14 DAY TRIAL // Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia is expected to come to the market next year with its first netbook running under the Google Android operating system. The company has been rumored before to be working on such a device and, though nothing has been said officially until now, it seems that the netbook might become a reality, at least this is what Daniel Amir, an analyst from Lazard Capital Markets, suggests.
“In our conversations with ODMs, we have confirmed that Nokia is planning to enter the netbook market with a Google Android, ARM-based netbook that would be sold at carriers. Considering this market is dominated by the PC players, we believe Nokia could face an uphill battle to succeed in this market,” he says.
Moreover, the aforementioned Nokia netbook is said to come to the market as a rather larger smartphone, and not as a smaller PC, as we have been already accustomed to see netbooks look like. At the same time, the reports also say that the mobile phone maker would have its Android-based device distributed via wireless carriers around the world, which might not be the best choice in case the company plans to become competitive in the area.
It would be rather interesting to see whether Nokia would really come to the market with the said device, especially since it is expected to be powered by an ARM processor. As many of you might already know, the company has just made a deal with Intel for the development of a new mobile platform, and this won't fit with the suggested netbook plans.
Earlier reports on Nokia's plans for the netbook market pointed towards a possible collaboration between the phone maker and Taiwanese computer makers Compal Electronics and Foxconn Electronics. For the time being, there are a lot of things that need to be straightened up, including the ARM processor or the Android operating system, yet more details should surface in the near future, so stay tuned to learn more on this.