Opinion: Why Nokia Should NOT Release a Tablet….Yet.

We’ve heard plenty of rumors about a Nokia tablet coming soon; with most mouths pointing to this month at MWC. Without beating around the bush, I DON’T think Nokia should release a tablet just yet. Not that I wouldn’t absolutely love one (heck I’m dying for one!) but looking at it from a marketshare/profit point of view I can’t see it being much of a hit.

Here’s a quick list of Pros that I’d see regarding a Nokia tablet being released within the next month/Quarter (regardless of OS):

Pros:

• It’ll probably have a killer design
• You can mooch off the marketing that’s already going around for Lumias/WP (assuming it’s a Windows tablet) seeing how it would be the “perfect match”
• You beat the market, before you lose even more potential customers to other tablets (the longer you wait, the harder it is to infiltrate)
• It’ll probably have some awesome innovative feature that no other tablets have; decent camera, super sensitive screen, Wireless charging (minus the touchpad), cover that doubles as an extra battery
• “ecosystem”
• Give us fans something to drool about

Theoretically let’s assume that Nokia are going to release a Windows RT tablet (I’ll get to some other tablet option in a second), what cons would that have?

Windows RT really sucks right now, it doesn’t have a fan-base; and even Microsoft who have what is possibly one of the coolest tablets in the world are having difficulty selling it (reports are less than a Million Surface RT tablets sold). Let’s not forget that Windows RT is REALLY clunky right now, although I haven’t used a RT tab to be honest, most reviews and personal experiences say that’s nowhere near as smooth as an iPad; with loads of lag even its core feature, Office.

You also have the issue that Windows RT is really missing the “novelty feature” that a lot of users purchase tablets for, sure some people actually buy them for work/school and would love the full-blown office experience on it; but most adopters are people looking to entertain themselves with Angry Birds, arcade games; or casual couch browsing; something that iPads live for.

And finally what I consider the biggest obstacle in the success of Windows RT is the fact that cheap priced, lightweight notebooks already exist, why would I pay for a dumbed down version of my laptop; that offers me nothing more? I’d rather pick up an iPad or an Android tab that would “diversify” my entertainment and use options.

Assuming that they actually have a Windows Pro for us (which gives you the same exact laptop/PC experience on your tablet and has a desktop (runs non metro apps):

I would have no qualms with a Windows Pro from terms of an OS; sure it would still be aimed at people who are a bit more on the “actual working and not just messing around” side; since business make good money too. But the fact is people aren’t too keen on Windows 8 right now (although I really love it, it has some nifty features; and would be great on a touch screen). It too misses on the novelty fun features of what a tablet should have (think: use on toilet).

Plus let’s not forget the high high prices of Windows 8 Pro tablets if I’m reading this properly then a single license with office costs up to $139); besides the more expensive hardware and processors needed. Meaning a proper tablet could you run up to the price of some ultrabooks, which have all the portability and power; plus a real keyboard- making Windows 8 Pro tablets a bit of a bust at the time for a company that plans on having a MEANINGFUL presence in the tablet world.

I wasn’t planning on adding this third option; but seeing Jay’s earlier post about the possibility of an Android tablet I though I’d add it anyways- For the sake of argument assume that they give us an Android tablet:

An Android tablet would probably be the most successful option at the time (in terms of a stand alone tablet; and not the whole “ecosystem” debate), seeing how the latest tablets have gotten rid of most Android lag features; and can even support multiple users now. Also Android tablets have finally started to break away at the iPad’s previous dominance in the tablet field. As of Q4 2012 iPads only held 43% of the tablet world, compared to 51% the previous year (and something near 80% two years before).

The only major obstacle I can find in terms of an Android tablet would be the fact that Nokia have ZERO experience in the Android world, they don’t have an engineering team, or Android exclusive apps (which have given them a huge edge in the WP world); and worst of all they’d succumb to Google’s rein after blatantly turning them down so many times (and dissing Android at every turn). Plus Samsung has the Android tablet world under its arm; and doesn’t seem to plan on letting go anytime soon, plus let’s not forget they’d end up competing against the Nexus 7 which miraculously doesn’t suck while being priced at a dirt cheap $199; or the Kindle Fire’s which are fan favorites for people looking to get a good deal.

All in all no matter how I cut it I can’t find a real angle for Nokia to push with tablets, and I know things won’t get any better by waiting around; but at the risk of losing the forward momentum they’ve finally started to pick up? I’d say it’s not worth it. Perhaps the best solution is to wait it out a bit and let Windows RT mature, rather than being the first (or second) to take the plunge (in a big way- not the half-assed techniques Samsung carries out with Windows products); maybe they should pull an HTC and wait for someone else to build up the market before striking?

But then again these are just the ramblings of a Nokia fan who knows very little about how the world actually runs.

Tags: featured

Category: Accessories, Android, aPPLE, Applications, Battery Life, HTC, Lumia, Nokia, Samsung, Windows Phone