Nokia has plans for a Windows 8 tablet sometime in the future, details still scarce
Since their alliance with Microsoft and the subsequent release of the Lumia 900, Nokia has been the go to manufacturer for new Windows Phone devices. With the release of Windows 8 Apollo coming this fall with tablet support, rumors naturally started circulating claiming that Nokia would be producing another flagship Windows product, but this time it would be a Windows 8 Tablet.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Nokia Chairman Jorma Ollia revealed that the company is in fact working on tablets like this, saying this.
"Tablets are an important [step], so that is being looked into, and there will be different hybrids, different form factors in the future…[but] We haven't announced anything specifically about tablets. I say that over and over again."
As Ollia made clear in the quote, this is far from an official announcement, and nothing has yet been finalized. However, he also went on to talk about how interested Nokia is in the new Metro interface from Windows 8, suggesting heavily that Windows 8 would be the OS of choice for their tablets.
The quote also mentions different "hybrids" and "form factors" which could suggest plans for anything from a laptop docking tablet like the Asus Transformer to a mid-sized phone/tablet like the Dell Streak or Galaxy Note. This is obviously reading into the quote a bit, but I just realized what a good idea a Transformer like device would be with Windows 8. If the Transformer paired with Android makes what is practically a netbook, then Nokia's awesome hardware, running Windows 8 on a nice tablet, that can also dock into a keyboard, would almost have to be called a full on convertible laptop.
It will be interesting to see what kind of devices come out of the Nokia/Microsoft partnership, especially when Windows 8 is released, but we will probably have to wait until October before we find anything out.
[The Inquirer]
