Rumors are abound that Nokia may be looking to release a new version of its Booklet 3G netbook sometime next year.
I use the term “rumors” loosely as the basic idea seems to be that Compal Electronics, the company that manufactures the current Booklet 3G, is “working overtime to satisfy demand,” according to DigiTimes and, therefore, “market rumors are circulating that Nokia will take advantage of its current netbook momentum by releasing a new version in 2010.”
Yes, that does indeed sound plausible — why not? A computer product released in 2009 that sells well would probably see some sort of update in 2010. And as chipsets get smaller and faster, it’d be silly for Nokia to just sit on a single Booklet offering.
Now information about when a new model would be released might be more helpful. If Nokia’s going to push one out on January 1st or something, it might be a good idea to hold off on buying the current Booklet 3G. From the sounds of it, though, it doesn’t seem like we’re anywhere close to a situation like that:
“Compal is expected to have a good chance of landing the orders, according to the report. However, no special insight was provided as to why Compal will receive the orders except for the fact that the Taiwan-based notebook maker is currently Nokia’s netbook manufacturing partner.”
So take this news with a grain of salt. If the current Booklet 3G is successful, though, it’d be odd if Nokia didn’t update the line sometime next year.