Nokia World 09: pricey netbook, downgraded N97, & confusing beta services
The Nokia World 2009 keynote took place today (middle of the night for me in the US) and a couple recently announced devices were shown, three new ones were announced, and several services were showcased. Keep in mind my take on the event is from a US perspective where we are unlikely to see subsidies like they will in other countries. You can check out images for these products and services in our Nokia World 2009 image gallery. We found out more details about the Booklet 3G and saw the N97 mini, X6, and X3 announced, and heard about some new services for the N97 available now in beta.
| Image Gallery:Check out product and service images from Nokia World 2009. | ||||||
Nokia Booklet 3G
Nokia announced their netbook a week ago, but at this event we now see the full specs and pricing for the device. It will launch at EUR550 (US$817) as the unsubsidized price. Europe and other countries are sure to see a sizable subsidization, but that is unlikely in the US and it will be a non-starter.The integrated 3G is provided via a hot swappable SIM card so you won't need two lines to use the wireless capabilities of the device. There will be a variant that supports 3G on AT&T. Here are some other specs:
- Intel Atom Z530 1.6 GHz processor
- 1GB RAM
- 120GB 1.8 inch, 4200 RPM hard drive
- 10.1 inch 1280x720 resolution display
- 16 cell, 56.8 Wh battery
- 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 2.1
- Windows 7
I am sure it will be a very nice netbook, but I expected 2GB of RAM and at least a 160GB faster hard drive at this $800+ price point.
Nokia N97 mini
The Nokia N97 mini looks much like the Nokia N97 with a smaller display (3.2 inches compared to 3.5 inches), more compact keyboard (no directional pad), less storage (8GB instead of 32GB), and smaller battery. It still has a 5 megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, and microSD card slot. It will launch in October at EUR450 (US$640) unsubsidized and will most likely be free in Europe and elsewhere when launching on a carrier. It is pretty much an announcement unrelated to the US market unless a carrier picks it up which I think is unlikely.Nokia X6
The Nokia X6 is a music focused device that comes with a 3.2 inch touchscreen and 32GB of storage along with a stated 35 hours of music playback time. It is a Comes with Music device (means nothing in the US at this time) so you can get unlimited music with your subscription. A 5 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics is included for EUR549. The real interesting aspect of this device is the capacitive display, which is a first for Nokia and something that will be quite interesting to try with the S60 operating system.Nokia X3
The Nokia X3 is a Series 40 device that comes in a slider form factor with 3.2 megapixel camera and 2.2 inch display. The Ovi Store is included on the X3 and is the first Series 40 device with this support. The price will be EUR115 when it goes on sale in the 4th quarter of 2009.More interesting than the devices that were announced, except for the Nokia N900, were the services that are being made available today to N97 owners.
Ovi lifecasting
The new Ovi lifecasting application (limited beta availability) is designed for N97 owners. From what I can figure out on the Ovi lifecasting page it is a Facebook application that is more heavily focused on the location sharing aspects and functions in Nokia devices. I downloaded it and will be trying it out to see what it is all about on my N97.Ovi Maps Beta for mobile
I am pretty sure that the latest version of Ovi Maps just came out of beta and now we have another version going right back into beta. This version of Ovi Maps Beta includes the following improvements over the previous version, but is only compatible with the N97, N97 mini, 5800 XM and 5800 Navigation Edition.- Improved application start up
- Brand new menu with one touch access to content and services
- New and improved one-box search
- New features in car navigation service: ‘Drive home’ and ‘Track me’,
- New features in the pedestrian navigation service: ‘Walk home’ and ‘Track me’,
- Text-to-speech for voice guidance in car and pedestrian navigation, currently available for English and German. More languages will follow for the commercial release.
Nokia Messaging - Social Messaging Beta
Reading through the description on the Nokia Messaging - Social Messaging site I thought this was a client that integrates IM, text messaging, and email services with a homescreen widget. However, after watching the video I see that it is just an updated Facebook client, which then confuses me a bit with the Ovi lifecasting service mentioned above. I guess I am confused by Nokia using the Nokia Messaging label since that has always been associated with email in the past and is now expanding into other messaging methods. I was then pointed to the FAQ that really doesn't seem to clear it up for me:What’s the difference between the current Facebook client on my Nokia N97, the Ovi lifecasting widget and Nokia Messaging Social Messaging application?
The current Facebook experience is a client downloaded onto the phone and accessible through a homescreen widget. The experience is focused on consumption of Facebook community content. The Social Messaging beta will deliver a similar, though more integrated experience for Facebook as well as other social network communities through a single client as service extension of Nokia Messaging with one predictable and low price for email, IM and social messaging activity.
There were a couple of Bluetooth products announced as well that you can see in the image gallery. This was what we saw announced at the kickoff to the Nokia World 2009 event and I imagine all we will see from here on out are more details on these services and devices. The N900 is the most exciting device to me, but that was announced prior to the event.