Nokia Sirius: a 10.1-inch Windows RT tablet that looks like a Lumia


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Nokia is preparing to back Windows RT by launching a 10.1-inch tablet soon. Sources familiar with Nokia's plans have revealed to The Verge that the tablet, codenamed Sirius, will be launched shortly. While prototype pictures of the device leaked earlier this month, we understand that the final design more closely resembles Nokia's Lumia Windows Phone products.

We're told that Nokia's tablet will be thinner than the current iPad, and lighter at just over a pound in weight. The body of the device will be colored, and Nokia plans to include a 6-megapixel camera at the rear with a 2-megapixel shooter at the front. The 10.1-inch display that Nokia is planning to use will run at 1920 x 1080 resolution, and has been improved for outdoor readability thanks to a high amount of bright output. Sources have also revealed that the tablet will feature Qualcomm's quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor alongside 2GB of RAM. We understand Nokia is aiming for 10 hours of solid battery life with LTE connectivity. Other features include a microSD port to extend the 32GB of storage, a Micro HDMI connector, and a Micro USB port.

Nokia is also planning to ship a keyboard accessory with its "Sirius" tablet that includes a battery for additional charging. Other optional accessories will also be made available at launch. We're told Nokia's tablet will be priced comparatively with Apple's iPad, and that the company won't try to undercut pricing initially. Nokia will unveil the tablet at a launch event in New York, which is currently scheduled for September 26th. The Finnish smartphone maker is also planning a "Bandit" 6-inch Windows Phone device that will be made available later this year.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/26/4659436/nokia-sirius-windows-rt-tablet-specifications

 

Found the front image doing a search.  Not 100 percent sure if it is legit...

 

 

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Windows RT :/  has so much potential, but in its current state, just not ideal at all. Same gripe I have with Windows Phone. 

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I agree that it has a lot of potential. MS has a long way to go with it before I use it regularly, though.

So tell me - what does RT lack?

 

If apps are the issue, that depends on developers (and especially third-party developers).

 

If the issue is price, that tells me that you're comparing it to Android - not iOS.  RT hardware is, in fact, cheaper than the iPad of similar hardware specs (which is why iPad sales have taken it on the chin since RT's launch).

 

Myself - there are games I'd love to see on RT (and ModernUI, for that matter) - one of them is currently an iOS exclusive.  (And it's third-party - not something tied exclusively to Apple directly.  Again, it's up to the developer.)

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The problem I still have with RT is the desktop mode. With so few desktop programs being made that support the architecture besides Office it feels a little pointless. Desktop mode is also much harder to use on a small tablet. Otherwise I think Nokia could bring a lot to the table, hopefully they will port over their apps from WP

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The problem I still have with RT is the desktop mode. With so few desktop programs being made that support the architecture besides Office it feels a little pointless. Desktop mode is also much harder to use on a small tablet. Otherwise I think Nokia could bring a lot to the table, hopefully they will port over their apps from WP

Sounds like you would REALLY prefer RT to compete with Windows (7/8) - not Android OR iOS.

 

That would be like iOS taking on OS X (or Android vs. Linux).

 

RT's "desktop mode" is there primarily for UI/UX commonality with Windows 8 - branding, if you will.  (As you yourself pointed out, the only apps OR applications that use it are all part of Office RT.)

 

However, we also know exactly why that is the case - there is still not a ModernUI version of Office (RT or otherwise).

 

A ModernUI version of Office (when it launches) will also replace the current Office RT (as SHOULD be the case).

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Sounds like you would REALLY prefer RT to compete with Windows (7/8) - not Android OR iOS.

 

That would be like iOS taking on OS X (or Android vs. Linux).

 

RT's "desktop mode" is there primarily for UI/UX commonality with Windows 8 - branding, if you will.  (As you yourself pointed out, the only apps OR applications that use it are all part of Office RT.)

 

However, we also know exactly why that is the case - there is still not a ModernUI version of Office (RT or otherwise).

 

A ModernUI version of Office (when it launches) will also replace the current Office RT (as SHOULD be the case).

 

 

Still if thats the case, then why did MS port over the Windows Phone UI for small tablets, that already has office built in. 

Where I think Microsoft is messing up is with having Windows Phone, RT and Windows 8. What they should have done is Made RT/Windows Phone one OS from the beginning, and Windows 8 with the start screen for hybrids and desktops 

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I agree that it has a lot of potential. MS has a long way to go with it before I use it regularly, though.

