Nokia’s first Windows RT tablet apparently won’t be the last. The company’s Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet with a 10 inch display and Microsoft Windows RT software is scheduled to ship soon for $499 and up.
Now @evleaks and The Verge report it’ll be joined by an 8 inch model that’s code-named “Illusionist.”
The tablet will reportedly have a Qualcomm processor and it’s expected to be available only in select markets at launch. It’s not clear if it will be available around the globe.
At this point there are a handful of companies offering 8 inch Windows tablets, including Dell and Lenovo. But those devices all feature x86 processors and Windows 8.1 software.
The Nokia Illusionist tablet could be one of the first with an ARM-based processor and Windows RT instead. It’s not entirely clear what benefits that would offer. There was a time when ARM-based tablets offered significantly better battery life than models with Intel chips, but Intel’s Atom Bay Trail processors are starting to show up in tablets which offer all-day battery life.
Microsoft is also expected to introduce a Surface tablet with a 7.5 inch display in early 2014. With Microsoft likely to become the proud new owner of Nokia soon, that could mean Microsoft will have two 8 inch Windows RT tablets in its inventory (as well as two 10 inch models, with the Surface tablet and Nokia Lumia 2520).
I’m having a hard time deciding whether to get the new Dell Venue 8 Pro–full Windows–or wait for this. The media has it all wrong–as with the DOS fogies in the ’80s, the anti-RT crowd is just a bunch of luddites that hates change. Truth is, Windows RT is simply Windows without the Desktop–but most of the old guard have a hard time letting go of that Desktop.
Frankly, as an attorney, all I need is Office and a handful of the ever-growing MS Store apps. I prefer the security of the ARM version of Windows–as do most businesspeople if they can risk leaving the legacy Desktop apps behind.
So really, I WANT the “RT” version–the ARM version. Low power, full Office, and MUCH better security. But with mini tablets around like the Pro–and all the bad media that the media is currently giving MS’ miserable attempts to recover from the first “RT” marketing messup–it’s hard to find exactly what I want and most businesspeople want (but don’t know they want, given the media circus)–the ARM version of Windows.
So–go to it Nokia. Bring it on.
Illusionist is a good name.
Windows RT will surely make customers and profits disappear.
Can Nokia really afford to create something that will not sell? I don’t understand why anyone continues to make RT tablets.
I agree. If they’d set the prices closer to those of mid-range Android tablets, maybe they’d sell some, but asking $499 for a Windows RT tablet seems pretty crazy to me.
Maybe, but it’s a premium design that’s using top of the line components and includes integrated LTE…
Compared to off contract Smart Phones it’s not high priced as anything with these specs typically go for over $600 and offers less storage.
While premium android tablets can still get close to $400 and that’s without LTE!
It’ll just be a hard sell because most people just either tether their phone or use MiFi but there’s still a small market for those who need their tablets to always be connected and not everyone actually needs full Windows.
Mind that the desktop is still harder to use on a small tablet and the modern UI is more convenient in that usage, which RT focuses on..
OK, those are great points. I guess I’m just not in the intended target audience, as I can’t really see any compelling use case for an RT tablet over a similarly-priced iOS, Android, or Windows 8 tablet.
Main target right now is business users who want or need BYOD, with ideally an existing Windows 8 infrastructure that would make RT more ideal for easy integration and gives it an edge over trying to integrate a non-Windows tablet device…
Mind that most of the flexible options for RT is targeted to business centric usages… like allowing a company to setup and maintain their own internal app store, etc.
RT just got a long way to go before it can appeal to the average, non-business, user…
The Modern UI apps store still needs good productivity apps… Porting Office to Metro is a start, should see that sometime next year, but other companies need to port their productivity apps too and existing apps need to be developed better to raise the quality of apps.
App ecosystems are just hard to start out but it benefits from being tied to regular Windows 8 as anything made to run under the Modern UI will work for both versions of Windows…
MS also plans on merging the WP8 and RT apps stores, which means they can start offering both more apps and a greater range of apps than are presently available and should help the app ecosystem evolve to where it needs to be…
None of this will happen overnight but the Mobile market’s future is too uncertain to rely on any one platform for the long term. So they have little choice but to hedge their bets and as long as they keep on improving the product then there’s always the possibility it could eventually become something more people would want to use… I’d give it another two years to see if it either eventually dies or manages to get to where it needs to be in order to be finally a success…
Windows RT is just DOA. If MS can somehow squeeze the price on the X86 kit they might have a prayer.
Simple, because there’s no guarantee that x86 will gain significant market share in the mobile market that these tablets are really targeting.
So ARM based solutions are still needed to hedge bets and RT is the only MS option for ARM tablets right now…