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Nokia Hints At Windows 8 Tablets

Posted by samzenpus on from the it's-coming-up-tablets dept.

MrSeb writes "When the Microsoft-Nokia strategic alliance was first announced in February, there was absolutely no mention of money: Nokia, seemingly on its own accord, had decided that Windows Phone 7 was the future of its smartphone efforts. A week later it emerged that Microsoft and Google had been competing for Nokia's affections — a bidding war that concluded with Microsoft agreeing to pay Nokia billions of dollars to help market and develop Windows phones. Fast forward to today and Nokia's CEO, Stephen Elop, is making rather odd comments about the tablet market: 'There’s a new tablet opportunity coming. We see the opportunity,' Elop said to Bloomberg Businessweek yesterday. Furthermore, he had only positive things to say about Windows 8 — that it's a "supercharged" version of WP7, but for tablets. Does that sound like Nokia is planning to bring out a Windows 8-powered tablet? Is it possible that Microsoft's multi-billion-dollar agreement with Nokia also included Windows 8?"

82 comments

  1. Nokia, Microsoft, Google by SharkLaser · · Score: 1

    A week later it emerged that Microsoft and Google had been competing for Nokia's affections — a bidding war that concluded with Microsoft agreeing to pay Nokia billions of dollars to help market and develop Windows phones.

    This actually gives an interesting new perspective to the whole Google-Motorola thing. So Google wanted Nokia, but was forced to settle for a crappier competitor because Microsoft offered more for Nokia. This means Motorola will always be the "damn I really wanted her instead.. why I had to settle for this bitch?" for Google, while Microsoft got the dream girl.

    1. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      except that nokia is going down the toilet.

    2. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by SharkLaser · · Score: 2

      Yeah, except that they just released an awesome N9 phone (based on Linux too), and WP7 phones are starting to roll out. Later they're thinking of using Linux on their low-end phones. It takes time to change your line-up as much as Nokia did, but they're going to be a serious competitor now. Microsoft actually saved them. They would have gone down the toilet if they had continued with the Symbian stuff and not getting anything new done.

    3. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hahaha seriously ?
      you really think micro$hit is going to "save" anybody ?
      windows is a bloated pile of crap which has long since lost out to android and ios. the only thing micro$oft is saving is nokia stock as toilet paper.
       

    4. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      except that nokia is going down the toilet.

      Crap. That always happens when [big corporate] meets [creativity]

    5. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Either that, or Google wanted Motorola all along.

      Perhaps Google tricked Microsoft in to committing lots of money and effort to Nokia, tying up two competitors in an unwieldy collaboration that is likely to harm windows phone 7 as a whole and will probably kill Nokia all together.

      Seriously. A substandard me-too effort from Microsoft running on hardware from a directionless phone maker that's utterly missed the smartphone market to begin with.

      - And to all of you about to say that Nokia is a big player in non-smartphone market: Do you really think they can compete in a commodity market with the Chinese? Yeah, didn't think so.

    6. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps Google tricked Microsoft in to committing lots of money and effort to Nokia, tying up two competitors in an unwieldy collaboration that is likely to harm windows phone 7 as a whole and will probably kill Nokia all together.

      Looks like you're finding a way to rationalize Google's potential mistake based on nothing but your imagination.

    7. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      Yeah, except that they just released an awesome N9 phone (based on Linux too), and WP7 phones are starting to roll out. Later they're thinking of using Linux on their low-end phones. It takes time to change your line-up as much as Nokia did, but they're going to be a serious competitor now. Microsoft actually saved them. They would have gone down the toilet if they had continued with the Symbian stuff and not getting anything new done.

      I expect Microsoft to flext their muscle and Nokia to quietly retire Linux anything quietly.

      Windows phone may be late to the ball and look more like a frog than a princess, but that won't stop them trying to push it as one, until it goes the way of the Zune and Nokia is left in tatters.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    8. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and where did you get the idea it was a mistake ? nokia has been rudderless for a while and their market share is imploding.

