I’m having a bout of tech lust today following the news about Nokia’s ‘Booklet‘.

There have been lots of disparaging comments from various quarters that it’s just another Windows 7 Netbook. But that’s missing a couple of key points:

• It has HDMI out. I really don’t care if this can’t drive a full HD screen for video. I use a 1920*1200 monitor in the office, and it would be nice to just get rid of the fuzz that goes with an analogue VGA connection. Of course it would be nicer still if the built in ‘HD display’ does 720p, which is just fine for video on the move (as I mentioned before), but so far detailed specs (and pricing) seem thin on the ground.
• It has integrated 3G, so I don’t have to put up with some annoying USB dongle or ExpressCard sticking out of the side of the machine.

Of course I agree with those saying that this isn’t an earth mover for Nokia, and I probably won’t end up buying one. I do however hope that it spurs on other netbook makers to have similar video and 3G capabilities. Perhaps then we can get past the tied down craziness of mobile broadband deals where you have to buy a device (I for one can’t see why the telcos insist on selling you a dongle for £19.99, as I’d be amazed if there was profit in there rather than subsidy, though maybe having some sort of silly exclusive deal is the only way they get reasonable prices for the people that do want these things). I also hope that this doesn’t become one of those things that you can only buy lease from a telco (and that finally ends up on Expansys when it’s too old or unpopular, like Nokia’s Internet Tablet thingy [that lacked 3G connectivity] or the Samsung NC10 with HSDPA[just a bit too dated and expensive]).

Lenovo, if you’re listening I would really like to be able to buy the s10-2 with 3G (unlocked of course) from your web site (rather than having to hack it), and while you’re at it you can get on with making an s10-3 with the 720p screen and HDMI.