Nokia back in business with new budget Android tablet, hitting China next year

The part of Nokia that wasn’t sold off to Microsoft showed that it’s still in business today with the surprising reveal of a budget Android tablet called the N1 (hat-tip to Engadget for spotting this).

The Nokia N1 has a 7.9-inch 1080p HD screen and will ship with Android 5.0 (aka Lollipop). In a novel move, it will feature the type-C reversible micro-USB connector. A new N1 mini-site is now online.

But the little N1 is not arriving anytime soon, with Nokia indicating that it’ll first pop up in China in time for Chinese New Year (mid-February) and then hit Russia at a later date.

Looking a lot like an iPad Mini with its curved metal frame, the Nokia N1 will cost US$250, which is very close to the price of China’s Xiaomi MiPad.

Nokia’s tablet comes with its own UI on top of Android that will be familiar to users of its Z Launcher app, which appeared in June.

We get the feeling everybody will have forgotten about this by February, or whenever it launches. Nokia seems to be going for non-Western markets first, and will miss the whole Christmas buying spree. China’s love affair with Nokia is long since over, so it can no longer rely on brand loyalty once the N1 hits stores next year.

See: Xiaomi MiPad is a pretty package for just $240 – REVIEW