Nokia Designs First Windows 8 Tablet

Classic, minimalist design is present in Finland's everyday life. Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) has honored this tradition by designing stylish mobile phones and smartphones. Now, in the midst of the tablet revolution, it is designing its own tablet.

Marko Ahtisaari, who was appointed executive vice president of design and a member of the Nokia Leadership Team on Feb. 1, said in an interview with the Finnish business magazine Kauppalehti Optio that he is spending one-third of his time developing a Windows 8 tablet.

Ahtisaari said he intends to get people to lift their heads from their devices. In other words, this tablet will be based on voice recognition. If Nokia made this feature highly efficient, it would be a key turning point in the competition with the iPad.

The Nokia tablet is expected to use Microsoft Windows 8 software. In November of last year, Digital Trends reported that Paul Amsellem, head of Nokia France, had told the newspaper Les Echos about the upcoming Nokia Windows 8 tablet. This means Nokia has been thinking about and planning this move for a while. It’s about time the company entered the tablet market.

Nokia could unveil this tablet in September at Nokia World 2012, which is being held for the first time in Nokia's homeland of Finland. That would make sense for several reasons. For example, Microsoft is going to announce its Windows 8 operating system in September or October, so announcing Nokia’s tablet almost simultaneously would be perfect timing. Hannu Rauhala, an analyst at Pohjola Bank who follows Nokia, says a 10-inch Windows 8 on ARM (WoA) tablet, equipped with Qualcomm processors, could be in the market in November.

The Windows 8 tablet market is going to be interesting to watch just before Christmas. Some vendors, such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, and Asustek Computer, are planning to launch Windows 8 tablets in October, according to Taiwanese supply chain vendors. Companies such as Samsung Electronics, Sony, and Toshiba are expected to launch WoA tablets in early 2013.

Helsinki is the World Design Capital 2012, and Nokia is one of the World Design Capital 2012 partners. I can’t think of a better place for its first tablet announcement. The tablet is expected to be competitive with the new iPad, adding a new dimension to the tablet wars. Nokia’s tablet could also place itself first among Windows 8 tablets.

In September, I will be reporting directly from Nokia World 2012 -- the first such event to be held in Finland.