While PC manufacturers like Acer and Dell are now quickly trying to hop on-board the mobile phone bandwagon, veteran mobile phone maker Nokia is going the different route as they try their luck in the mobile PC segment of the market with the announcement of their Booklet 3G ‘mini laptop.’

Looking at it specs, it’s hard not to classify this as your average netbook even though the Finnish company is calling it a ‘mini laptop.’ The usual suspects are there – Atom processor, Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. The inclusion of 3G wireless connectivity is no surprise since this is coming from Nokia, but what truly sets thr Booklet 3G apart from the other netbook offerings available now such as the HP Mini 110 is its use of a hot-swappable SIM card slot making it easier for users to insert/remove a SIM card to/from this device. Aside from that, it also features a high-resolution 10.1-inch display, A-GPS and Ovi Maps for the frequent traveler, HDMI output for the media junky, an astounding 12-hour battery life, and what appears to be Windows 7 running the whole show. It’s encased in an aluminum chasis which says a lot about its sturdiness and durability.

Admittedly, this is a surprising move from the company more renowned for their mobile phones. However, considering that convergence is the name of the game these days and that their N97 costs almost as much as, if not more than, the leading netbook brand in the market, the choice to come out with a netbook instead of another new phone to offer up more productivity options for their loyal customers looks to be like a wise move on their part.

Here’s a short promotional video of the Nokia Booklet 3G to further tickle your imagination:

Unfortunately, that’s all we have for now. We’re still left wondering when this will be released, how much it will cost, and if its capable of mobile phone calls, but I guess we’ll soon find out the answers to these questions once Nokia World 2009 kicks off next week and more details are made available to the public. Will 3G capable netbooks/mini laptops now be the new battle ground for mobile phone makers? It’s highly unlikely, but I’ll be the first to admit, I won’t be too surprised if one or two other mobile phone manufacturers follow in Nokia’s footsteps.

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