A big name in mobile phones is getting ready to marry 3G technology with a netbook-size computer.

Nokia said today its new Booklet 3G will offer up to 12 hours (!) of battery life while providing a high-speed connection to the Internet (with an appropriate subscription to a cell phone provider, of course).

Nokia calls this a “natural evolution” of its core business. The company has made a stab at computer-related products before, most notably with its N800 series tablet-style computer. It never really caught on — perhaps because it it didn’t use the industry-standard Windows operating system.

The Nokia Booklet 3G will have Windows, along with a 10-inch screen, a full keyboard and the Intel Atom processor chip — just like all the other red-hot netbook models out there from the more familiar names in PCs like Dell, HP and Acer.

Nokia apparently hopes to set itself apart from the pack with its mobile technology know-how, not-to-be-believed battery life and a sleek aluminum chassis cradling the Booklet in a package said to be under three pounds.

Nokia isn’t yet saying how much the Booklet will cost; I imagine it will command a premium over competing netbooks, but because of the 3G connection, it’s likely that cellular carriers will offer it at a subsidized price with a two-year commitment — in the same way that you get a “discount” on a cell phone.

Once a dominant name in cell phones, Nokia has seen its U.S. market share for mobile handsets fall below 10 percent while companies like Apple, Samsung and LG now dominate. The Booklet could help the Finnish phone giant get back in the game.

More information is promised at Nokia World 09 in Stuttgart, Germany next week.

I’m interested.

E-mail askwalt@wfaa.com