Furthering its goal of stealing market share from the likes of Apple and Android, Nokia will release a tablet that runs Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system next year, reports French newspaper Les Echos [translated link]. This is not a rumor — the news comes straight from Paul Amsellem, head of Nokia France.
Last week, Nokia unveiled the first of its Windows Phone devices, the Lumia 710 and ultra-stylish Lumia 800. Running Windows Phone 7.5 “Mango,” these devices are already available in a number of countries in Europe, including France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong are expected to have them later this year. Those of us in the US, however, will have to wait until at least next year to get our mitts on these handsets.
In addition to the Windows 8 tablet, Amsellem also said that the Finland-based handset maker has plans to release two new Windows Phone handsets, one higher-end than the top-of-the-line Lumia 800 and a model less expensive than the Lumia 710.
“[The Lumia 800 is] a bit the equivalent of the BMW 5 Series,” said Amsellem [as translated from French]. “We will soon have a full range with a Series 7 and Series 3,” he said, continuing his BMW comparison. “And in June 2012, we will have a tablet running Windows 8.”
Unfortunately, that’s all the details we have about the device, so far. But we here at Digital Trends are getting more and more excited about the new Nokia handsets, and Windows Phone 7.5 Mango devices in general. So, if you ask us, a Nokia tablet built on Windows 8 — which shares the tiles design and similar functionality of Mango — sounds like a superb idea, especially if it shares some of the styling of the Lumia 800.
June — or whenever this Nokia tablet will arrive in the US — can not come soon enough.
[Pictured: Nokia Lumia 800]