    9. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by richlv · · Score: 1

      shit. you said "n9".

      hi there, nokia shareholders, pr personnel and others. please, tell elop to gallop the fuck off nokia. n9 is the thing that should not be killed by incredibly reluctant willingness to even sell it, not to mention furthering development.

      --
      Rich
    10. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe had it been someone else, but Motorola? Thats a doomed brand in most of the world already. Nokia is a recognized, and in some areas even a desired brand. A good hardware+software package and sales should be easy to come by. Top end market? Maybe not, but certainly in the midrange.

    11. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      and where did you get the idea it was a mistake ? nokia has been rudderless for a while and their market share is imploding.

      Replace "Nokia" with "Windows Mobile" and the statement is equally true.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    12. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by mgblst · · Score: 1

      It is unlikely Google were going to buy Nokia, but they wanted Nokia to start producing Android phones, rather than Windows phones. They would have paid for this as well.

      This is old news.

    13. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Luckyo · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's already dead. The division responsible for N9 has been for all bits and purposes disbanded.

    14. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      WP7 phones are starting to roll out.

      Have you actually USED a W7Phone?

      It's not that they're bad, just that they're dull and uninteresting. So much so that the MS evangelists are having to invent the fiction that Android is "too complicated" (count the number of times you see that phrase in the next few months...).

      Just don't tell the millions of decidedly non-tech savvy people who're already happily using their Androids phones.

    15. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by 0ld_d0g · · Score: 1

      If you design a new UI that's simpler (according to them) then by definition other smartphone UIs could be termed as "complicated" in their marketing materials.

      I like the WP7 UI but the lack of apps makes the platform a non-starter with me. Android while nice, I fear that I would be left out of eventual OS upgrades depending on the whim of the handset maker. iOS is nice but now that they have made it almost impossible to downgrade the OS Apple will push updates to the OS that make it run like shit on earlier gen hardware and eventually making me buy a new iphone. None of the platforms have what I want. :(

    16. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by mwvdlee · · Score: 1

      I know using ALL CAPS is like shouting, so is the inappropriate lack of caps like whispering?

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    17. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by Xest · · Score: 1

      Not really, because Motorola has been succesful in the modern smartphone era, whilst Nokia has been nothing other than an epic fail.

      Google didn't stand a chance anyway, with Elop at the helm Nokia effectively was taken over by Microsoft. That may not be the legal status but make no mistake, it was a coup by Microsoft, they ousted both the anti-Microsoft leadership and developers at Nokia.

      I wouldn't be suprised, should Nokia start to have a succesful Windows 8 business down the line to see Microsoft take over Nokia properly. I suspect they got Elop in there to see if it would work - if it doesn't, fine, I'm sure Elop will have a job waiting for him back at MS again, if it does, great, MS takes over Nokia properly, and Elop becomes head of Microsoft's mobile devices division.

      I was going to say 5 years ago Motorola may have been the consolation prize, but as Razr is still to this day the most succesful high end phone relative to it's era in terms of sales it's hard to see that's the case too. Nokia's strength is in selling masses of low margin dump phones to Africa and Asia, and I'm not sure that's a sector Google would want, because said phones can't run Android, don't tend to have internet connectivity and so wont display ads. Motorola is definitely the smarter choice of the two for Google. Convincing Nokia to follow an Android route would've been a boon for sure, but was never likely with Microsoft's coup of the company.

      Still, the predictions are Windows Phone is going to come 2nd place behind Android and push Apple back to 3rd within a few years anyway so it's really Apple that needs to be concerned, not Google if these predictions come true, but IMO they all depend on whether Apple gets back to innovating, or sticks to it's recent plan of minor largely irrelevant updates. It seems to have lost it's way somewhat since Jobs stepped down from being full time CEO in Feb, whether that's a coincidence, or whether it's because Cook really is just a shit CEO leading to a Ballmerisation of Apple (10 years of stagnation) remains to be seen I guess.

