glass display with LED backlighting. The resolution is better than most netbooks at 1280x720. The glass display had one fallback; I had immense difficulty using the Booklet under direct sunlight. There was no screen visibility at all. I have had the same experience with the Nokia X6, so I figure Nokia needs to do its homework with glass displays.
The keyboard of the Booklet wasn’t something I was personally a fan of. The keys seem to be a bit too small even though they feel comfortable, and I realize I can’t maintain my normal typing speed with it. On the other hand, I have to admit this is probably due to my big fingers as I mentioned before. I track pad seems proportionally sized. The multi-touch features are welcome, even though they aren’t as smooth as the Macs I have used, they get the job done on features like pinch zooming. I feel that Nokia should look at implementing more multi-touch features into this. The too buttons below the track pad feel a little clunky and I am not too thrilled with its build quality.
Above the keyboard the Booklet has a set of indicator lights which include three indicators for the wireless devices, namely the WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G, and three indicators for battery, sleep state and AC power. The Battery indicator turns red when the Booklet is running on low battery.
Battery
One of the most impressive features of the Booklet is its 16-cell battery. The device’s battery helps keep the unit running for over 10 hours (12 hours on paper). Personally I have not seen the Booklet do its maximum battery time, I think I would have achieved about 6-7 hours, but I have to keep in mind that this trial unit has probably been used for quite some time now.
For my battery test I let the battery die down and attempted a recharge which the Booklet was still switched on. The device took nearly 3 hours to fully charge. A charging done while the device was switched off took only half the time. Since I wasn’t using the booklet on both occasions, I was supprised it took the device so long to charge.
Performance
The Booklet 3G runs an Intel Atom Z530 processor. The particular model helps maintain a higher battery life for the device, but takes a big bite out of the performance, which I wasn’t too pleased about. I think part of this blame lies on the underlying Operating System. Windows 7 is a huge improvement over its predecessor Vista, but I strongly feel that Nokia should have chosen to run their (now turned Meego) Maemo OS, which is a huge success on the N900.
The Booklet’s hard drive runs at 4200rpm which is slow for its standard. This coupled with its 1GB of ram and Windows OS doesn’t help it much in terms of performance. The Booklet comes with Windows 7 starter, which is low end cheaper iteration of the OS. The boot time took me about 46 seconds, which I found impressive, since the device was also running F-Secure’s latest security suite.
Connectivity
The Nokia Booklet 3G, features WiFi and 3G connectivity. It also features Bluetooth and A-GPS. Nokia has been noted to make their devices with strong WiFireception which stands true with this device. The Booklet’s WiFi connection was strong and usable at a good distance away from my router. The 3G connection was another story. I was disappointed to find that the device didn't perform well in my primary test location. The 3G connectivity seemed in par with my mobile device, and I expected something stronger with the Booklet. I don't know if I should blame the service provider or my test location for this.
The Nokia Social Hub software allows users to connect to their facebook and twitter accounts allowing simultaneous updates. It also allows you to send SMS messages using your SIM. I did have an issue with this since the Social Hub didn't allow me to change SMS settings and the messages kept asking me for a data center number. The sim card doesn't allow you to take phone calls even though Nokia has provided a headset very similar to that of the Nokia N900’s.
My test with the Bluetooth was smooth and I had no complaints, but the GPS device was disappointing. I could not get my location in my primary test location. I can’t help wonder if I am in some kind of no access zone for GPS devices. I did however manage to map my location in my other test sites. The Ovi Maps widget that Nokia has provided, somehow didn't feel adequate. I would have preferred a Google Earth like application built for the Booklet. The Gadget does allow access to the Ovi Maps site, which gives you a more detailed map.
Conclusion
I have come to realize that the Operating system is crucial part of any smart device, be in a computer or a mobile. Apple's iPhone OS was the prime example of this. The hardware manufacturer needs to use software that makes their device perform optimally.
The Booklet 3G is a handsome device. Nokia has gotten it right with the design. The device is beautiful, and has a battery life that will leave most if not all of its competition in the dirt. Its design and material puts it in par with the Mac series from Apple. However the Booklet not being a high end computer needs something more suitable that Windows 7 under its hood.
Nokia’s Ovi cloud service is a good foundation. The Ovi Suite needs to be better integrated into all mobile devices including the Booklet. If Windows doesn't provide the proper platform for Nokia, they should consider making a Meego build for the Booklet.
I loved my time with the Nokia Booklet 3G, and I am sad that it’s time to send it back. I think Nokia will soon start working (probably already are) on their iPadkiller. I remember when the 5800 came out, branded as the iPhone killer; in all honesty the only thing I feel coming close enough to be called an iPhone killer is the N8.
I look forward to seeing the Booklet 3G’s successor and I ask the folks at Nokia to please build us a Meego upgrade for our Booklets.
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