While the original intention of the netbook form factor may have been to have a small, cheap computer for Web surfing, the Nokia Booklet 3G appears to be geared more for the worker on the go than the cash strapped student. It also is poised to create a new class of mobile worker who eschews smartphones and uses a basic phone in tandem with a netbook instead....

Netbooks like this could create a market shift away from smartphones in general. Rather than pay for a separate data plan for both a smartphone and a netbook, it may make sense for some mobile professionals to carry a simpler phone and pull something like the Booklet 3G from their briefcases or purses when it comes time to check a map, search the Net, or write an e-mail. Certainly this would help alleviate the frustration that many experience with their smartphone's battery life.

This may be a move by Nokia to grab initiative from rival Apple. In the past several years, the iPhone maker has managed to grab significant share in the lucrative, fast-growing market for smartphones away from Nokia. Apple is also rumored to be developing a tablet netbook. With this announcement, Nokia may be trying to beat Apple to the punch.