Since I tend to blog most often using my own netbook computer, I took notice of this article today on MobileMarketer.com about Nokia’s launch of a 3G-enabled netbook (“Is Nokia Booklet 3G the future of mobile marketing?”).
The portability of netbooks combined with a PC operating system and applications, plus almost ubiquitous wifi access makes my mini-laptop a “must have” wherever I go. Yet, the abilty to use it as my phone and be able to connect to the web wirelessly no matter where I am makes Nokia’s proposition no doubt attractive. Ok, maybe not to use as my phone, but if you can imagine an earpiece device used in tandem with a 3G netbook, the phone scenario is plausible if not a killer application.
While not as fashionable a device as an iPhone or other smart phone, nor as portable, the low cost and increasing utility of netbooks may present a challenge to mobile marketers fixated on form factor. As I read the Nokia article, I was reminded of this recent blog post in which I posit that “the medium becomes the message” in effective mobile communications, when you boil it down:
“The way a customer perceives the delivery of a message via mobile medium, as well as the contents of the message itself, work in concert to achieve a desired outcome. For this reason, I think it’s key for marketers to remember that when considering mobile as a marketing channel they also plan the message accordingly, for both its content and form.”
In the end it doesn’t matter if someone has an iPhone or wireless-enabled netbook. What does matter, is the relevancy of a marketing message, so that consumers are exposed to the right information given their circumstances at any given time (on the go, sitting in coffee shop, driving their car or at work). What real impact netbooks have on the mobile marketing landscape remains to be seen but marketers can prepare themselves by focusing on the mobile customer experience more so than a particular device or message format.
