Why Doesn’t Nokia Have Its Own Tablet Yet?

Microsoft is the latest brand to jump on the tablet bandwagon. Lured by the huge sales of handheld devices and having to deal with falling PC sales, the corporation is entering the market with its own gadgets. Seeking to appeal to the consumers of today, Microsoft is looking towards their new tablets to revive their sales. However, they are not the only company in the tech industry which is struggling. The Finnish company, Nokia is another company which is facing trouble with sales and market share.

Facing Stiff Competition in the Smartphone Market

Nokia has never been a major player in the smartphones market. Though their gadgets have been appreciated and praised and enjoy strong sales in Asia, they have never really posed a threat to the leading companies in the market. Apple continues to dominate with Samsung and other companies on its trail. To turn its fortunes around, Nokia overhauled its operating system. Their phones now use the Windows Phone platform.

In the midst of all this, a majority of their competitors in the market moved towards producing tablets. Apple had taken the market by the scruff of its neck with its iPad shipping millions of units every quarter. The initial attempts to capture a market share failed, with HTC’s attempt being the foremost example. However, a couple of the makers came up with low-cost tablets. Amazon with its Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus showed the companies a way into the tablet market.

Gone are the days when every new tablet on the market was failing. The iPad isn’t the tablet in demand with devices by other companies also enjoying strong sales. Google has been a catalyst in turning things around. Even with this resurgence, Nokia surprisingly has remained tightlipped about its plans of entering, or not entering, the tablet market in the future.

The Probable Reasons Nokia Hasn’t Made a Tablet Yet

While there has been no official word on the matter, there are two probable reasons why Nokia hasn’t made a tablet yet.

The Operating System Conundrum

Nokia now runs its smartphones on Windows Mobile. This means if they had made a tablet, they would have opted for Windows 8. But, Windows 8 is a relatively untested operating system and it would have been risky to use in. In addition, using Microsoft’s operating system would have meant Google and Apple didn’t allow users to access their app stores. As you probably know, Microsoft’s app collection isn’t anything to boast about.

The Costs of Making Tablets

The second trouble plaguing Nokia for the past few years has been their expenditure. They have spent heavily on research and development and have precious little to show for it. This is the major reason why they face financial problems. Over the past seven quarters, they have already encountered losses totaling €4 billion. This means they probably don’t have the cash to spend on making a tablet. Even if they managed to do it, they cannot afford a flop.

These are the probable reasons why Nokia has refused to enter the tablet market even though its competitors are. It seems like the company would have to find another way out of their current predicament.

[Image via technodestiny]