8.1 is usable regularly. But it really depends on whether or not the apps you use regularly are available. I love the thin bezel if that's and accurate depiction.

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Yeah, Windows 8.1 make a lot of useful improvements to Metro, which suddenly make Win RT a lot better on tablets. 

 

Some of those improvements include revamping the store so that should go a long way to encourage more developers to support the platform.

 

8.1 also brings features like a Metro file explorer and the important settings being accessible via Metro without going to the desktop.  Those two parts mean there is less reason to ever go to the desktop on the tablet.  Once the Metro version of Office is released, you wont need to go to the desktop for anything. 

 

I say all of this to illustrate how now is not a bad time for Nokia to jump into a tablet.  Of course this wont be a slam dunk and it has to be a long term play, not an expectation of gigantic success day one.  Nokia has a good rep for quality hardware and for aggressive software support.  The leaked info seems to indicate that Nokia intends to leverage its aggressive app strategy from WP to make their Win RT tablet special.  That could be a  boon for Win RT/8 in general if it means more developer attention via quality apps. So if you combine Nokia's hardware expertise with a stronger app library, their tablet has a chance. 

 

The price is a question, but I'll wait to see what the whole package looks like to decide if its worth it.  I think $399 is a better starting price, but if your going to bundle a keyboard/cover or LTE hardware, then maybe its worth the extra cost. 

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Yeah, Windows 8.1 make a lot of useful improvements to Metro, which suddenly make Win RT a lot better on tablets. 

 

Some of those improvements include revamping the store so that should go a long way to encourage more developers to support the platform.

 

8.1 also brings features like a Metro file explorer and the important settings being accessible via Metro without going to the desktop.  Those two parts mean there is less reason to ever go to the desktop on the tablet.  Once the Metro version of Office is released, you wont need to go to the desktop for anything. 

 

I say all of this to illustrate how now is not a bad time for Nokia to jump into a tablet.  Of course this wont be a slam dunk and it has to be a long term play, not an expectation of gigantic success day one.  Nokia has a good rep for quality hardware and for aggressive software support.  The leaked info seems to indicate that Nokia intends to leverage its aggressive app strategy from WP to make their Win RT tablet special.  That could be a  boon for Win RT/8 in general if it means more developer attention via quality apps. So if you combine Nokia's hardware expertise with a stronger app library, their tablet has a chance. 

 

The price is a question, but I'll wait to see what the whole package looks like to decide if its worth it.  I think $399 is a better starting price, but if your going to bundle a keyboard/cover or LTE hardware, then maybe its worth the extra cost. 

And those same improvements are across 8 and RT - it's not just 8 (or just RT) that got the improvements.

And those so busy trying to shove Android (or iOS) down our throats seem to have forgotten that both Android and iOS were also absolutely AWFUL as platforms originally - even more importantly, both still have a long way to go - neither Android or iOS is mature, in any sense.

 

Finally, I called attention to the appearance (at least to me) that Google and Apple are basically in the middle of a detente, where Android has the low-end of the tablet market, and iOS has the high end, and neither is going after the other.  Microsoft isn't going after Google (or Android) directly - their attacks on Google are attacks on Google's SERVICES, not attacks on Android itself, or even Android-based hardware.  The assault that Microsoft is leading is on Apple and the iPad.

 

The iPad is vulnerable - Apple's own sales numbers for the last two quarters prove that out.  The center of that vulnerability is VALUE - not price.  The iPad (high-end tablet) market is not about price, but value for money.  That is what RT in general, and Surface in particular, are leading the counterattack on.

 

The iPad itself is not a short-term strategy for Apple - therefore, any assault on it will ALSO have to be long-term.  Microsoft gets that - the majority of Microsoft's critics, however, don't.

 

Rome (and the Roman Empire) weren't built in a day; they weren't taken DOWN in a day, either.

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A tad off topic: the HP ElitePad is looking kind of sharp. Going to get one to eval asap. http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ad/elitepad/overview.html

 

We've got to get the VIPs off the iPad. It's enterprise TCO is still too high. It's an itch. MS just doesn't understand, when the people who get what they want go home, they load up all their 320kbs music or give  their tablet (iPad) it to their brats or spouse to play with. It doesn't have to be a lot of people if it's the powerful people.

