The former handset maker has now unveiled a new product that will run on Google’s mobile software.
Nokia has announced its official return to tablet commerce with the unveiling of a mobile device that will be running on the Android operating system, and will mark a return of the former smartphone manufacturer into the world of hardware.
This unveiling of the Nokia tablet came only a few short months after Microsoft purchased its handset business.
This new addition to the tablet commerce marketplace will be called the N1 and will be using Nokia’s own software on top of Android. This, according to the Nokia head of products, Sebastian Nystrom, who spoke in Helsinki at the Slush technology conference. The device will sell for $249 and will be both made and sold by the Foxconn Technology Group. The first release of the tablet will be in China, during the first quarter of next year, but Nokia expects that the N1 will become available in other markets not long afterward.
This entry into tablet commerce is just the latest in a number of sharp turns the company has taken.
Nokia has been around for 149 years and has managed to keep itself alive through its willingness to transform itself while hopping from one industry to the next, as necessary. Rajeev Suri has been its CEO since May and was behind the sale of the company’s mobile phone unit – which was bleeding money – to Microsoft, for around $7.5 billion. Suri is now stepping out from the wireless network equipment field, which currently makes up about 90 percent of the sales of this Finland based company.
Nystrom explained that “We wanted to start with something small that caters to our fans,” adding that “There is room for better products out there.”
In response to this announcement, the shares at Nokia rose immediately by 1.5 percent to reach 6.31 euros. The stock rose by 7.7 percent this year, already, giving a market value to the company of 23.6 billion euros ($30 billion). It will be interesting to watch the interest generated in the new tablet commerce offerings at Nokia once the product is available for purchase.
The massive UK supermarket chain has released its second generation hudl tablet.
The hudl2 is larger than its predecessor and is also a faster device with a better design that is equipped with enhanced parental controls, and Tesco hopes that its latest Android tablet will have more success than the first Hudl, which was released in September of last year at a selling price of £119 (about US$190) and sold 750,000 units in one year.
The initial hudl device was well liked for being a low cost tablet that got the basics right.
The group digital officer at Tesco, Michael Comish, commented that “Cutting-edge technology doesn’t have to come with a big price tag.” Comish added that “hudl2 may be affordable, but we’ve cut no corners when it comes to performance – this is our best tablet offering yet.”
The hudl2 is slim, 8.3 inches, and is powered by a 1.83 quad core Intel GHz processor. This makes it three times faster than the previous version. It also comes with Android KitKat 4.4.2, a 1.2 megapixel (MP) front facing camera and a 5MP rear facing camera, dual band wi-fi, 16 gigabytes (GB) storage with opportunity to expand to 48 GB, and 8 hour battery life.
The tablet has been optimized for entertainment and is equipped with a parental filter that includes “The Parent Zone”, which can be customized for as many as seven users. Parents are given the power to customize each profile to match their child’s age to help filter out content that may be inappropriate. Parents can also set a time limit for children playing with the mobile device.
The new Android tablet has been improved in every way possible.
According to Comish, Tesco has “improved on the tablet in every conceivable way.” He added that “We delivered a product people wanted, at a price they could afford.”
The retail price for the new hudl2 Android tablet from Tesco will be £129 (roughly US$205). However, it will also be available on Clubcard Boost, part of Tesco’s loyalty program, which means that the device could cost as low as £65 (just over US$103). The tablet will be available in eight different colors and will go on sale starting October 9.