    18. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by dreemernj · · Score: 2

      They saved Apple...

      --
      1 (short ton / firkin) = 89.1432354 slugs / keg
    19. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by terjeber · · Score: 1

      Just curious, which apps are you missing?

    20. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by 0ld_d0g · · Score: 1

      Skype, Google Voice, Remote File Viewer/Player (to play media from SMB shares), di.fm radio, soundcloud are some of the apps that are important for me.

    21. Re:Nokia, Microsoft, Google by terjeber · · Score: 1

      OK. Working on it :-)

  2. Goodbye Meego by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    As an owner of an N900 - the single most open phone one can get - It saddens me to witness the death throes of something that had the potential to be really liberating. My N900 is a joy to use, and the N9 looks like it is too.

    Here's to countless years of IOS, Android and Windows drudgery. I'll just open the fully functional terminal app on my N900, play with apt and think about what could've been.

    1. Re:Goodbye Meego by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      Or get a new device and install the OS you want on it. If Meamo is that good someone will surely port it to new devices. The N9 would have been something, if it was released 6-12 months ago. Instead I will get a galaxy nexus and install Debian in a chroot.

    2. Re:Goodbye Meego by RocketRabbit · · Score: 2

      Maemo is dead because it has no point. It was designed to be a broad stroke at making a base layer (like Apple's Darwin) that had some compatibility, with the idea that vendors would cook up their own UI and branding on the OS.

      My buddy has worked on Maemo and Moblin and Meego for the past couple of years, and while he liked it he could never answer my question - "Why choose Maemo when I can just use Debian or Ubuntu or Ret Hat instead? After all *THEY ARE ALREADY HERE!!!!*"

      The M trio are all now dead systems because the only people working on them were corporate partners. There was absolutely no open source ecosystem to support the efforts commercially, and Android is good enough for most companies because it's here and it works already.

      Initially the M trio was to work only on Intel, as Intel was the actual initiator of the effort. Once that exclusivity was gone, they got quite a bit cooler on the M OS's and pretty much every major partner dropped out one after another.

    3. Re:Goodbye Meego by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      N900 looked really good a couple years ago but is really outdated now.. 600mhz cpu?? And the N9, well it's an epic failure because it lacks a keyboard. The keyboard version is for developers only, lolwut?! And neither of these phones are offered by any carrier in the USA, afaik. If you want ANY significant following in the US, the phone MUST be sold and subsidized by one or more of the carriers here.. That's just the way it is. GSM and SIM cards are a really fucking nice idea, but none of our mobile networks are compatible with each other, unfortunately.

      Wish Maemo/Meego could have been more successful, but it's a total failure. Thanks but no thanks, I'll stick with Android.

  3. Is it possible that Microsoft bought Nokia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    without actually doing it?

    1. Re:Is it possible that Microsoft bought Nokia by SharkLaser · · Score: 1

      Well, Nokia is still developing low-end Linux phones. And they say Linux is great for low-end phones.

  4. They've done something like this before... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It was called the Nokia Booklet 3G. It was a rather nice netbook. I'm confident Nokia will make a nice tablet, as well.

  5. And... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nobody gave a flying f***....

  6. They had it right the first time. by sethstorm · · Score: 2

    Nokia hasn't been a stranger to tablets before with Maemo and the N770/N800/N810 (and the N900 phone). Throwing that out was not exactly a good idea.

    That said, will they find something equally as bad as calling their WP7 phones the Prostitute series?

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
    1. Re:They had it right the first time. by kanto · · Score: 1

      I've actually asked the spanish people I know and none of them knew the meaning in the "prostitute" context; apparently that usage, like the joke, is getting old,

    2. Re:They had it right the first time. by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      In Spanish the slang (and 'bad' words) are highly regional, much like 'bloody' is bad in England but means nothing in American. Except there are more countries with Spanish as their native language, so there are more differences.

