Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) has unveiled its first ever Android tablet: N1. The Finnish networking giant teased its new device on social media yesterday. Nokia unveiled N1 running the latest Android 5.0 Lollipop at the Slush 2014 conference in Finland on Tuesday. Most importantly, the tablet has striking similarities with Apple’s iPad Mini.
Nokia will license N1 to OEM partners
The Rajeev Suri-led company will be selling it as a reference design to OEM vendors. The company said OEM partners can also use the brand by paying royalties. The N1 tablet features 7.9-inch IPS display with 2048x1536p resolution and LED backlight. Designed by the Technologies unit of Nokia, the device’s fully-laminated display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.
With just 6.9mm thickness, N1 is even slimmer than the 7.5mm iPad Mini. It has a unibody anodized aluminum chassis. Nokia’s tablet is powered by 2GB RAM and 64-bit 2.3GHz Intel Z3580 Atom processor. It has built-in storage of 32GB plus a microSD slot. Though it runs the Android Lollipop, the OS is slightly tweaked to have the Nokia Z launcher running on top.
The tablet sports 8-megapixel main camera, 5-megapixel front-facing snapper. Nokia promises 9 hours of usage with its 5,300mAh battery. The tablet offers WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity. It comes with Micro-USB 2.0 Type-C reversible connector and 3.5mm headset jack. The tablet weighs 318g and will be available in lava gray and natural aluminum colors.
N1 to hit the Chinese stores in Q1, 2015
Nokia said the tablet will be available in China in early 2015 with a price tag of $249. The device will be sold in other markets later next year. Notably, the Finnish company has sold its handset business to Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT). Terms of the deal prohibited the company from using Nokia brand names for smartphones at least until 2016. Looks like tablets were not covered in the agreement.
Nokia shares jumped following the announcement. The stock was up 2.61% to $7.87 in pre-market trading Tuesday.