Nokia Booklet 3G Review

The Booklet 3G is Nokia’s first netbook, but they’re trying not to label it as such. It’s supposed to be a mini laptop for all-day mobility allowing up to 12 hours on a single charge. It looks great, too. The Nokia Booklet 3G’s chassis is made from a single piece of machined aluminum, similar to Apple’s Macbooks. How do I like it? Read on for the review.

Hardware

Size. The Nokia Booklet 3G’s dimensions are 10.4 x 7.3 x 0.78 inches. It weighs 2.76 lbs. It won’t be pocketable like Nokia’s phones, but it’s smaller than most of my old college textbooks. It can also easily fit in a backpack.

Build Quality. The Nokia Booklet 3G feels really solid in the hands. I wouldn’t try, but it gives an impression that it could withstand a fall. The laptop is mostly visibly aluminum with the exception of the glossy plastic cover on top of the lid. It’s not removable, but models come in black, ice (white), or azure (blue). It’s upscale looks really matches its build quality.

Internals. Inside the Nokia Booklet 3G is is an Intel Atom Z530 1.6 GHz with a soldered 1GB DDRD RAM that is not upgradeable. It includes 120GB 4200 RPM hard drive for storage. For more details, check the full specifications.

I’m a little disappointed with the performance. I’m a demanding user, but even simple multitasking seems to lag on the Booklet 3G. I couldn’t browse the web smoothly while Windows 7 was pestering me about stuff about available updates or that the virus protection was expiring soon. Even just browsing with multiple tabs seem to give the Booklet some trouble. I’m also shocked that Hulu videos are chopp
y. Fortunately, Youtube seems to play well.

Display. The Nokia Booklet 3G provides a 10.1 inch display with 1280×720 pixels resolution on glass. Glare and reflection is noticeable at some angles, but I prefer to have a glossy display over matte. I wouldn’t say the display is dim, but it’s comfortable at maximum brightness. The viewing angle isn’t that great, with details being lost if tilted too open or closed. Fortunately the hinge lets you tilt the Booklet 3G to almost 180 degrees to compensate.

Keyboard. The Nokia Booklet 3G keyboard buttons are slightly smaller than those found on regular laptops, but not so much that it hinders typing. Tactile feedback is great. I didn’t have problems writing emails, tweets, or filling out forms on the browser. Although, those with bigger fingers might disagree. There’s a dedicated Nokia button than opens the Nokia Social Hub software. I’ll talk more about that below. What I don’t like about the keyboard is that I have to hold and press two buttons to adjust volume, or screen brightness. There’s also a noticeable delay between pressing the brightness/volume button an actually making the adjustment.

Multitouch. Contrary to Engadget’s review, there is actually multitouch on the Booklet 3g’s trackpad. Scrolling is possible with two fingers and zooming can be done with pinching. It’s not exactly smooth, but it’s there.

Inputs. The Nokia Booklet 3G provides an HDMI port so you can connect to a TV or projector to watch movies or give presentations. I plugged it to my 32in HDTV and it worked right away. There are also 3 USB 2.0 ports, 3.5mm audio jack, slot for an SD card, and another for SIM. The door to access the SIM and SD cards is tough to open unless you have long nails or a paper clip. Nevertheless, I rather have a tight door than a loose one.

Speakers. The speakers on the Nokia Booklet 3G can be loud enough. They are located at the front on both sides. The quality isn’t bad, but it’s also not that great. I noticed the included Nokia Headset WH-205 that also came with the Nokia N900 sounds better on the N900 than the Booklet 3G.

Software

Windows 7 Starter is pre-installed on the Nokia Booklet 3G, but it’s upgradeable to Home Premium using the Windows Anytime Upgrade. I used my student discount to upgrade for only $29.99. Features missing on the Starter version include ability to change dektop wallpaper, but more importantly the Aero interface. I don’t see why Nokia decided to stick to Starter especially at the price it’s trying to sell.

I’m a Mac user and this is my first time playing with Windows7. I love the Exposé feature on my Mac. Aero on Windows 7 seems just as useful. Pressing Alt+Tab or WIN+Tab rotates through currently opened applications. The two methods show it differently, but I like the WIN+Tab better. Windows and taskbars are also translucent, which I think is appealing. I also like the subtle transitions when closing and opening applications.

Nokia Social Hub. With Nokia Social Hub, you can read your text messages and access social utilities likeTwitter, Flickr, and Facebook. It’s similar to other tools like Seesmic Desktop or Tweetdeck. This is a must-have app on the Booklet 3G if you are planning to use SMS messaging from the mini-laptop.

Ovi Maps Gadget. Windows 7 users can have widgets or gadgets on their desktop and Nokia included one for GPS location. It was able to find my location outside my brick apartment building in less than a minute. I thought clicking on the gadget would open a bigger Ovi Maps app with more options to play with but that’s not the case. Okay, so the Booklet 3G knows where I am… now what?

Ovi Suite and Software Updater. The Booklet 3G also includes the Ovi Suite where users can sync their calendar, contacts, media with other devices and the cloud. Software Updater checks for any updates specific to the Booklet itself.

Connectivity

Staying connected isn’t a problem for the Nokia Booklet 3G. Along with wifi, it can connect to a carrier network. Here in the US, the Booklet comes with an AT&T DataConnect Plan for 3G access. They also provide access to their WiFi hotspots nationwide. An application is included to show the location of these access points. I see a lot of McDonalds’ on the list.

Battery

I think the key selling factor for the Nokia Booklet 3G is the battery life. I can actually carry it around without bringing the power adapter. The removable battery was rated to provide up to 12 hours on a single charge, but I found my typical usage to last about 8 hours. I think that’s still pretty good.

Verdict

The Nokia Booklet 3G is a good-looking solid hardware. The battery life is really impressive as well. However, I think it is disappointingly underpowered. I wish it was faster at opening applications. I wish I can watch Hulu videos. I wish I can run multiple applications without slowdowns. Nevertheless, if you are just going to use the Booklet 3G for small tasks and light browsing on the go without being tied to WiFi, then it could be for you. Here in the US, it costs $299.99 with a two-year AT&T DataConnect contract and $599.99 without the contract.