Nokia unveils its first Android tablet dubbed as the Nokia N1. The design is patterned after Apple's iPad Mini and has the same screen size of 7.9 inches with the same resolution of 2048 by 1536. The tablet is scheduled to launch first in China.
The new N1 tablet from Nokia runs Android 5.0 Lollipop. It's touted with the Nokia Z Launcher which works by giving the user a list of apps and contacts that adjusts according to the user's location or what he's doing. It also allows the user to scribble out a letter right in the middle of the homescreen when looking for anything installed on the device or doing a Google search based on suggestions.
"We started looking around, we just didn't find any good Android tablets out there," says Brook Eaton, Nokia Z Launcher director. "We have such a beautiful, simple, and elegant Z Launcher. Why not build a device that is also built on the same principles as being super simple and easy to use and elegant?"
Specs of the upcoming N1 tablet include a quad-core Intel Atom Z3580 CPU of 2.4GHz, RAM of 2GB, internal memory of 32 GB, rear camera of 8 MP, front camera of 5 MP, stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac with MIMO and battery of 5,300 mAh which promises up to 9 hours of usage time for a single charge.
On the physical side, the housing of Nokia's N1 tablet is made of machined and anodized aluminum. It measures 6.9mm which makes it thinner than the iPad Mini 3 that measures 7.5mm thick.
The N1 tablet is the first among any other device that features a reversible USB Type-C connector. Considered as the next generation of USB cables, the specification of this type of slimmer and more versatile cable was defined in August. It is said that the new tablet of Nokia will support the older and slower standard version of USB 2.0 as opposed to the latest USB 3.1.
The N1 is a total departure from whatever devices that Nokia has released in the past. Since it runs on Android 5.0 Lollipop, it's a good indication that Nokia is veering away from Windows Phone.
Nokia is launching its N1 tablet in China just in time for the Chinese New Year celebration in February. It will then roll out the device to consumers in Russia and other European markets. There's no word yet on whether the company will have a U.S. launch or not.
