Nokia Windows 8 Tablet
Nokia is working on a Windows 8 tablet, according to the company's design chief. Cameron McKinnon

Recently, Nokia staged a comeback in the high-end smartphone market with its Windows-based Lumia phone lineup. Now, it is rumored that the Finnish cell phone giant will be first to bring out a Windows 8 tablet that may pose a threat to the new iPad.

It is the first time we have heard about a tablet from Nokia. Nokia’s Windows 8 tablet is reported to have a 10-inch screen and dual-core processor. The tablet may power the Firefox browser as Mozilla has announced that it will develop a separate version of Firefox for the new platform.

Windows 8 Metro UI has been specially designed for tablets. The new Microsoft OS will be going public in September or October 2012. While many manufacturers are eager to feature Windows 8 in their tablets, Nokia is believed to be first in line. In the 2012 tablet arena, Microsoft is expected to compete against Android tablets and also with the mighty iPad. Currently, Android tablets are the chief rivals to iPad. Nokia’s tablet should further heat up the competition.

Nokia will release its first tablet in Q4 2011. The first shipping will be of at least 2 million units of Windows 8 tablet.

Apple continues to dominate the tablet market with its new iPad. Android tablets so far have failed to bring any major change in the market, to be crowned as the so called “iPad killer.” Many hopes are now resting on Windows 8 tablet. Nokia can bring a change in the tablet market with its first Windows 8 tablet.

A popular tech site, the Verge, reports in a post that Lenovo will be first to launch Windows 8 tablet. Verge has not provided any further details about its source, so the reliability of the report is questionable. HP and Asus are also keen on releasing Windows 8 tablet. But, the chances of Nokia being the first to release the new Windows 8 tablet are high as Nokia is the main partner of Microsoft when it comes to the second generation Windows Phones.

(reported by Johnny Wills, edited by Wendy Li)

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