Nokia has announced their first tablet following the Microsoft acquisition, the N1. It is an Android based tablet that boasts several features, including the intuitive Z Launcher, giving users a faster way to get to their most used applications.
The N1 is relying pretty heavily on the Z Launcher as its selling point. For those who don’t know, this interface allows users to scribble a letter or two, and it will bring up suggestions for apps. Over time, it will take into account how often you use certain apps to ascertain which are the most popular, and also the time of day you are most likely to use them. The suggestions will be tailored accordingly, to give users quick access to their applications.
But the more obvious feature that most users are probably going to notice is not the Z Launcher, but the design. As the almost fetishistic teaser video shows us in great detail, the N1 is a lot like the iPad. A lot.
Technical Specs
Ignoring the Apple connection for a second, the tech specs are pretty good for a Nokia. The company had developed a bit of a reputation for lower grade products in the past few years, and the N1 launches them firmly into the middle-ground market.
The screen is very high resolution, though it is one of the few nods to upper market tech. Its 7.9″ screen has a 2048 x 1536 res, so it will look gorgeous. The downside is that it only runs 2 GB of RAM, with a 2.3 Ghz Intel chip processor, and 533 Mhz graphics card.
Decent? Sure, if you’re a smartphone. But one of the reasons tablets never quite manage to live up to their smaller mobile cousins (besides the communication aspect) is that it runs the same tech in a bigger device. Have you ever had a laptop running those specs that didn’t lag or drop apps?
All other features are pretty standard, too. It has two cameras, one 8 MP and one 5 MP, so somewhat higher for the front facing cam. It has a 5300 mAh battery that should hold a fair number of hours until it starts to age, and 90 dB speakers.
As I said, for Nokia that is all quite good. But it is a ‘meh’ kind of product that we have seen a hundred times before, meaning the results are probably going to be what we expect. There is no true innovation here, unless you count the Z Launcher. Which is cool, but ultimately just a search program within the device.
