Nokia Windows 8 Tablet In Development: Report

Nokia has announced plans to release a Windows 8 tablet computer. No shipment date has yet been scheduled, but a key Nokia manager recently indicated a launch for the product could be on the horizon.

In a recent interview, Finland's Kauppalehti Optio magazine asked Nokia executive Marko Ahtisaari about his company's plans to launch a Windows 8-based tablet, and reports that he answered: "We are working on it." (Source: informationweek.com)

Ahtisaari even went so far as to admit that he is devoting approximately one-third of his own working time to overseeing the new tablet's development.

That would indicate Nokia is putting a great many resources into a device that will inevitably compete with popular products from Apple and Dell.

Nokia Brings More Mobile Know-How to Tablet Market

The difference between a Nokia tablet and competing devices from other leading companies is that Nokia has far more experience with, and understanding of, mobile technology.

The Finland-based company has been successfully building popular, powerful phones for many more years than Dell and Apple.

Experts familiar with the smartphone market remember that, prior to Apple's release of its game-changing iPhone back in 2007, Nokia was -- for a considerable length of time -- the undisputed leader in the smartphone market.

Software problems contributed to Nokia's ability to maintain that position, however.

More recently, Google's Android and Apple's iOS have dominated the smartphone market. Nokia's rival Symbian software for smartphones has, in contrast, been largely dismissed by consumers and critics alike.

Microsoft, Nokia Form Heavyweight Team

Plans for a Nokia / Windows smartphone combination aren't the first time Nokia and Microsoft have tried working together.

The two companies have been cooperating to improve the Windows Phone platform, which has struggled since it first emerged in the competitive smartphone market, last year.

Although Ahtisaari didn't confirm it, industry insiders believe a Nokia Windows 8 tablet computer will run on the ARM processor rather than an Intel chip.

Analysts also expect the Nokia device to boast a 10-inch display screen, placing it in direct competition with Apple's iPad.

While a release date remains anyone's guess, reliable sources indicate the new Nokia tablet computer is likely to begin shipping by the fourth quarter, 2012, at the very latest. (Source: zdnet.com)