14 DAY TRIAL // Although previous reports that Nokia was planning an ARM-based smartbook appeared to have been shattered when the Finish mobile phone maker announced the Intel Atom-powered Booklet 3G netbook, new reports indicate that the company is still working on an ARM-based smartbook. The world's leading phone maker looks to increase its presence in the mobile PC market, providing customers with a wider choice of computer systems next year. Said Nokia smartbook is scheduled to arrive sometime in mid-2010, according to reports, following the company's first x86 computer system.
According to a recent Digitimes story, citing sources in the industry, the world's leading phone maker is currently planning to expand its PC portfolio with the introduction of its first ARM-based smartbook, confirming previous rumors about the Finish phone maker. The sources indicate that the company's first smartbook is expected to hit the market sometime in mid-2010 and that the manufacturer is likely to outsource production to either Compal Electronics or Foxconn Electronics, for initial orders.
There aren't any details available on the system's specifications, but it could provide users with features similar to the recently announced Booklet 3G. The Atom-powered netbook has been designed to run on Microsoft Windows 7 OS, with support for 3G/HSDPA, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and A-GPS connectivity. According to Digitimes' sources, the netbook will be produced by Compal and is expected to become available in the market in early 2010.
Nokia is planning to further increase its presence in the mobile PC market by expanding its Ovi services from handsets to PC products. This is explainable as the company's current netbook has been designed to provide users with a number of Ovi features, including the Ovi Music Store, Ovi Maps and the Ovi suite. These tools could make their way into the phone maker's first smartbook, which will likely be running on a flavor of a Linux operating system.