Nokia’s share price up, reveals its first N1 Android tablet in a push back to mobile devices after selling its handset unit to Microsoft

Nokia revealed a tablet that operates under the Android software of Google Inc. at the Slush technology conference in Helsinki today. The Head of products division at Nokia, Sebastian Nystrom, said that the device runs Nokias software on top of the Android operating system.

Mr. Nystrom said in an interview, cited by Bloomberg: “We wanted to start with something small that caters to our fans. We continue to believe there is room for better products out there.”

The N1 tablet is manufactured in collaboration with a hardware company based in China and sold by Foxconn Technology Group. It is to be offered at the price of $249 plus tax. The company explained that sales of the new device in China will begin during the first quarter of the next fiscal year.

The release of this new tablet is considered to be an unexpected return to the consumer market, which Nokia left behind with the sale of its handset division to Microsoft Corp. earlier this year. The company is banned to manufacture any smartphones until 2016 under the terms of its agreement with Microsoft, which it sold its smartphone unit to. The new N1 tablet is the first device under the companys brand after Nokia sold its Lumia and Asha brands to Microsoft. This is also the first tablet made by the company.

The technology chief of Nokia – Ramzi Haidamus – commented for the Financial Times: “It’s the first of many coming – more SKUs [items for sale], more sizes, more features. We will go beyond tablets for sure.”

As Nokia revealed in its statement, the N1 tablet features a 7.9-inch screen and aluminium body. It is also equipped with an Intel Corp. processor and runs under the Lollipop version of the Android operating system of Google. In addition, the tablet offers a special feature called Z Launcher. The interface software predicts and highlights the applications, which are likely to be preferred by customers in accordance with time of the day and location.

Nokia added 2.01% to trade at €6.34 per share as of 13:22 GMT, marking a one-year increase of 10.46%. The company is valued at €23.36 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 31 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Nokia have a median target of €6.40, with a high estimate of €8.50 and a low estimate of €4.70. The median estimate represents a +3.06% increase from the last price of €6.21.