Nokia might not be able to work on mobiles until 2016, but it looks like this suspension does not include tablets, with the announcement of the N1 earlier today.
Announced at the Slush 2014 startup conference in Finland, Nokia surprised attendees with the reveal. The Nokia N1 will be the first tablet from Nokia running Android, and one of the first Android 5.0 Lollipop tablets coming to market.
In terms of design, the Nokia N1 is almost a clone of the iPad Mini. The aluminium body and rear-camera at the top-left are all trademarks of the iPad Mini. The Nokia N1 also has the same 7.9-inch size and 2048 x 1536 matching resolution.
Some differences come with the internals. The Nokia N1 packs a 2.4GHz Intel Atom processor, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and an 8MP camera. A 5300mAh battery will power the Nokia N1 and the tablet will feature WiFi and Bluetooth.
Nokia is bringing the Z Launcher to Android 5.0 with the Nokia N1. The new software skin offers apps on the lock-screen, based on usage. It can also offer relevant apps for the time-of-day and will recognise user’s app patterns.
Right now, the Nokia N1 will come to one market: China. It will compete with other low-cost tablets from Xiaomi, Lenovo, Samsung and of course, Apple’s iPad Mini. The Nokia N1 will cost $249 and looks to be an excellent purchase for the price.
It is questionable where Nokia found the engineering and design team to make the Nokia N1, considering its mobile division was sold to Microsoft for $7.2 billion last year. Nokia only works on HERE Maps, communications and networking now.
Nokia will push the N1 out to other markets next year – Europe will most likely be first, with Finland top of the list.