      In the case of Lumia, in some places (Galicia) it refers to a mythological creature. In other places it means a lively girl, and is considered a compliment. In other places, of course, it is a whore. RAE lists it as a whore, but also suggests it is used infrequently.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    3. Re:They had it right the first time. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am a native Spanish speaker and I have asked quite a few other native speakers from a few other countries. The closest thing I have heard about is "lumi" and it is mostly used in central Spain. "Lumia" means absolutely nothing in Spanish for every single one I have asked. On the other hand, every single Finnish person I have asked (I live in Finland) has no proble in matching "lumia" with "snow" in Finnish. If you want to laugh at Nokia, find a real joke.

  7. Atom or ARM? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Neither article mentioned anything about whether Nokia's hinted Windows 8 tablets would end up using an x86 CPU such as Intel's Atom or an ARM CPU. Atom tablets can fall back to the classic Win32 desktop, such as when docked to a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. ARM tablets cannot because all they have is the WinRT with the Metro front-end and Windows Store lockdown.

    1. Re:Atom or ARM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think this is crucial. If the Atom processor based on x86 can come close to ARM in terms of battery life then Windows has chance to gain good market share due to the windows fall back. They can create a hybrid laptop/tablet (i.e. Asus Transformer) and essentially merge the tablet market with netbook/laptop.

    2. Re:Atom or ARM? by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      I would expect that consumer tablets would mainly be ARM, while "enterprise" ones would be x86. The only maker of a non-Windows "enterprise" tablet today is Lenovo, with its Honeycomb Thinkpad Tablet - which is a pretty impressive piece of hardware in its own right. So, if anything, I would expect them to be the first on x86 Win8 tablet bandwagon.

    3. Re:Atom or ARM? by the+linux+geek · · Score: 1

      I'd like to see some citation for those statements about ARM not having the desktop mode. Microsoft has stated that the two architectures will have identical builds, and demo'd Office for ARM running in desktop mode.

      And "everyone knows it" or links to unsubstantiated rumors are silly.

  8. What is and isn't a tablet? by tepples · · Score: 1

    Nokia hasn't been a stranger to tablets before with Maemo and the N770/N800/N810 (and the N900 phone).

    If you're willing to stretch the definition of "tablet" down to devices as small as an N800 or N810, then what's the difference among a "tablet", a "PDA", and a "personal media player"?

    1. Re:What is and isn't a tablet? by impaledsunset · · Score: 1

      The intended usage.

  9. Fusion or ARM? by unixisc · · Score: 1

    If they're going to make it, base it either on the Atom or on AMD's Fusion for tablets. Don't have to chase developers in that case, but just leverage the win32 apps already out there.

  10. So is this just more MS Vapor? by RocketRabbit · · Score: 0, Troll

    MS buys Nokia and now Nokia is "hinting" at tablet computers. Are we falling for the same tricks that MS has played out over the last 20 years?

    Get Steve Ballmer up there using one at a public event, and cap it off with "one more thing - they are on sale today" and then this becomes a product announcement worth talking about.

    At this point Nokia has traded everything it has in order to buy a ticket on the MS tugboat. My personal feeling is that Nokia was purchased for their patents and in order to sink the company.

    1. Re:So is this just more MS Vapor? by roc97007 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not vapor, Nokia will produce Windows 7 phones and I believe they will also do Windows 8 tablets. Let's face it, if your company were sinking, you'd clutch at anything, even if it didn't float.

      M$ seems to genuinely believe that they will have some significant presence in the smartphone and tablet markets. Having a strong tie (or ownership depending on what rumors you believe) of a hardware company that makes those gadgets is a reasonable step for them to take. I can even imagine that M$ was having trouble shopping Windows Phone 7 to many of the other manufacturers, so basically has to buy the business to achieve market penetration.

