Remember the Samsung GO N310 which rocked up in the US back in July packing integrated 3G? Well, Samsung have taken their finest microfiber buffing cloth to the Atom-based netbook, and relaunched it with Windows 7 and AT&T 3G as the plain Samsung GO.
Update: AT&T have announced that the Samsung GO will retail for $199.99 (after rebates) and presuming a new, two-year data contract of $35 or more per month.
Here we go with another week in review. Monday IDC released their data on the number of CPUs shipped for Q3 2009. The number of CPUS shipped grew 23% for the quarter compared to the previous year. ZiiLABS unveiled its new ZMS-08 Blu-ray quality media processor this week. The processor promises to be full 1080p HD video support and more for portable devices like tablets.
I wrote this column on the Nokia Booklet 3G which is, in my opinion, the most luxurious looking netbook on the market. And for its $600 ($299 with a pretty expensive 2 year AT&T contract) it sure as heck should be. The aluminum unibody design feels as solid as a freshly pumped up tire, and its brushed metal palm rest isn’t only minimalistic but is also smooth on the hands. The plastic coated keys are soft to the touch and the higher 1280 by 720 resolution screen is sweet on the eyes. And don’t forget the built in AT&T 3G that kept me connected as I wrote in different coffee shops around New York City.
Aesthetically the Booklet has got the goods, but performance wise not so much. While using the Booklet for the last week or so I had to get used to the netbook taking at least a minute to boot up Windows 7 Starter (thanks to its slow 4,200 rpm hard drive), and stalling at times when trying to open an application or simply loading a Flash video (thanks to its sluggish Atom Z530 processor). The Booklet 3G is like the stereotypical blonde — pretty but slow.
Nokia’s Booklet 3G isn’t the only new device from the company on our test bench today; two of the Finn’s newest smartphones have also arrived, in the shape of the N97 mini and the E72. Announced back in September and June, respectively, each offers a full QWERTY keyboard and S60 OS, but in strikingly different ways. Check out our unboxing videos, live galleries and some first impressions after the cut.
Nokia’s The Way We Live Next 3.0 event wasn’t intended to launch any hardware, but we’ve arrived back today to find quite a few Finnish goodies waiting to be played with. First up is the Nokia Booklet 3G, the company’s first netbook and a distinctive one at that: as well as the MacBook-style design there’s integrated 3G WWAN and GPS as standard. After the cut, check out our video unboxing and initial gallery.
With the holidays fast approaching cell phone carriers are stocking up on inventory and amongst the new Motorola DROIDs, HTC Heroes, and Palm Pixies are a slightly larger, yet unfamiliar crop of devices – netbooks. AT&T is all giddy about its exclusive availability of the Nokia Booklet 3G and Sprint announced just yesterday that it will be selling the Dell Inspiron Mini 10V. Verizon already has three netbooks in its arsenal, including HP’s new powerful Mini 311. Clearly, lining up the selection isn’t a problem, but what the carriers haven’t figured out yet is that selling netbooks requires a totally different approach than selling phones. The deals and the subsidized model, in my mind, make as much sense for netbooks as building and then plowing a virtual Farmville farm!
Having gone in sale in Europe this week, the initial reviews of the Nokia Booklet 3G netbook are beginning to show up. The Wall Street Journal have shared their impressions of the 3G and GPS toting ultraportable, praising its battery life but immediately dampening their enthusiasm over what they describe as a “tiny keyboard”. Meanwhile Engadget Spanish are yet to review the Booklet 3G, but they have taken the time to unbox it.
Unboxing and hands-on videos after the cut
Advance interest in Nokia’s Booklet 3G is, if you believe the rumors, so strong that the Finnish company is already preparing the sequel, but we’ll wait until the first shipping units get played with before getting too excited. The Nokia netbooks have just started to ship in Europe, with O2 Germany offering the Booklet 3G for €249 ($371) with a 24-month, €20 ($30) data plan.
The first examples of Nokia’s Booklet 3G netbook are yet to drop into buyers’ hands, but according to leaks fizzing out of Taiwan the Finns are already discussing orders for their second-gen model. Notorious rumor-monger Economic Daily News has suggested that a new Booklet 3G with updated specifications is expected to be released in 2010, a statement that is, frankly, stating the obvious. However, reading between the lines we’d expect any updated netbook from Nokia to take advantage of Intel’s upcoming Pine Trail processors, such as the Atom N450, and we do know a little about that CPU’s release schedule.
I mentioned back at the beginning of the month that the Nokia Booklet 3G had turned up in the Best Buy inventory with a price tag of $599.99 attached. Nokia has now officially confirmed that price tag for machines that are purchased without an accompanying data plan. It also appears that the netbook will be operate on the AT&T network and is a Best Buy exclusive as previously reported.
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