• Reuters, Financial Times, Monday, August 24, 2009 10:45 AM

Nokia is entering fiercely competitive laptop market with a netbook -- the Nokia Booklet 3G -- that will use Microsoft's Windows software and Intel's Atom processor, Tarmo Virki reports. It offers up to 12 hours of battery life and weighs 1.25 kilograms, according to an announcement this morning. Detailed specifications, including market availability and pricing, will be forthcoming on Sept 2.

Although margins in the netbook market are razor thin, it is growing rapidly. "We are fully aware what has the margin level been in the PC world," says Kai Oistamo, the head of Nokia's key phone unit. "We have gone into this with our eyes wide open."

Meanwhile, the Financial Times' Andrew Parker and Andrew Ward report that Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo vows to be "even more competitive" against Apple following criticism that it had failed to come up with a smartphone handset to match the iPhone. He also asserts that the hardware company will succeed with its strategy of transforming itself into a supplier of services such as maps and music.

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