New Internet Tablet on November 2nd?
So we all know that the new Internet Tablet is coming, and soon. I personally have decided that it is going to be unveiled on November 2nd at an Nseries Event held in London. There’s several clues that I’m putting together to come up with this conclusion, which I’ll lay out below.
Please note that I could be entirely wrong. The fun isn’t in being right, the fun is in trying to figure it out, and crossing your fingers that you were right. Then next time, read the clues better. I for one could NOT be more excited about the new Internet Tablet. Since my trip to L.A., I’ve been using mine more, and have several articles coming up detailing why I’ve been using it more and what on earth I’ve been using it for.
The first clue is the FCC filing for the new Internet Tablet that Thoughtfix over at Tabletblog.com found. You can read his full analysis of the situation here, but the important thing to note is that the confidentiality agreement on the filings expires at the end of October (which, as you hopefully know, comes right before the 2nd of November). So we know that the beans will be spilled around that time anyways, whether Nokia chooses or not.
The next clue is a personal observation from the L.A. Unlocked event. There were SO many N800s at this event it was unreal. I’m not kidding. You’ve seen the pic of the wall of N800s. It was just strange to me to see such a presence of a device that came out so long ago and hasn’t really been all that emphasized by Nokia. That’s not to say that they’ve ignored it by any measure. In fact, there’s been more things created for and around the N800 than most phones from the Nseries crew. But it seemed to me there was a renewed interest in the N800 at this event.
Next up is Thoughtfix’s find today of the significant price drops on the N800 at major retailers like Target and Amazon.com. The tablet typically retails for $399, and is now down to $279. Hmmm. Clearing out old inventory, are we? Interesting. Seems to me, this signals a new device coming in, and (hopefully) at that same $400 price-point.
So where did I get the date of November 2nd from? From this site. This one is REALLY interesting, though. First off, it looks REALLY similar to the Nseries campaign that preceeded the Go Play event. However, this one isn’t on an Nseries site, it’s on a UK Nokia url. Weird. There’s a place to interact and leave a message, and you get a response email. Mine was from "no-reply@nseries.com", and said:
Dear The Guru,
Thank you for submitting your email address. You will now be one of the first to know what will happen in the next episode. Keep watching this space.
Regards,
The Nokia Nseries Team
That’s it. Just a plain-text email. The Next Episode, huh? Fascinating. Oh, and if you didn’t see, on the top corner of that site is the "02.11.07" date.
Then we also have yesterday’s discovery of the N82’s .XML file. Typically, this profile of the phone shows up online about a month or two before the official announcement. Which would put it RIGHT in line with the November 2nd date.
So my guess is that on November 2nd (that’s a Friday, and I was planning on going camping, dangit), in London, there’s going to be an event, and at said event, the Nokia N82 Imaging King and the new Internet Tablet, whatever it’s called, will be announced. The Tablet will be available immediately, as was the 770 and N800, and the N82 will hit Q1 2008. The Tablet will hit at $400USD, while I haven’t the foggiest idea what the N82 will hit at.
What do you think? Am I mad? Am I just stabbing in the dark with this? Which are you more excited about, the N82 or the new Internet Tablet? Secretly, I’m more pumped about the new Tablet.
I think that’s what gonna happen. I didn’t thought about the possibility of the new tablet + n82… But it can be real.
That makes some sense. Gotta start the money saving process all over again I guess.
Should we be calling you the Symbian-Detective at this point?!? Nice put together and I pray it is true. If the N800 has hit a $279 price point it’s going to be tough to resist considering I have a US3G N95 at my disposal for some REAL high speed tethering…..
Ricky, your analysis makes perfect sense. The price drop also follows the 770 to N800 pattern. I in particular hope that 1) it will indeed be available immediately 2) they will announce a version of it with WiMax at the same time. I may be streatching here of course..
Btw, I got a completely empty email response from that site.. how mysterious… lol.. more like a glitch I guess. Have to try it again.
Well, personally, I’m much more excited about the Internet tablet- I’ve heard some interesting rumors about the device, and I’m pumped! I’ve been quite a fan of my N800, and like you said… after the renewed interest thrust forth after the LA event- I’m all the more excited about it. That’s not to say that the N82 doesn’t interest me- I like the specs of the device, I’m just very partial to my slider devices. I’m keen on the xenon flash- but I’m not sold on the form factor.
Have you forgotten the WiMax version of the tablet hitting Sprint?
I think we’ll see that, and a new firmware… with Skype video support!
Perhaps November 2nd is the day the London Nokia Flagship Store opens.
Pseudofinn, what kind of rumors have you heard about the tablet?
JC - I haven’t forgotten the WiMax version at all. However, there’s nothing in the FCC documentation regarding WiMax, and with Sprint not really aiming to launch WiMax heavily till next year, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was another special WiMax edition. I don’t know, that seems odd.
In any case, WiMax could or couldn’t be in this one, I don’t know. However, Buy.com also just dropped their price on the N800, another good indicator that they’re clearing inventory to make room for the new one.
Aris - I doubt that they’d make such a fuss over the London Flagship Store opening up. Just doesn’t make any sense, that one.
I don’t think the price drop in and of itself means much… the N770 also had a mid-life price drop, from what I recall.
Perhaps they’re lowering the price to make it a bit more competitive with the iPod touch?
“Tablet will be available immediately”
You realy think so? I hope not because if its any good i have done some bad shopping just yesterday ;(
Any nokia advert which is that abstract ususally means it going to be ultra sleek and expensive. Maybe a glass fronted phone?
It was just a thought. Supposedly the London Flagship Store is set to open in November. Maybe the N81 or N95 8GB will be available that day at the store.
To me it doesn’t make sense that they would announce the new Internet Tablet that day unless it was immediately available for sale. Why announce something before the holidays if it won’t be available in time? If I recall correctly, the N800 was announced in January at the CES and was available immediately thereafter.
“Why announce something before the holidays if it won’t be available in time?”
If they announce it on the 2nd of November (which is a Fri) and release it the following week it still has plenty of time to be plucked up and stuffed in stockings…
Another thing this could be about: new N-Gage platform is supposed to go live in November. Hmm.. that must be a part of this event, no?
I didn’t think about Ngage, but given the symbols floating around on the minisite, I’m more inclined to think it’s music. Actually, it could be the Music Store. Who knows, lol. That’s why it’s fun to speculate.
Something’s coming on Wed October 17th from the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco. Possibly just the N81 launching in the US, but hopefully it’s a new device - either the tablet or a new N-series smartphone. Either way, it’s a new Web 2.0-focused N-Series device.
I just walked past a massive advert in London, it has a countdown clock counting down to November 2nd- It flickrs every now and then to say ” N81″ -think that explains it. It could be the launch of the N81 in the flagship store?