Is a Nokia netbook like this Asus Eee PC on the cards?

Edinburgh’s most excitable blogger, Ewan Spence, posted an enthusiastic piece on All About Symbian this morning suggesting that it really would be a good idea if Nokia released a netbook. His argument is that a Nokia netbook would give the company’s range of Ovi-branded web services the boost they need to achieve mainstream adoption.

There’s no doubt that Nokia could produce a netbook if they chose to. They certainly know how to design good quality hardware and a customised Linux install featuring deep integration to Ovi’s contacts, media-sharing, email and other services would be great way of encouraging people to get their computer and phone working together to enhance their online experience.

The problem is that Ovi is, in the main, a closed-off system for Nokia users only. If I use Google or Yahoo online services I know there’s a good chance my friends use them too. It doesn’t matter what phone they’re using, I know my friends will (eventually) be able to become Google Latitude members, for example. If I’m using Nokia’s Ovi Contacts service, which does a similar thing, I know I’ll only ever get my Nokia-owning friends on board.

A Nokia netbook OS would encourage market segmentation at a time when most people are pushing in a more open direction. Imagine buying a Nokia netbook, discovering you need a Nokia phone to complement it and then discovering that your friends will need a Nokia phone to make the most of the services as well. It just won’t work.

So, a Nokia netbook OS would be a great fit for a Nokia fan but it would just frustrate many newcomers. It could have been a mass-market contender at one point but now its clear that the most successful online services will be those that allow anyone, regardless of the brand of computer or phone they’re using, to join in.

Web services that allow us to share information whether we’re using a computer or a phone are undoubtedly the future but Nokia’s ‘Our Customers Only’ approach is not the best way to do it.

[Image credit: Jean-no]