US netbook by Nokia to be $300 with AT&T service

By PETER SVENSSON

posted: 43 DAYS 9 HOURS AGO

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NEW YORK -Nokia Corp., the world's largest maker of cell phones, says its first laptop for the U.S. market will cost $300 with a two-year wireless broadband contract from AT&T Inc.

The Finnish company is broadening its product portfolio as cellular broadband access is spreading to more devices. Some wireless carriers, such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless, sell small laptops known as "netbooks," subsidizing the price in exchange for two-year contracts.

Nokia's netbook, the Booklet 3G, will run Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 7 software, have a 10-inch screen and weigh 2.8 pounds. It will be sold at Best Buy Inc. stores and online. Orders can be placed beginning on Oct. 22, when Windows 7 launches, and delivery is expected by mid-November.

At $300 after AT&T's subsidy (or $600 without a contract), the Booklet will be more expensive than other netbooks sold by carriers. AT&T sells netbooks for $200, and Verizon Wireless offers them for $150. Sprint Nextel Corp. briefly offered them for 99 cents.

However, the Booklet will have some features standard netbooks don't: an aluminum cover, a GPS navigation chip and a 12-hour battery life.

This isn't the first time Nokia is making a PC. It made a wide range of products, including computers, before focusing on cell phones. It sold its computer division in 1991.

2009-10-13 15:27:29