      Will any of this work? I don't think so. I don't believe M$ will ever achieve a significant portion of either markets. The advantage is, they still has their core business to keep them going when it's time to throw Nokia overboard.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    2. Re:So is this just more MS Vapor? by 21mhz · · Score: 1

      MS buys Nokia

      This statement shows that you are ignorant about the topic. I did not read the rest, sorry.

      --
      My exception safety is -fno-exceptions.
    3. Re:So is this just more MS Vapor? by RocketRabbit · · Score: 1

      Oh, sorry, they just paid an assload of money to get licenses for every bit of tech Nokia has, and to get Nokia to drop everything but Windows.

      You fucking halfwit retread.

    4. Re:So is this just more MS Vapor? by m50d · · Score: 1

      After what happened with Xbox, I wouldn't underestimate MS' staying power. They'll keep going until they get it right.

      --
      I am trolling
    5. Re:So is this just more MS Vapor? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      > After what happened with Xbox, I wouldn't underestimate MS' staying power. They'll keep going until they get it right.

      It's possible, but I don't think they'll ever get this right. There is a difference on a basic level: Successful businesses in smartphone and tablet markets created an interface appropriate for the device. Microsoft insists on re-using GUI technology from Windows, which isn't appropriate either for a smartphone or a tablet. So the Windows 7 Mobile and Windows 8 devices will always be the clunky devices that people only use because they're forced to (with a few bizarre fanboi exceptions) whereas iOS and Android devices will be the ones people want to own. Historically, Microsoft tries to "fix" that basic condition through market maneuvering, and not through having technology that people actually want to own. And so they'll never get more than the small market share anyone can get by spending billions promoting an inferior product. Balmer can do all the arrogant posturings and throw all the chairs he wants; it won't change this basic fact.

      In order to be successful in these markets, Microsoft has to change the way they do business, and I don't see them ever doing that. Oh, there might be a few people who rise to power internally and produce products that you'd actually want, but the company as a whole is structured to suppress such innovation if it doesn't toe the corporate line, which is Windows, and Only Windows, on Everything. The Xbox, I think, was an interesting exception.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    6. Re:So is this just more MS Vapor? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsoft insists on re-using GUI technology from Windows, which isn't appropriate either for a smartphone or a tablet.

      Have you ever seen Windows Phone 7? It looks nothing like the standard Windows GUI.

      And are you aware that Windows 8 is going to incorporate Windows Phone 7 GUI elements?

    7. Re:So is this just more MS Vapor? by 21mhz · · Score: 1

      Oh, sorry, they just paid an assload of money to get licenses for every bit of tech Nokia has,

      [citation needed]

      and to get Nokia to drop everything but Windows.

      Nokia did not drop anything that has a potential to make money. Contrast with being a giant R&D sinkhole with not quite enough to show for it. But I sense another rabid FOSS fan who thinks that all Linux-based projects are bound to succeed unless stopped by an evil hand of M$ (spelling mandatory), no matter how these projects were run.

      --
      My exception safety is -fno-exceptions.
    8. Re:So is this just more MS Vapor? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Yes, I was in the Verizon store the other day, buying a new Android phone for my daughter (bionic) and wife (rhyme), and I did spend a few moments with the one (1) Windows Phone 7 on display. The interface reminded me of Vista Gadgets, and I suspect it's not really an interface but a big Gadget running on top of Windows. If you're only interested in doing what the interface provides, you're in luck.

      Windows 8 has some visual cues from Phone 7, but the demos I saw, Metro looks like a souped up Media Center, which would go along with their policy of code repurposing.

      The technical blurb (see previous slashdot articles) admitted you'd have to drop out of Metro to do anything complicated. I strongly suspect you'll also have to attach a keyboard and a mouse. The Media Center -- type interface is fine for doing prearranged tasks, but it's not a general purpose touch screen GUI.

