Nokia’s new netbook computer, the Booklet 3G, is seen at Nokia corporate headquarters in Helsinki August 24, 2009. The world’s top cellphone maker Nokia said on Monday it would start to make laptops, entering a fiercely competitive, but fast-growing market.©Reuters

BEIJING, Oct. 14 — Nokia Corp. says its first 3G-capable netbook will cost 300 U.S. dollars in the United States market with a two-year wireless broadband contract from AT&T Inc.

Nokia’s netbook, the Booklet 3G, will be on sale at Best Buy stores and online on Oct. 22 when Windows 7 launches.

To get the discounted price, consumers have to sign a two-year contract for AT&T’s wireless connection plan, which will cost 60 dollars plus taxes each month. The netbook will also be sold at Best Buy for 599 dollars without the AT&T contract.

The netbook, which has a 10-inch screen and weighs 1.25 kilograms, will run Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system.

Among its features, the Booklet will have an aluminum cover, a GPS navigation chip and a 12-hour battery life.

The netbook market is hot recently; more than 20 million netbooks are expected to be sold worldwide by the end of this year.

“We connected the world’s first billion people through the cell phone. And the next billion will be connected via computing devices like a PC,” said John Hwang, general manager of connected computers at Nokia. 

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/14/content_12230055.htm