Nokia may already putting the pieces together to create its first tablet device, which reports suggest will launch either late this year or early in 2013.
The reports come from DigiTimes, who apparently have word from suppliers and component manufacturers that Nokia wants certain parts to build a tablet that will utilise Microsoft’s Windows 8 platform.
Nokia’s first tablet will be a ten-incher running Windows 8 on a Dual-Core Qualcomm processor, so says DigiTimes. The publication believes that the processor in question will be Qualcomm’s new S4 chip that has been used in HTC’s latest flagship smartphone, the One X.
We’re also told that Nokia wants Taiwanese firm Compal Electronics to manufacture the tablets, with an initial order of 200,000. We’re not sure whether the company’s first tablet will fall into the Lumia range that is associated with its Windows Phone smartphones.
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has recently spoken of the opportunity to enter the tablet market, saying that a tablet would “be good” for the Finnish manufacturer. It’s taken Nokia a long time to enter the market, but the company hasn’t really had much choice in the way of an operating system – never using Android for any of its smartphones, and Symbian not being a viable option for tablet devices.
Windows 8 is due to launch later on this year, and has been designed with tablets in mind as much as laptop and desktop computers – perhaps even more so. Nokia may have done well in biding its time until now, and if it can pair the seemingly excellent tablet-based experience of Windows 8 with the brilliant design and hardware of its Lumia range, the company could truly be on to a winner.
Unfortunately DigiTimes hasn’t been the most accurate with its predictions recently, but with Nokia and Microsoft’s relationship going from strength to strength, and CEO Elop’s vocal ambitions to enter the market, we can definitely envision a Nokia tablet landing within the next year.
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Source: Digitimes