      This doesn't really affect me at all. I have no interest in owning a Windows 7 phone and I will be skipping Windows 8 as I skipped Vista. Oh, Windows 8 will sell, on desktops and laptops, mostly because it'll be preinstalled on most new personal computers. Most people will drop out of Metro and work in the traditional desktop with a traditional keyboard and mouse. Metro will find use in PCs used in media centers, but even that I think is a shrinking market as TVs and receivers pick up the features for which you used to need a PC.

      There will be Windows 8 tablets which will have a tiny percentage of the market. Some will become shelfware, some will actually see use, but those will have a keyboard and mouse attached.

      Meanwhile, I need maybe two more applications ported to Android and I can leave my Windows laptop at home.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  11. Do you *really* think the name is an accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lets get real here.

    Nokia's very first Windows phone is called the "whore". Half the R&D organisation walked out on the day the deal was announced. The share price lost 3/4 of it's value in a single day.

    Do you really believe that name choice was anything other than deliberate?

    1. Re:Do you *really* think the name is an accident? by richlv · · Score: 1

      i'd buy a beer for the person who coined it. if you happen to read this - awesome job :)

      --
      Rich
    2. Re:Do you *really* think the name is an accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, NOK lost 20% on the day of the Microsoft putsch and by now is off a total of 45%. Amazingly, nobody sued, makes me wonder what kind of sedatives NOK shareholders are on.

    3. Re:Do you *really* think the name is an accident? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sue for what? Shareholders don't have a magical right to make money on a company with any big loss hedged by making money in lawsuits.

  12. Goodbye Finnish telecomm multitool maker. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    As another owner of the N900 and N770 tablet, I'd agree.

    Get familiar with soldering the USB port legs on better when the warranty is out. If that isn't possible, find someone who will. While you can use the alternate ports for charging and data, it is not recommended.

    The N900 is probably one of the rarest combinations around for having:

    Full control out of the box: add rootsh or enable r&d mode.
    Massive storage for its time: 32GB EMMC + 1GB memory + SDHC slot. USB host for more if you use a custom kernel.
    Globally available unlocked: Buy the phone, worry about finding a GSM/3G carrier later.
    Carrier unfriendly: Customizable down to the level where carriers have trouble telling if you're tethering.

    The N9 might be nice, but they missed it on a couple of critical places.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  13. who the heck cares by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Microsoft will continue to be a niche player while android heads towards 70% marketshare by next year. Any marketshare that microsoft happens to garner will be at the expense of apple as their marketshare dwindles.

    1. Re:who the heck cares by warrigal · · Score: 2

      70%? Down, fanboy, down!
      When will you Android boosters realize that you are not Google's customers? Nor are the phone companies, for that matter. You are the product that Google is selling to its actual customers, the advertisers.

    2. Re:who the heck cares by PARENA · · Score: 1

      He never said we're customers. And we (though I don't see myself as an Android 'booster') do realize Google lives off of our information. The difference between Google and some other companies is that Google doesn't hide that fact. :) (apart from that, 70% is a 'tad' high, indeed :D)

      --
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    3. Re:who the heck cares by aristotle-dude · · Score: 1

      Microsoft will continue to be a niche player while android heads towards 70% marketshare by next year. Any marketshare that microsoft happens to garner will be at the expense of apple as their marketshare dwindles.

      Are you a bit confused? We are talking about tablets here, not phones. Your number even for phones is way off but that is besides the point.

      In the tablet space, Apple's iOS has 70% marketshare if you go by "shipped" numbers for android tablets but sales to end users numbers probably put Apple at 90%+.

      --
      Jesus was a compassionate social conservative who called individuals to sin no more.
  14. But does it run linux? by mirix · · Score: 1

    I would love a modern maemo tablet. I had a 770 when they were new, but the hardware was more than a little lacking (speed/memory wise, the build quality was excellent).

    --
    Sent from my PDP-11
  15. This comment is all FUD. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Nokia didn't announce shit, RTFA. Elop was asked about tablets, not announcing anything.

