On the one hand, I don’t think Nokia or any other OEM can ignore the rapidly growing segment of “mobile internet devices,” which we define broadly to include netbooks as well as other devices that fall between smart phones and laptops. In Q2 ’09, almost one in four “portable computers” sold worldwide were netbooks (actually, 22.8%, up from 17.8% in Q1). Despite the attractive growth, netbooks are hotly contested, with Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba all offering competitive models at a variety of price points.

The real question is whether Nokia is offering anything distinctive enough to motivate consumers to “take a chance” on its new model(s) – based on initial specs, this doesn’t appear to be the case. There are other categories adjacent to smart phones where Nokia may have more credibility and potentially more success – tablet style MIDs, for example (with which it has some experience). However, compared to Apple and other OEMs, Nokia has fallen badly behind on device UI (user interface) and – more generally – UE (user experience). Apple has also done an extraordinary job unlocking innovation and making it easy for consumers to try out compelling new apps. I think you described this phenomenon in Unleashing Killer Apps.

The Booklet suggests that Nokia fails to recognize the requirements to compete – much less stand out – in the MIDs category. Unless it closes the gap with Apple on UI design and execution, Nokia will continue to lose share in phones (both smart and feature). I suspect its efforts to enter other categories where usability and UE are so critical – such as MIDs – will also fail miserably.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid the Booklet will be a costly lesson for Nokia!

A report we prepared last fall may be of interest – The M in MIDs Stands for Mobile (available at http://www.immr.org/1/immr_mids_summary.pdf).

All the best.

Phil Hendrix, PhD
http://www.immr.org

Yes, this is a clear adjacency move. Whether or not it’s misguided is yet to be seen.

Kai Oistamo, the head of Nokia’s devices business, said “We are in the business of connecting people and the Nokia Booklet 3G is a natural evolution for us.”

I agree with this, and I can see why a project like this would be hard to kill at the head office. But the point you made was critical; what is their product offering that others aren’t? Right now, it seems like very little.

If they expect the mere fact that they are offering a netbook to be the thing that makes it successful, then I agree that it will flop.

Instead, their “open eyes” need to be open minds. They need to be flexible with the way this product is marketed. And frankly, I believe marketing is the make-or-break factor for this product. If they can leverage Nokia’s brand equities and promotional tools in the right way, this move might stand a chance.

It also wouldn’t hurt if they had some product synergies that made owning both a Nokia phone and a Nokia netbook beneficial.