Nokia Booklet 3G now available to pre-order

But no firm shipping date yet for the mini laptop

The Booklet 3G is Nokia's first netbook

Nokia has announced that its Booklet 3G mini laptop is available for pre-order from today via Nokia's online shop, which lists January 2010 as the estimated delivery date.

First unveiled in August, the Booklet 3G is a departure from Nokia's portfolio of phones and smartphones. With an Intel Atom Z530 processor, 10.1in display and Windows 7 Starter edition, the new device is in fact very similar to netbook products from PC vendors.

However, coming from Nokia, the Booklet 3G has 3G capability as standard, plus Wi-Fi, and has a claimed battery life of up to 12 hours - far in excess of that offered by typical netbooks. It also has built-in GPS and comes with Nokia's Ovi services.

The Booklet 3G is priced at £649 SIM-free. The system is also expected to be available with a 3G data plan, but a spokesperson told V3.co.uk that the company has no announcements to make so far regarding this.