We've been hearing about the Nokia Booklet for the past couple of months now (August, September). But the Scandinavian manufacturer that's known for its cell phones has finally filled in the blanks and given us the U.S. details on what the Booklet 3G is all about.
While we had previously heard that Nokia's Windows 7 Netbook would cost as much as $600, it turns out that subsidizing will help out significantly. The Windows 7 Netbook is set to arrive on October 22 for $299 with a two-year AT&T wireless contract, which will run $60 a month. Also, the Booklet 3G will be available exclusively at Best Buy through the holidays. The Booklet 3G's unsubsidized price will indeed be $599, which is crazy high.

So...you walk into Best Buy and see a Nokia Booklet 3G for $299 and a 32GB iPhone 3GS for $299, both with two-year service agreements. Which would you buy?
Specs and more details after the break.
At an event in Manhattan this morning, Nokia, Best Buy, and Microsoft executives all seemed convinced they were going to sell quite a few of these little Netbooks, which are pretty thin by normal Netbook standards. Among the notable details: built-in A-GPS, a swappable SIM card slot, an Ovi services toolbar for syncing the Booklet with SMS messages and other contact data from a Nokia phone, and a 16-cell removable battery that somehow finds a way to not protrude from the Booklet's tiny underside. Nokia promises seamless switching between 3G and Wi-Fi, thanks to Windows 7's handling of wireless services.
There are drawbacks: the Booklet 3G has a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 processor, which is slower even by Netbook standards. There's only 1GB of RAM, and the hard drive is 120GB, which is a step down from the 160GB XP Netbook usual.

On the other hand, the slightly-less-than-full-size raised keyboard felt very comfortable, and the 10.1-inch screen has a resolution of 1280x720, which is a little better than what most 10.1-inch Netbooks offer in terms of resolution. For Ethernet and VGA or DVI out, USB or HDMI adapter cables are sold separately.
Nokia promises a "true" 12-hour battery life from the Booklet 3G's 16-cell battery, although whether that allows for the company's much-heralded "always-on" 3G/Wi-Fi connectivity wasn't confirmed.
To recap the specs:

• Atom Z530 processor (instead of the more common N270)
• Windows 7
• HDMI port
• Wi-Fi
• 3G (obviously)
• An SD card reader
• A-GPS and maps integration
• A Webcam
• Bluetooth
• And, according to Nokia, a 12-hour battery life