Nokia To Launch Windows 8 Tablet Next June

    In an interview with Les Echos, a French business publication, the director general of Nokia France made a remark that that the Nokia tablet would be coming out in June of 2012, and that it would be running Windows 8. Microsoft has not confirmed a launch date of Windows 8, and the details of the new Nokia tablet have been kept to the minimum. At the Nokia World conference last month, CEO Steven Elop spoke positively about Windows 8 the partnership with Microsoft:

    “The user experience of Windows 8 is essentially a supercharged version of the Nokia Lumia experience that you saw on stage today.

    “And you see the parallels and opportunity for commonality from a user perspective. You say wow, this is more than just smartphones, there’s a broader opportunity here. And clearly we see that broader opportunity as well, without specifically commenting on what that may mean in the future.”

    On this slip, a spokesperson for Nokia said, “The remarks were taken out of context. A simple example was taken to mean more than intended. Nokia do not comment on speculation or rumours and at the moment we are all concentrating on the Lumia 800 which went on sale this week.”

    Tablet computer manufactures have had a rough time competing with Apple’s iPad. HP quickly canceled their tablet program after launching, and RIM’s Playbook really hasn’t seen much traction with users. It will be interesting to see if Nokia and Microsoft can get the hardware and operating system right, because more competition is needed before Apple runs away with market.