At the Fall CTIA 2009 show in San Diego, Nokia gave us time to look at some of their newest flagship devices, and even let slip a few secrets about future plans. Though Nokia was showing off a few less expensive feature phones released in the past few weeks, including the Nokia 3711 on T-Mobile and the Nokia Mural on AT&T, the real star of the show was the Nokia N900 Internet Tablet phone and the Nokia Booklet 3G Windows 7 netbook.
Nokia Booklet 3G, an AT&T Best Buy?
 Though we'd heard about the Nokia Booklet 3G towards the end of the summer, this was our first opportunity to get our hands on Nokia's slim, sturdy little notebook computer. Nokia recently announced that Best Buy would be the exclusive partner in selling the Nokia Booklet 3G in the U.S., and we heard a sales rep at the Nokia booth explaining that the device would be sold subsidized with AT&T contracts. Of course, the 3G in the Booklet 3G name comes from the Nokia Booklet 3G's HSPA networking, and with AT&T and Verizon Wireless selling more and more always-connected netbooks at a discount with a contract agreement, it makes sense to pair the Nokia Booklet 3G with a monthly plan that takes advantage of the wireless networking. Nokia reps acted sheepish when we tried to get an official confirmation, so this is still hearsay at the moment, and no specific pricing or availability was made clear to us. Now if only a U.S. carrier would subsidize an Nseries phone.
We got a peek at the Nokia Booklet 3G running Windows 7, and it was a fairly snazzy little notebook. Nokia would prefer avoiding the "netbook" moniker, but with that Intel Atom processor and netbook hardware specs, it's hard not to group this device with other machines this size, though it still comes in a bit more expensive until those carrier subsidies come into play. Unlike most other netbooks, the Nokia Booklet 3G features GPS onboard, and you can use the sensor with Ovi Maps online, but Nokia isn't offering a specific personal navigation device software solution for the Nokia Booklet 3G or Windows 7. So, there's no turn-by-turn directions.
In fact, there doesn't seem to be much Nokia did to add value to Windows 7 beyond create an enviable piece of hardware. There is software for sending and receiving SMS messages over the built-in SIM card, but that's pretty standard for wireless data connections today. The hardware is what really shines, here. Like recent Apple notebooks, the Nokia Booklet 3G is built mostly from a single block of aluminum, which is a great look, plus it keeps the small notebook feeling sturdy.
Nokia N900, now with more telephone
 We've been following the progresss of the Nokia Internet Tablet family closely for years, but this year we're finding the new developments even more exciting than ever. While Nokia's Symbian interface seems to languish and move slowly, things seem to be happening much more quickly with Maemo, the Linux-based operating system that runs the Nokia N900. In its current incarnation, Maemo is the best touch-friendly interface design that Nokia has.
We got our hands on the Nokia N900, and we liked the device very much, though it's a heavy, square brick of a smartphone, if you can call it that. We saw Nokia reps open multiple application as the phone switched seamlessly between them, leaving apps active and running in the background. We saw videos playing and even powerful, OpenGL gaming taking place while a half dozen or more other processes ran behind. The Nokia N900 seemed to provide a snappy experience all-around.
Nokia N97 Mini, Nokia X6, small and incognito
 While the Nokia Booklet 3G and Nokia N900 represent some of the larger, pricier devices Nokia was showing at the Fall CTIA 2009 show, the Nokia N97 Mini represents the phone maker taking a step back with a slightly smaller, slightly cheaper version of their flagship device. In person, the Nokia N97 Mini is almost uncanny in its resemblance to the larger phone. We didn't have the larger Nokia N97 nearby for comparison, and were unsure at first whether it was the Mini we were previewing, the resemblance is so close. For the record, there's a small print on the hinge of the phone, the same unique hinge design as on the larger Nokia N97, that identifies this as the Mini.
Hidden in a remote corner of the Nokia booth at the Fall CTIA 2009 show, we found the Nokia X6. The unit wouldn't power on, so we couldn't try out its capacitive touchscreen goodness, but we snapped some photos of it anyway.
Nokia 3711 and Nokia Mural, hanging with the carriers
 In addition to the bigger, smarter devices in their Fall lineup, Nokia was also showing off some stylish flip phones for the U.S. carriers. T-Mobile gets the super-simple Nokia 3711. The Nokia 3711 is a 3G Nokia Series 40 phone with a nice range of features thrown in for an inexpensive feature phone experience. There's a GPS sensor, which will work with Nokia Maps. The flip phone will also sport a 2-megapixel camera on the hood. The phone will also get the full complement of T-Mobile's web2go services, which includes simple Web browsing, e-mail and instant messaging.
 The Nokia Mural on AT&T is quite similar to the Nokia 3711 coming to T-Mobile. The Mural is a fancy looking flip phone, more stylish than the more staid 3711, with color accents that glow from beneath a mirrored finish. The effect is pretty striking in person, with a bold, bright light glowing from the phone. Otherwise, it's a mix of features, including a 2-megpixel camera that somehow nabbed itself an auto focus. Too bad AT&T couldn't have picked up a larger sensor for that auto focus lens. The Nokia Mural uses AT&T's 3G network for a similar combination of Web and messaging services. The Mural doesn't get GPS support, like the Nokia 3711, but it does get access to AT&T's push-to-talk network, which might strike a chord with the right niche audience.
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