The Nokia E75 may well have been causing a stir over the last couple of days but surely this isn’t the only device Nokia has up its sleeve for the Mobile World Congress starting in just a few weeks?

The latest research figures suggest that the smart area of growth over the next few years is going to be netbooks, especially 3G connected netbooks, so are we about to see a Nokia Netbook?

What’s more, it was revealed last week that the Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX edition had been retired out of service, less than a year after it’s introduction. This would suggest that the path is clear for something a little more mainstream, and what could be more mainstream than a netbook right now?

Research firm ABI Research forecasts worldwide shipments of nearly 35 million this year alone, which could rise to an estimated 139 million by 2013. In these cash strapped times this is one market that doesn’t seem to be losing ground, so Nokia exploring new revenue options makes it a safe bet for a device.

The report goes on to suggest that ‘social and technological factors have created a kind of perfect storm’ for netbooks to flourish in. This all began with the mass adoption of smartphones, of which Nokia is the driving force, putting all other handset manufacturers into the shade.

The report suggests the smartphone is only the launch platform for fully connected devices. ABI Research director Kevin Burden suggested these figures represented a watershed, stating, ‘When PDA functionality converged with cellular voice, smartphones became the new darling of mobile professional technology that many expected to evolve into the hub for all data and communication needs for travelling professionals. Today, with a better understanding for what a smartphone is, the market remains open for new device types.’

If smartphones are the dominant force of the moment, isn’t the Nokia N97 the closest we have to a fully-fledged Nokia netbook? After all, who is to say that a netbook needs to follow suit with Asus or Samsung? The 3.5-inch screen on the Nokia N97 make perfect use of the S60 platform and being touchscreen it’s already taking advantage of what will be the netbooks next-gen evolution.

What’s more, the N97 is bigger than rival smartphones and if it actually ships with a quad-core processor, as some rumours have already hinted at, it could well be as close to a netbook as Nokia needs to go.

We know it has the hardware and the desire to produce something a little bigger and more like a standard laptop but with all the Nokia goodness and ease of use we’ve come to expect. So why not a netbook, a Nokia Netbook?

The question we’re asking is, should there be a Nokia Netbook? Would you buy one and if so what would you like to see from it – do we want HD screen, scalable UI, or just a damn fast internet connection? Let us know in the Comments below.

ABI Research