    Nokia wasn't even purchased, at least try to be factually correct.

    1. Re:This comment is all FUD. by RocketRabbit · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Nokia was purchased in all but name. They took some cash from MS in exchange for every technology they have.

      Wake up.

  16. Meet the Windows 8 tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Meet the Windows 8 tablet - not AT ALL like the unusable non-touch-friendly crap we shipped the first 6 or 7 times. We're absolutely 100% certain that people really only want tablets to run Office on, and who doesn't love navigating a 200-entry Start menu with their finger?

    No, we haven't been paying attention to anybody else's sales - should we have?

    1. Re:Meet the Windows 8 tablet by unixisc · · Score: 1

      You obviously haven't been following the controversy over MS decision to ramrod the Metro interface down everybody's throat. In other words, one won't get the start menu even if one wanted to - and not only that, it's lost on the desktop as well.

  17. Their naming says something: by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    Given how Microsoft has handled Nokia, the name is quite fitting. Microsoft hasn't acquired Nokia permanently, they just have bought them a night at a time.

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    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  18. Well sure by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    Hey, if someone gave me billions of dollars, I'd make a Windows 7 phone too. And if they offered billions more, I'd make Windows 8 tablets.

    You might look at it this way -- if the hardware is decent, you could always flash Android onto it.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    1. Re:Well sure by unixisc · · Score: 1

      So instead of paying the usual M$ tax by buying an Android, one pays the full price of Windows 8, which ultimately goes to M$, and then one deletes it and replaces it w/ Android, and this time, not paying M$ a dime for Android.

      M$ must be thrilled @ being so 'cheated'!

    2. Re:Well sure by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      I didn't say anything about being "cheated". I was thinking more in terms of M$ subsidizing devices to achieve market penetration. *Those* are the devices you might want to try flashing Android onto. But only if the price is right. There's no reason to pay more than you have to, especially in this economy.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  19. Actually, you're right by tepples · · Score: 1

    I did a bit of research and you appear to be right that Microsoft later ended up releasing a correction stating that "no x86 emulation" doesn't mean "no desktop applications".

  20. if you invested 100$ in Nokia last year by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    if you invested 100$ in Nokia last year
    it would be worth
    $61.25

    five years ago ?
    you now would have
    $32.89

    their management need to re-think what they are doing and fast, or simply get out the game and employ somebody with a credible vision.
    if i was a stockholder i would be kicking their doors down

    1. Re:if you invested 100$ in Nokia last year by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      If you invest $100 in Nokia today, what will it be worth in 1 and 5 years?

      Nobody can tell the future, but I'd guess $99.95 and $314.16

      People hate surprises, stock valuations are driven mostly by people's emotional reactions. We can wish MS to fade into oblivion, but it's a little too big for that to happen very quickly, same for Nokia. Will they resurge like Apple did? Probably not, but I think they'll limp along and occasionally surprise the way IBM has for the last 20 years.

  21. Don't get me wrong... by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

    I was rooting for Nokia and Qt to take over the world, Apple style, starting the day after Steve Jobs died... guess that didn't happen.

    On the other hand, a Windows 8 4G phone, with true (2005 era) desktop power in an always with me form factor with high quality GPS and camera and (LISTEN UP DESIGNERS) several days of battery life, while not exactly sexy and appealing as a open source Finnish superphone, would be a damn practical device - I'd actually like it better than an iPhone or Droid.

    1. Re:Don't get me wrong... by jezwel · · Score: 2

      ...a...phone, with true (2005 era) desktop power...with high quality GPS and camera and...several days of battery life...

      ...is not available with current technology.

      Either a much larger battery is needed, which impacts the portable form factor, or much lower capability is included, which counters your requirements. Battery tech is getting better, but not explosively like portable device capability has increased.

