#23: Nokia's patent application for tablet (too late?)
Nokia has been rumored to be working on a Windows 8 tablet since last year now and the company was expected to show up with a Lumia tablet at Mobile World Congress. However, that remained a Nokia fan’s dream and nothing solid has come out on the tablet front since then.
However, a patent application by the company suggests it could be readying a tablet for launch. Unwired View reports that the patent application is called 'Apparatus Cover with Keyboard' and it sounds awfully similar to the Surface cover.
The application details a mechanical keyboard/cover integrated into a tablet device and one which can fold in multiple ways, based on the user’s different needs. The Surface tablet, Microsoft’s slate for Windows 8 and RT, also has a similar cover, which folds in a couple of ways to present users with a keyboard and a kickstand.
The patent application is from early in Nokia’s licensing agreement with Microsoft and is dated October 2011. The keys on the keyboard are shaped very similarly to the keys on the QWERTY keypad on the likes of Nokia E7.
For those thinking that this was intended to be used with a Windows RT device, it must be noted that that particular variant of the OS was not released till later this year. And Microsoft launched the Surface tablet last year, with a similar cover. So this could just be a patent application that never amounted to anything.
Interestingly, rumors floating around about the Nokia tablet, did mention that it would have a specialized battery-equipped flip cover. The cover was said to double up as a keyboard and a kickstand for the tablet and feature two USB ports for additional connectivity.
Yup this is very similar to the Surface, but maybe Nokia could tweak their product based off consumer testing for the Surface. It all really depends how the Surface does in the coming quarters.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with this concept is that similar products of this nature has already been created and released. For Nokia to really become a large part of the market share in tablets, they're going to need something more novel than this cover that has already been made.
ReplyDeletewow. nokia is trying to get back into the game! i agree with the above commenters. Nokia really will need something special to make it in market. There are so many different types of tablets out and nokia hasn't created a product in this area yet so it doesn't have the reliable product fall back. Nokia's product is really going to have to shine
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