Nokia mulling netbook with Atom, Snapdragon?
updated 04:20 pm EST, Fri February 27, 2009
Nokia Netbook Leak
Notebook builders in the Taiwan area have reportedly said on Friday that Nokia is in the early stages of assembling partners for a possible entry into netbooks. The Finnish company is believed to be considering either Compal or Foxconn, both well-known contractors for notebooks, as likely manufacturing partners; it's also still debating whether it should use Intel's familiar Atom processor for the computer or else use the ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon, which would have 1080p video support that Atom currently lacks.
The PC would represent Nokia's first real entry into non-handheld computing and would also mark a departure from its usual practice of completely outsourcing production it doesn't handle itself. If either Compal or Foxconn wins a deal, the resulting machine would be jointly built by both the winner and Nokia.
Nokia hasn't formally pledged to enter the field. However, the firm's chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said in a TV interview earlier this week that his company is considering the notebook business. At the time, he didn't say what class of system Nokia might develop or what components might be used.