    2. Re:Don't get me wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What it needs is a passive additional battery (eg a battery that runs in parallel to the onboard battery instead of charging it) option. We'll call it the "camping and adventuring kit", that kit could also include a solar panel and car kit (you know, for like cars with solar panels like the Prius, or buy your own Solar panel)

      In reality, and I sure hope Microsoft/Nokia thought of this, otherwise there is little hope for it taking off...

      Thunderbolt hookup (plug your keyboard/mouse into the monitor) and voila, instant desktop PC. That's how you beat Apple, by making it possible to run the same desktop software in desktop mode when you need it. You can't (yet) do this with iOS, because iOS is about keeping things simple. Even a "tablet" can be turned into a part-time desktop by plugging in a keyboard+mouse. (or using Bluetooth versions.)

      But knowing Microsoft, this will just be another throw-away product like the Windows Mobile market they squandered. So color me skeptical.

    3. Re:Don't get me wrong... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...a...phone, with true (2005 era) desktop power...with high quality GPS and camera and...several days of battery life...

      ...is not available with current technology.

      Then, current technology needs to learn to standby efficiently. I'm not expecting it to run 9 hours playing HD video like an iPad does in a form factor like an iPhone, I'm expecting to be able to carry a phone for at least a weekend, preferably a week or more, and have it in standby able to receive calls that whole time. I also want that phone to be able to fire up "desktop" (Atom level) processing power on-demand, and at least play 3 hours of video when starting from a full charge.

      The technology existed at least 3 or 4 years ago to do this. They are just starting to package "Jekyll and Hyde" chips to do what I'm talking about now, asymmetric dual cores, one that's powerful enough to run the standby phone functions while being very power efficient, and another (or even two or three more) that wake up for the heavier tasks.

  22. Nokia is on a good track by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just bought the Nokia N9 and it's a real miracle. It fills me with wonder everytime I use it. After going through all Nokia's Communicator series phones for years, I sidetracked last year with a HTC Desire Z and allthough I had lots of fun (mainly after I put CyanogenMod on it), the sheer build quality and beauty of the N9 is amazing.

    After almost 30 years with Unix now, I couldn't imagine Microsoft bringing anything good anymore to the mobile phone table, but I toyed a bit with a WP7 phone in a store and it felt smooth and well thought through. I can see why Nokia decided the way they did.

    If these Fins are indeed able to combine the build quality of the N9 with a (still amazed that I'm sayin this...) well built Windows phone OS (yep, got it out), I think we'll see a reborn contender on the smart phone market.

    1. Re:Nokia is on a good track by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well the thing is Nokia devices are generally well built, like Apple devices. I can't say the same for LG or Samsung
      http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support
      HTC is about as close as you can get to an acceptable update schedule for Android devices. Note how LG and Samsung are 2 versions behind by the end of the first year they are sold.

      In countries that have 3 year subsidy contracts, these devices are a non-starter, end-users replace their dumb-phones/feature-phones with Android devices because they're cheap, that's it. They don't buy anything. Hell the Nokia N95 I have I didn't buy a thing from the Ovi market either. All the app stuff downloaded to it came from google and a few barcode reader apps because the built-in app doesn't do MS SmartTags. So the "current" iPhone is the only choice if you want to be able to use all the software available to the iPhone at purchase time through the entire 3-year lifespan of the phone.

      The Android device manufacturers need to get their ass in gear otherwise their devices will be simply be the throw-away phone people hate before they switch to the iPhone.

  23. why is this news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    why is this news

  24. I just want a waterproof tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd like to spend my entire weekends playing videogames in the bathtub, with zero risk of electric shock, please.

  25. Bought and Paid For by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This was inevitable. Microsoft purchased Nokia's alliance. They paid Nokia to abandon Symbian and Meego. They paid Nokia to call for a "war" against Android. There's some shenanigans between Microsoft and Nokia paying a patent troll (Mosaid) to assert Nokia patents against competitors. The whole arrangement reeks of an underlying plan to protect windows.