It might be a long, long time ago, but there was a time in mobile history when Nokia was famous for its phones. It fell on hard times and it was eventually left with a shell of former shelf. While the Finnish company is set to make its own smartphone after the sale of its mobile business to Microsoft, it has worked around that limitation and “launched” its own tablet, the Nokia N1. Limited to the Chinese market, the tablet makes a surprise appearance at MWC 2015, where we get to see and feel it first hand.
It is, perhaps, a shock to find a tablet so well done coming from the company. Perhaps it speaks of the Nokia N1’s parental lineage. Nokia itself designed the tablet, proving it still has chops even after it has been almost divested of everything. But it didn’t make the tablet itself. Instead, it licensed it to Chinese fab Foxconn, who has for years been making some of Apple’s devices. Foxconn seems to have picked up a lot of lessons from its experience with Cupertino.
The association with Apple doesn’t end there, however. In fact, some might too readily point out how the tablet actually has a lot in common with the iPad mini, and they wouldn’t be completely wrong. For a device sold only in China, that might actually be also understandable. And it isn’t completely a bad thing either. You get quality metal and glass materials, a lightweight 389g and slim 6.9mm body, and laminated 7.9-inch 2048×1536 display. It definitely got some of the best things about the iPad mini and then added the parts that we love best.
And, of course, that means Android. The version of Android 5.0 that runs here is as plain as it can be, save for one crucial difference. Instead of Google Now Launcher, we have, of course, Nokia’s own Z Launcher. We’ve had our hands-on of it before, but suffice it to say it has adapted to a tablet lifestyle. Instead of a default list to greet users, it has a 4×3 grid on the homescreen that changes its apps depending on the context, like time of day. A swipe to the right and you see all your installed apps. You can still search by scribbling, but sadly still letter by letter.
The N1 is definitely a surprise product coming from Nokia’s portfolio, perhaps proving that the company still has what it takes to, at the very least, come up with an impressive design. And even though it might no longer have the muscle to actually produce these things, it might have stumbled upon a business model, not to mention a reputable partner, to do so. So will we be seeing the Nokia N1 elsewhere soon? Sadly, Nokia doesn’t seem too keen about it, perhaps with the shadow of an Apple lawsuit looming overhead. But perhaps there might still be some hope left for the once unbeatable Goliath now turned David.
