From the words of an “analyst”, so I won’t hold my breath. Nokia is said to be readying its own take on the now-credible Internet tablet, post Apple’s iPad.
TheStreet.com reports: “Nokia is working with suppliers and design manufacturers on a touch-screen tablet to have available as early as this fall, according to Rodman Renshaw analyst Ashok Kumar, who is close to Nokia’s technology partners. Nokia declined to comment.”
My take
With Internet tablets likely to soon become part of the carrier subsidy merry-go-round, Nokia will be forced to jump on the latest bandwagon – although it already has form in this space – so it would make sense if the handset maker is already putting into action plans to challenge Apple’s iPad. It’s not like we didn’t already know that 2010 is going to be the year of the tablet, just like 08/09 was for the Netbook – and Nokia was far too late to that particular party.
This time round, however, the Finnish company has the tech and know-how to compete at a higher level and more quickly. It has both Intel and Microsoft as partners, the former of which is in part based on the MeeGo OS, which seems a perfect fit for a tablet computer. That said, if Netbooks are anything to go by, the marketplace may choose a tablet-friendly version of Windows 7 over any of the Linux derivatives (Android, included) — if so then MeeGo’s destiny could still remain limited to Nokia’s high end smartphones.
See also: Linux on a Netbook? Intel thinks its all about the User Interface
Specs-wise, Nokia should aim for a 7-10 inch capacitive touch screen, built-in 3G/WiFi and borrow from the design cues of its pricey Booklet 3G mini-laptop. It also needs to be completely, butterly smooth and finger-friendly on the UI-side unlike the company’s previous tablet efforts. Just sayin’
