SourceCode: Nokia's re-entry into tablet space brings more questions than answers

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Juat a week after lamenting the fact that the Nokia name would no longer be used by Microsoft for its Lumia line of Windows Phone smartphones, we awoke to the news that Nokia is back but this time as a maker of a premium iPad mini-type Android tablet. What now?

The device that ressurects the Nokia brand is called the N1, the return to the N designation and the number one singnifies a new beginning of sorts, a post acquisition renaissance that tells us to expect more.

Nokia says the N1 will be brought to market in Q1 2015 through a brand-licensing agreement with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner responsible for manufacturing, distribution and sales. It is coming initially to China. It seems Foxconn is the partner that's making the N1 and will distribute and sell the device. Foxconn is one of Apple's manufacturing partners.

"We are pleased to bring the Nokia brand back into consumers' hands with the N1 Android tablet, and to help make sophisticated technologies simple," said Sebastian Nyström, Head of Products at Nokia Technologies, who announced the N1 at the Slush technology conference in Helsinki. "The N1 has a delightfully intuitive interface and an industrial design to match it. This is a great product for Nokia fans and everyone who has not found the right Android tablet yet."

It's good to see Nokia with its innovation and industrial design in full display here. The N1 looks like a stunning tablet, certainly one worth considering for users who aren't too concerned about needing a Pure Android device.

The tablet industry, specailly for Androids, however, isn't exactly thriving. When even market leader Apple is feeling some bit of slippage in sales (mainly because many markets are saturated, and because the truth is users don't feel as compelled to replace tablets as often as they do phones), it's going to be a tough grind for a new entrant.

I get that Nokia can't make phones, at least not for a while due to agreements with Microsoft, so tablets are the next best bet. Moreover, it doesn't look as if the N1 will have an LTE version, so has the agreement with Microsoft dictated Nokia can't make anything with a cellular radio? I wonder. 

Why Android and not Windows? I have little doubt that the quad-core Intel Atom processor an slice and dice through Windows 8.1 (or Windows 10), lesser processors have done okay with it.

I think this choice isn't to spite Microsoft (ok, maybe a little bit), but more likely because Android is freely accessible and already has a huge lead in the market. Nokia wants to attract new users, not Windows users. So Android is really the only game in town.

The N1, which goes for sale in early 2015 for US $ 250, features some high-end specs. I can already tell this is going to look and feel better than the Nexus 9, at least the build quality will be consistent and feel premium.

Specs-wise we get an Intel 64-bit Atom Processor Z3580, 2.3 GHz, 2GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, Lollipop running over the Nokia Z Launcher and a 7.9 inch (4:3), 2048x1536  pixel resolution swathed in Gorilla glass 3 in a zero-gap laminated display. All this is held together by a unibody satin finished aluminum enclosure. Sounds like a great deal for $250 and something I would definitely jump on if I was in the market for a premium Android tablet.

This surprise move from Nokia simply reminds me how this company never cut corners and even this effort to resuscitate the brand is a full-on hardware and software effort.

Many have simplified the N1's announcement as Nokia 'making an iPad mini with Android' and while that is pretty accurate, the message is the company believes it can compete by making hardware that's just as attractive as the current market leader while creating an Android tablet that differentiates itself from the competition. Welcome back Nokia.