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Nokia Had a Production-Ready Web Tablet 13 Years Ago

Posted by Soulskill on from the beginning-of-the-end dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Here's another story of a tech gadget that arrived before its time. Nokia created a web-ready tablet running EPOC (later to be renamed as Symbian) thirteen years ago. The tablet was set to go into full production, and they actually built a thousand units just before it was canceled. The tablet was scrubbed because market research showed there wasn't demand for the device. The team got devices for themselves and the rest were destroyed. The team was then fired. The lesson: Don't try to be pioneer if you're relying on market research studies."

3 of 272 comments (clear)

  1. ob Henry Ford by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse"

  2. Not a market back then by butalearner · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The reason tablets became popular is because people had begun to use their phones in similar ways, and the price wasn't too outrageous. Microsoft had tablets before they became popular, too, but they didn't kick off the tablet craze. Pioneering technology is one part tech, ten parts timing.

  3. Re:Yeah, probably a VGA screen by Spazmania · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's the thing The capacitive multitouch screen makes tablets practical. Before that they were just toys. Nokia made the right call for the time.

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    Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.