WATCH: Nokia is working hard to re-establish its reputation as a device maker. It has released its first device since selling its handset unit to Microsoft last year.
TORONTO – Nokia is not going down without a fight.
The Finish tech company has unveiled its first device after selling its ailing handset unit to Microsoft – a tablet running Android’s newest mobile operating system Lollipop.
Dubbed the N1, the 7.9-inch tablet has an aluminum body, Gorilla Glass display, an 8 megapixel rear camera and Micro-USB 2.0 connection. At 6.9 mm “thin,” the Android tablet is even thinner than the iPad Mini, which measures 7.2 mm.
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Nokia teased the launch of the device Monday with a tweet that read, “We’re up to something.”
The N1 tablet marks an important milestone for Nokia, which hopes to re-establish itself as a device maker following struggles with its handset unit over the last few years.
In September 2013, Microsoft bought Nokia’s smartphone line-up and its portfolio of patents and services for US$7.2 billion. Nokia’s earnings have improved since the sale.
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Just last week Microsoft released the first new Lumia smartphone model under its own name, dropping ‘Nokia’ from the title.
But Nokia is fighting back with the launch of the N1 – Nokia’s head of devices Sebastian Nyström hinting that the company will soon release more devices during Tuesday’s launch event in Helsinki.
“They said Nokia is dead,” said Nyström during the event. “I say, they couldn’t be more wrong.”
iPad similarities
Nokia is already coming under fire for the design of the tablet – some saying it looks like an iPad Mini copycat.
Both devices offer many of the same tech specs – both feature 7.9-inch screens and even have the same 2048 x 1539 screen resolution – and have very similar aluminum bodies.
“Nokia’s N1 is almost identical to the rear of the iPad Mini thanks to careful placement of the camera, buttons, and headphone jack. Even the bottom of the device has the same speaker grills and what looks like a Lightning port, but is actually one of the first implementations of the reversible type-C USB connector,” reads an article by The Verge published Tuesday.
“The only things missing here to complete the iPad Mini look are a home button, chamfered edges, and an Apple logo.”
Some have even drawn comparisons between Nokia and Apple’s websites, pointing out that the N1 webpage looks similar to Apple’s product pages.
Twitter users were also quick to point out the similarities, though some added they liked the look of the Nokia tablet.
While Nokia’s N1 will undoubtedly compete against the iPad Mini in the tablet market, the device is not yet coming to North American stores. The N1 will first be available in China in the first quarter of 2015 with an approximate price tag of US$250, before being introduced to other markets.
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