Nokia Reportedly Working on Windows 8 Tablet
Device Rumored for June 2012 Release
Nokia is rumored to be working on a Windows 8 tablet for release next summer. The rumor started when Nokia France head Paul Amsellem told French newspaper Les Echos "In June 2012, we will have a tablet running Windows 8."
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear Nokia is yet ready to own up to such a rumor. A company spokesperson came out soon after in an attempt to squash (or at least quiet) speculation by saying "We have not announced any specific plans as it relates to tablets."
So, is Nokia working on a Windows 8 tablet or not? Previous evidence would suggest Amsellem was telling the truth. Last month, Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop strongly hinted that the company was charting new waters for itself. Given that Nokia has released very few devices beyond smartphones and that tablets are all the rage right now, many experts simply assumed this meant the firm was developing a slate computer.
Here's what Elop had to say: "From an ecosystem perspective, there are benefits and synergies that exist between Windows and Windows Phone...We see that opportunity. We'll certainly consider those opportunities going forward."
On the surface, Nokia's CEO doesn't appear to say anything particularly dramatic. But by drawing links between Windows Phone (which Nokia is familiar with, as a smartphone company) and Windows, he appears to be suggesting that making the transition from one platform to the other isn't all that difficult.
Elop took this a step further in an interview with the Financial Times some time later, when he pointed to parallels between the Windows Phone platform running on Nokia's Lumia devices and the upcoming Windows 8.
Despite Nokia's confidence that making the jump from smartphones to tablets (or notebook and desktop computers, for that matter) would be easy, critics aren't so sure. Many wonder if Nokia, which has released very few computers of any kind in the past, will be able to compete with tablet heavyweights like Apple and its iPad.
"Nokia has services it could bring to a Windows tablet, of course. But the synergies aren't always easy: Programs written for one operating system don't run on the other, so spanning the two devices means a lot of work for app developers," said CNET blogger Stephen Shankland.
Comments (0)