What Nokia’s Windows 8 Tablet Needs To Do To Succeed

The release of the iPad 3 has taken the tablet industry by storm. The mouth watering specs, the economical pricing and Apple’s brand name have created much hype before the tablet even hits store shelves. On the other hand, as recent news reports have suggested, Nokia is building its own Windows 8 tablet and although many other companies are expected to release their own versions of the tablet, the position Nokia holds is unique. Critics believe that Nokia is the only company capable of taking the fight to Apple given that it is exclusive to the Windows Phone platform. Here are a few specs that the tablet is rumoured to include.

First on the list is the operating system itself. Windows 8 is expected to be a common interface between tablets, notebooks and smartphones thus leading to the creation of a unified ecosystem. Another added advantage is its compatibility with an external keyboard and a mouse, thus justifying its status as a universal interface. Next on the list we have the display. The display forms an important part of any tablet. The iPad 3 with its Retina display has the best there is. Nokia on the other hand, is rumoured to be considering an AMOLED display. Although this might not be as good as Apple’s Retina display, the colour contrast especially with blacks is great. Nokia could also prefer transflective colour displays like that of the Qualcomm Mirasol display.

Another challenge for Nokia will be the efficient use of power i.e. a better battery life. Every tablet is a portable device and efficient use of power becomes an important constraint for such devices. Nokia could even adopt an approach similar to that the Asus Transformer Prime i.e. including a battery in the keyboard dock for extra power. A minimum of 10 hours of battery life is a necessity today, a benchmark set by the iPad itself.

Internet connectivity is another important factor. Nokia may choose to allow tethering out of the box, which few other manufacturers allow without some sort of carrier restriction. A similar concept was adopted in RIM’s Playbook, but the feature wasn’t marketed very well. A tablet is meant to be permanently connected and using the device to pair up with a smartphone is just efficient use of data plans. Of course, none of these inclusions can guarantee success, and Nokia needs to back up the internal firepower with great hardware. That shouldn’t be too difficult for the company given its background with producing superior quality hardware for its devices.