 

They have to get the Windows/RT ecosystem (playlists, syncing, transferring music from desktop) act together. Make it work and make it easy now and worry about selling Live services later.

 

It's work and play. I repeat, work AND play. Simple, easy, and reliable.

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A tad off topic: the HP ElitePad is looking kind of sharp. Going to get one to eval asap. http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ad/elitepad/overview.html

 

We've got to get the VIPs off the iPad. It's enterprise TCO is still too high. It's an itch. MS just doesn't understand, when the people who get what they want go home, they load up all their 320kbs music or give  their tablet (iPad) it to their brats or spouse to play with. It doesn't have to be a lot of people if it's the powerful people.

 

They have to get the Windows/RT ecosystem (playlists, syncing, transferring music from desktop) act together. Make it work and make it easy now and worry about selling Live services later.

 

It's work and play. I repeat, work AND play. Simple, easy, and reliable.

MorganX - the real issue is the PLAY side as far as apps go - the WORK side is as solid as anything else out there.

 

However, the issue as to who needs to do the heavy lifting is still out there, and there is one overhanging reason why it shouldn't be Microsoft.

 

The reason has to do with the target stuck on Microsoft's chest by lawyers and regulators.

 

If Microsoft does the heavy lifting, it becomes all too easy - and all too profitable - for some otherwise mudbrained legal ea-gull to drag Microsoft into court.  Microsoft loses - more importantly, USERS lose.

 

However, a third-party developer doing it trainwrecks any argument that RT is closed to third-party development.  It can also open the floodgates for other third-party development of ModernUI/RT apps (as they do a one-eighty on RT/ModernUI development - how much development isn't happening due to mistaken ideas or ideologies?).  RT wins, and so do users - even those of Android and iOS.

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1) MorganX - the real issue is the PLAY side as far as apps go - the WORK side is as solid as anything else out there.

 

2) However, the issue as to who needs to do the heavy lifting is still out there, and there is one overhanging reason why it shouldn't be Microsoft.

 

 

 

1) We are in absolute total agreement there.

 

2) I hear you, at the same time, what they have is so close. Just mirror the functionality of Zune in ModernUI. That's basically it. Add in all the cloud, match, sync crap, but don't abandon the basic functionality. If they fix that (and don't make people jump through hoops to make it work), I'm sure we can eradicate the environment of iPads with Surface Pro, RT, and any number of the newer tabs coming. But if the play stuff doesn't work easily and reliably, they will cling to the iPad and iTunes. We're getting more and more request to allow RDP with iPads and we're refusing. I'll force everyone to use Remote App to RDP first. But they're asking not because Windows 8/RT isn't superior for that, it is, but they don't want to let go of the rest of the Apple ecosystem in exchange for, a mess. One that's getting better, but a mess nonetheless.

 

It is frustrating because all of that functionality exists in WMP Classic, old Zune, etc. But we can't move forward because it's been removed from 8?!? Make sense of that for me. I'm tellin' ya, if the Surface RT worked with the old Zune client, I could have iPads gone from the executive wing by Christmas.

 

We meet our new EA rep in early Septemeber and he's not going to leave happy.

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I hope Nokia makes the tablet based on Windows 8 Pro and not RT. Consumers have voted and they do not want RT. Nokia doesn't have the cash to make it into a long term strategy or to bleed money supporting a platform that is dying off.

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I hope Nokia makes the tablet based on Windows 8 Pro and not RT. Consumers have voted and they do not want RT. Nokia doesn't have the cash to make it into a long term strategy or to bleed money supporting a platform that is dying off.

We'll see. BTW, Surface Pro is a PC in a tablet form factor at a PC price.

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Now where is the 925 trim option. :)  If MS doesn't leak some tasty tidbits/ETA on Surface2 I might end up with one of these.  I still don't understand why MS went with such a poor front-cam, though I would miss the stand.  If the edges are more rounded that could make up for it. (Though it makes me wonder why they 'flattened' the sides vs the bottom, as its at odds with the widescreen nature of RT.)

 

Those HPs look nice too, I've only tested out the Dell.

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Looks promising, I wonder at what price point they will come in at.

 

Off-topic: We have several (10+) ElitePads currently in our environment and I'm probably one of maybe two or three techs in my company certified to 'repair' them by HP. Which reminds me, I need to order a new display panel for one  :/

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