So, Nokia finally made its return to consumer business with the introduction of Nokia N1 Android tablet. Device is priced aggressively and doesn't seem to fail in terms of specs on any particular area.
However, it has few potential obstacles to overcome:
As Google's terms are notoriously harsh on how manufacturers can use Google's apps and services on their devices, Nokia simply cannot use Google Play store in its device (their Z Launcher isn't conforming to Google's guidelines on how to present Google services in the homescreen). This means that Nokia has to use an alternative app store for its device. Yandex and Amazon both have excellent alternatives, but both tend to miss at least some of the major apps and games.
While it might not be a problem for most people, who use their tablets mostly at home or in locations where WiFi is freely available, the complete lack of 3G and 4G versions might put off some people. This is true especially in countries where unlimited, cheap data plans are commonplace (and thus, free WiFi access points are slightly more rare than elsewhere in the world).
Sure, x86 powered Android devices exist, but none of them have really, really made it into big league. All the apps should work, as Android is essentially a big Java virtual machine that hides the underlying CPU structure from the apps. For apps built using Android NDK (mostly games), the CPU issue might cause some level of compatibility issues, but that is just an assumption of ours.
Will Nokia expand the availability of N1 to other territories after Q1/2015 China launch? And if so, how soon it will happen? Nokia used to be notoriously bad at keeping its production and shipping schedules when it used to be a major player in mobile phones. Lets see if they have improved their game now that they're relying completely on OEM manufacturers.
Lack of Google Play
As Google's terms are notoriously harsh on how manufacturers can use Google's apps and services on their devices, Nokia simply cannot use Google Play store in its device (their Z Launcher isn't conforming to Google's guidelines on how to present Google services in the homescreen). This means that Nokia has to use an alternative app store for its device. Yandex and Amazon both have excellent alternatives, but both tend to miss at least some of the major apps and games.
Only one model available: No 3G nor 4G
While it might not be a problem for most people, who use their tablets mostly at home or in locations where WiFi is freely available, the complete lack of 3G and 4G versions might put off some people. This is true especially in countries where unlimited, cheap data plans are commonplace (and thus, free WiFi access points are slightly more rare than elsewhere in the world).
x86 Android
Sure, x86 powered Android devices exist, but none of them have really, really made it into big league. All the apps should work, as Android is essentially a big Java virtual machine that hides the underlying CPU structure from the apps. For apps built using Android NDK (mostly games), the CPU issue might cause some level of compatibility issues, but that is just an assumption of ours.
Availability
Will Nokia expand the availability of N1 to other territories after Q1/2015 China launch? And if so, how soon it will happen? Nokia used to be notoriously bad at keeping its production and shipping schedules when it used to be a major player in mobile phones. Lets see if they have improved their game now that they're relying completely on OEM manufacturers.
