Nokia Booklet 3G Hands-On and First Impressions

September 2nd, 2009 • Mark Guim • Filed Under •

Nokia completed its announcement of the Booklet 3G today at Nokia World and I’ve got to play with it briefly. Take a look at some of the hands-on photos and my first impressions. I’ll have access to a Nokia Booklet 3G spokesperson later this afternoon, so I’ll have some videos up soon.

Hands-On Photos

Nokia Booklet 3G-5

Nokia Booklet 3G-4

Nokia Booklet 3G-3

Nokia Booklet 3G-2

Nokia Booklet 3G

First Impression

I suggest picking it up from a table to really appreciate the Nokia Booklet 3G. It feels and looks like a lighter, smaller version of Apple Macbook. Even the keyboard and battery feel similar. That’s not definitely a bad thing because I love my Macbook. The Booklet 3G is priced at 575 Euros.

I’m surrounded by bloggers and journalists who use their computers a lot and I haven’ heard anyone complain about using the Booklet 3G’s keyboard yet. I also like how much I can tilt the display backwards.

I noticed some performance issues. I’m not sure whether to blame it on its RAM (1GB) which is not expandable, but the devices I’ve played with aren’t running on final firmware. Stay tuned for some video walkthrough soon.

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  • thitinan
  • Okay, I know I'll inspire the hate of those commenting here, but really, 1GB RAM . . . my (to remain unnamed) machine ground to halt all the time (pinwheel of death) when I had 1GB. I need to be able to move between application with less than a (no joke folks) 18-30 second lag time. Is that what I can expect with this little beauty?

    I'd buy in a heartbeat if it weren't for the RAM issue. Have I misunderstood the importance/significance of RAM??
  • Andrew
    Kate you are 100% correct.... To all those who say it will be fine on '1gb' of RAM are kidding themselves!!
  • For all the peeps talking about how 1GB of RAM keeps the cost down, um, are you kidding??

    200 pin SODIMM 2GB is less than $35 RETAIL from the big brands. The 1GB is about $15 retail. So you're saying $20 in savings is better than the functionality?

    They're not keeping the cost down, they're crippling functionality.
  • Sebhelyesfarku
    Windows 7 on 1GB RAM? What a crippled p.o.s. for 575 Euros.
  • rozetta
    I have 2GB in my Dell Mini 9 Hackintosh which cost around 200EUR,
  • JCRivas
    Low performance? Don't forget it is a windows netbook; I would not expect more performance with a... final firmware (sic)? (did you mean bios?)

    I also wouldn't expect it to be upgradeable. If I buy one I would not consider it as a substitute for my main notebook (MBP 17'')
  • giganaut
    guys.. netbooks were never meant to be upgradeable.. you get what you buy.. the booklet 3G is a netbook,designed more for surfing on the go. it is not a high end laptop for gaming and others.. therefore i think the 1GB is justifiable since vista sp2 is more stable now..
  • BM
    Agreed.

    It keeps costs down and ensures that users will upgrade someday.
  • that is why these companies fail and companies like Apple succeed by night---RAM not expandable---is Nokia nutts
  • BM
    MBA (apples product that has is most similar to the Booklet 3G) has expandable ram? That would be news to me.

    I also point out that this has user accessible battery, something that Apple is moving away from.
  • see here http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs.html now they have 4gb but supports upto 8gb
  • Guru M
    Because that makes such a difference.
  • yes my MBP came with 2gb and I expanded it to 4gb buddy
  • RandomFinnishGeek
    Nice Apples to oranges comparison there. Comparing two totally different products.

    Macbook Pro = fullsized notebook with dual core processors. Cheapest Macbook pro in europe is about 1500€. Weighs 2,49kg and has 15" -17 " screen.

    Nokia Booklet = Notebook with Atom processor. Launch price 575€. Weighs 1,2kg and has 10" screen.
  • bmwdriver
    glass screen ???
  • #fail
    RAM not expandable??? WHAT THE? #FAIL
  • RandomFinnishGeek
    It uses Intel's fanless Atom Poulsbo chipset, which only supports memory up to 1GB. Memory expansion slot would be totally useless.
  • That is the most shocking part from this article. Nokia, the users want expandable memory. 1G doesn't even get you much now, think about 3 years!

    Users don't care if the limitation is because of the Poulsbo chipset; this will be a big turnoff for many.
  • Robert Webbe
    In the specs of the Poulsbo on the Intel website, 2 GB is listed.
    http://ark.intel.com/chipset.aspx?familyID=35443
  • RandomFinnishGeek
    Sure I agree, and it's the lack of raw power that has kept me away from netbooks so far. Then again, this product is netbook, and that 1gig will be enough for email, basic office and web browsing, which I suppose are the reasons why people buy these things.
  • @fail
    Ok.... So a even bigger fail that its only got 1GB!!! WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? 1GB for Windows 7? The more I find out the more disappointed I get with this unit.....
  • Guru M
    Srsly, STFU with your stupid ram issues. RAM is nothing - I've got a desktop running win7 on half a gig of ram. A full gig is enough for a netbook.
  • John
    You´ve never used win 7 if you say that. I used win7 on a computer with 1gb and it was still fast. faster than xp by theway
  • RandomFinnishGeek
    Little more googling reveals that there are different versions. Sucks that they went with the one that has lowest memory. I guess it's somekind of compromise with energy consumptions, and that huge battery life has to come from somewhere.

    The 1Gb max is dissapointingting. I would buy this in a instant with more memory. Now I have to think about it.
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