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Nokia has unveiled a new tablet developed in partnership with Foxconn, making it a direct competitor to Microsoft, which bought Nokia’s former mobile devices business earlier this year.
Nokia is not making the Android device itself, but has licensed its brand, design and software to Taiwanese manufacture Foxconn, reports the BBC.
It will first go on sale in China in early 2015 for $249 excluding VAT before rolling out to other territories worldwide.
The iPad Mini-style 7.9-inch Android 5.0 Lollipop powered tablet includes a 2.4GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 processor, 32GB of storage, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It features an ‘Android Z Launcher’ that lets users swipe letters on the screen to find what they want, rather than having to type in a search bar.
The news comes just after Nokia revealed it plans to start licensing its brand, allowing third-party manufacturers to create products using its name.
Microsoft purchased Nokia’s Devices & Services business, the licence for its patents and the use of its mapping services in a £4.61 billion deal earlier this year.
Microsoft also recently began dropping the Nokia name from its devices, with the focus on ‘Lumia’ instead, for example the Lumia 2520 tablet.
"This is a great product for Nokia fans and everyone who has not found the right Android tablet yet," said Sebastian Nystrom, head of products at Nokia Technologies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwJmthxJV5Q
In other news, Opera Mobile Store will replace Nokia Store as the default app store for Nokia feature phones, Symbian and Nokia X smartphones, following an agreement between Opera Software and Microsoft.
