Update: the new device is an Android tablet. You can read more about it here
Original story
Hold on to your hat, Nokia is readying itself to make a big comeback tomorrow with a puzzling new device.
The Finnish company tweeted a picture of a mysterious black box today that got the social network talking. Nokia’s official Twitter account has been trying to ramp up interest in its new device over the last couple of days by tweeting extreme closeups and promising something “exciting”.
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But what exactly is it? Clearly, it’s not a smartphone. Aside from the fact that it’s far too square and giant to be a phone, Nokia is restricted on using its brand for smartphones until the end of 2016 because of Microsoft's acquisition of its handset division.
Whilst it’s possible that Nokia will return to making smartphones at some point in the future, in the meantime it plans to slap the Nokia logo on anything that will have it. Ramzi Haidamus, president of Nokia technologies, was clear last week when he said that it’s Nokia’s “goal to start licensing our brand in areas other than these two restricted areas, starting this quarter”. This mysterious black box is the first step.
Lots of people have speculated that the new device could be some sort of set-top box that runs Android TV, like the recently launched Nexus player. Which could make sense since it keeps Nokia within a similar smartphone arena and on the minds of its target customers. Haidamus also said that Nokia will remain in the areas “where the brand is relevant” - suggesting that the new device won’t deviate too far from what Nokia is well known for.
The new device will be launched tomorrow at Slush 2014 - a startup event held in Helsinki - and unveiled by Sebastian Nystrom, Nokia’s head of new products.
Whatever is launched tomorrow could spell a whole new era for Nokia, as it battles to stay relevant in its post-smartphone age. It will likely have its eyes firmly fixed on the 4th quarter of 2016, when it can start making (or licensing) smartphones again. But until then, expect to see see some interesting concepts and devices emblazoned with the Nokia logo - starting tomorrow with a mystery black box.
