THE world's top mobile phone maker Nokia has announced its entry into the computer market with a cut-size notebook.
The Nokia Booklet 3G netbook will run Microsoft Windows, weigh 1.25kg and offer up to 12 hours of battery life.
Nokia said it would announce more details, including the price, in September.
Netbooks are low-cost notebooks designed for surfing the web and other basic functions.
Pioneered by Asustek with the hit Eee PC in 2007, netbooks have since been rolled out by other brands such as HP and Dell.
"A growing number of people want the computing power of a PC with the full benefits of mobility," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's executive vice president for devices.
A source close to Nokia said the new netbook would use the upcoming Windows 7 operating system.
A stripped-down version of Windows 7 will be released for netbooks at the same time as its general release on October 22.
Nokia's announcement comes as mobile phone manufacturers such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson are facing sliding sales for their handsets.
The financial crisis has deterred many customers from buying new phones, while "smart" models such as the iPhone and Blackberry have taken sales away from the established phone giants.
Cut-throat market
Nokia said earlier this year it was considering entering the laptop industry, crossing the border between two converging industries in the opposite direction to Apple, which entered the phone industry in 2007 with the iPhone.
However analysts have worried that entering the PC industry, where margins are traditionally razor-thin, could hurt Nokia's profits.
"We are fully aware what has the margin level been in the PC world. We have gone into this with our eyes wide open," said Kai Oistamo, the head of Nokia's phone unit.
"There's really an opportunity to bring fresh perspective to the PC world," he said, adding that Nokia would introduce extended battery life and continuous connectivity.
Nokia has produced PCs before, but divested the unit in 1991 when it started to focus on the mobile phone industry.
Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said the success of Nokia's netbook may depend on how well it stood out from other products.
"The question is: How will Nokia differentiate? This is already a crowded market," she said.
"If they manage to differentiate it's going to give them competitive advantage."
