Nokia Eying Laptop Market In Face Of Growing Convergence

Nokia is considering a move into the laptop business, according to Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, with the exec citing convergence between cellphones and notebooks as a key motivator.  Speaking to a Finnish broadcaster this week, Kallasvuo highlighted the growing number of people whose first internet experience is on a cellphone, saying that Nokia was "looking very actively" at the segment.

"We don't have to look even for five years from now to see that what we know as a mobile phone and what we know as a PC are in many ways converging.  Today we have hundreds of millions of people who are having their first Internet experience on the phone. This is a good indication" Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO, Nokia

Industry analysts suggest that the Finnish company would stand to do well in the connected laptop segment, pointing to Nokia's significant manufacturing, supply chain and distribution network.  The company has historically had trouble negotiating with US carriers, but has built strong relationships with European networks; those networks are now adding mobile broadband-enabled netbooks and laptops to their ranges.

Kallasvuo hasn't specified whether Nokia would be looking at launching a pure laptop with integrated 3G, or something more unusual in the manner of their Communicator range of smartphones.  The company already has a compact Nseries Internet Device, although it lacks a cellular connection.