As promised, this is the second part of my three-part review on the Nokia Booklet 3G. In part one we unboxed the device and I shared my first impressions. This time we're looking at the operating system and day-to-day usability.
The Booklet runs on an Intel Atom Z530 clocked at 1.6GHz with 1GB of RAM. That's enough for everyday browsing and document work, but it will show signs of strain with anything graphics-intensive. My trial unit runs Windows 7 Starter — the lowest tier in the Windows 7 lineup.
Boot & Power Management
The power button kicks off a slow boot, but Nokia users will feel right at home — the Nokia Connecting People logo greets you before handing over to the familiar Windows 7 welcome screen. I half expected to hear the Nokia ringtone.
Pressing the hardware power button mid-session brings up an interface letting you choose between Balanced, High Performance and Power Saver modes, along with shutdown and sleep options. It also shows a visual battery indicator. I can't see it getting much use since most people will default to Windows controls, but it's a nice touch. Nokia should consider linking this widget to the default Windows power settings.
Keyboard & Shortcuts
The keyboard feels a little cramped and I constantly found myself making errors while typing — likely a combination of key placement and my preference for larger keyboards. The function keys pull double duty, with shortcuts mapped for brightness and volume. The F10 key opens a widget for toggling Bluetooth, 3G and Wi-Fi. By default the device ships in flight mode with all radios off.
Wi-Fi & 3G
The Wi-Fi signal is strong — Nokia has a good track record here from their mobile devices and it carries over to the Booklet. Slip in a data SIM and you can get online over 3G too, though the built-in modem didn't perform as consistently as some USB dongles I've used. The connection dropped in a few locations during testing, but it got the job done.
Touchpad
The touchpad supports multi-touch, including pinch-to-zoom which I enjoyed quite a bit. It's not as smooth as the Mac trackpads I'm used to, but it's a solid implementation for a netbook of this era.
Ovi Integration
Nokia's Ovi platform — covering their store, email, music and more — is tightly woven into their mobile lineup. I had high hopes for a deeper Ovi integration on the Booklet. The device ships with a Windows gadget prompting you to download Ovi Suite, and I was genuinely excited to see what Nokia had done with it here.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be the same desktop Ovi Suite available on any Windows PC. The Booklet 3G wasn't even recognised as a device. I was expecting something closer to what Apple did with the iPad — a dedicated Ovi experience that positions the Booklet as a bridge between Nokia's mobile ecosystem and the PC world. This was a missed opportunity.
Software Updater
Another pre-installed app is the Nokia Booklet Software Updater, which sits in Windows and pushes notifications for available updates.
The service runs in the background with no option to schedule update checks. I feel it would sit more naturally inside Ovi Suite — older versions of Ovi already had a similar module-update interface, so it's a natural fit. You can select which updates to install and let them run in the background. I downloaded everything available to keep my testing comprehensive.
Updates include gadgets, software and driver updates, and Windows patches. A restart is required once complete. I'll be keeping an eye on how frequently Nokia pushes updates for this device.
Ovi Maps & GPS
One of the more interesting downloads is the Ovi Maps gadget, which uses the Booklet's A-GPS to pinpoint your location. It didn't always lock on as reliably as I'd have liked, but worked most of the time. For someone constantly on the move it could prove genuinely handy. Clicking the gadget opens Ovi Maps in the browser — though I'd much prefer a standalone map application like Nokia provides on their mobile devices rather than relying on the online version.
Nokia Social Hub
Nokia Social Hub is available as a software update and lets you connect Facebook and Twitter to post across both platforms simultaneously. It also supports SMS if a SIM is installed. I had some trouble getting it fully configured — there was no clear way to apply settings within the messaging app.
Verdict
Using the Nokia Booklet 3G has been a mixed experience. I'm not thrilled with the Windows choice — Windows 7 is excellent, but it's resource-hungry and better suited to high-end hardware. Mobile operating systems make more sense on netbooks, and with the then-recent Intel and Nokia partnership around MeeGo, the Booklet felt like exactly the kind of device that deserved its own MeeGo flavour.
The Ovi Suite needs a dedicated rebuild for the Booklet. The device should be recognised as a first-class Nokia product within the Ovi ecosystem — with cloud sync, mobile app availability, and deeper integration. If Windows remains an option going forward, an Ovi evolution is essential. And if MeeGo does arrive on the Booklet, that would be something genuinely exciting.
My trial unit is heading back to the WomWorld/Nokia team. Many thanks to them for lending it to me, and to Daily Mobile for featuring the review.