Nokia look set to make move into laptops

Nokia has confirmed that it is looking to move into the laptop market, as the gap between phone and computer narrows.

Rumours of the Finns entering the laptop market, likely in the low-cost netbook area, have been gathering pace in recent years, especially after the sudden withdrawal of its N810 internet tablet.

Speaking to Finnish national broadcaster YLE, Chief Executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo confirmed that the company was 'actively' looking to make laptops.

Active

"We are looking very actively also at this opportunity," said Kallasvuo

"We don't have to look even for five years from now to see that what we know as a cellphone 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."

Shifting markets

But the news Nokia is looking at the netbook / laptop market is probably more likely a strong indication that the line between netbooks and mobile phones is quickly blurring.

Asus has said it is looking at the possibility of porting the Android OS to its netbooks in the future, and Nokia's N97 flagship phone takes the form and functionality of a low-end netbook.

Sony Ericsson of course has the might of Sony and its Vaio range and Samsung and newcomers to the phone market Apple are both key portable computing companies.

So it probably makes the most sense for the Finnish company, which started life over a hundred years ago making rubber goods, to look to a new market for expansion.

Via Reuters