Nokia jumps back into electronics with surprise iPad Mini rival
Nokia has sparked a surprise return to the electronics industry revealing that the N1 tablet will go on sale in China in 2015.
Nokia's N1 Android tablet
The firm outsourced its branding to Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn to make the Android tablets, and the firm also creates components for Apple whose iPad Mini bares a resemblance to Nokia’s 7.9 inch tablet.
The Finnish group leased its branding to make up for its lack of production facilities following the sale of its mobile division to Microsoft in April.
The announcement was well received on Twitter perhaps showing the true value the Nokia brand commands despite it being ditched by Microsoft in October in favour of ‘the Microsoft Lumia’.
Sebastian Nystrom, head of products of Nokia Technologies, announced the tablet at the Slush technology conference in Helsinki. He said: “This is a great product for Nokia fans and everyone who has not found the right Android tablet yet.”
On Twitter, before the announcement, Nokia admitted that it is “up to something”.
Guess what? We’re up to something. http://t.co/AFq4dUFI9S #thinkingahead #Slush14 pic.twitter.com/sqERYpz0Vc
— Nokia (@nokia) November 17, 2014
This tweet created great hype, disrupting the widespread belief that the brand had exited the electronics industry.
In the three hours following the announcement, Social Bro measured 12,800 tweets regarding the launch using the #NokiaN1 & #thinkingahead and @Nokia handles.
The new product was met with largely positive sentiment with 82 per cent of tweets welcoming Nokia back into the fold.
India was the most excited about the new product with 1,300 tweets coming from the region - accounting for nearly 16 per cent of those who commented.
Finland came second with 760 tweets accounting for nine per cent of tweets. The Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb also attended the launch event in Helskini.
The Prime Minister of Finland @alexstubb gets a first glance of Nokia N1! @snystrom #NokiaN1 #thinkingahead pic.twitter.com/GcGrhyJseD" — Prabakaran™ (@Born_93) November 18, 2014The UK came third with 480 tweets, accounting for just over a twentieth of all Twitter chat regarding the tablet. The below tweet from Nokia generated the most retweets, sitting at 475 at the time of publication.
Take a closer look at Nokia N1 – the tablet that thinks ahead. http://t.co/UZbDJm2gie #NokiaN1 #thinkingahead pic.twitter.com/3JekQkY9ai
— Nokia (@nokia) November 18, 2014
Before the announcement, Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia technologies said that the firm will be looking to licence out its “very valuable brand” to appropriate manufacturers.