Having seen Apple, RIM and others gain market share and consumer attention, Nokia would appear to be ramping up for a flow of new product announcements that could see the No. 1 handset vendor regain the initiative.
During this year the company is expected to release several touchscreen devices--a segment in which it has fallen sadly behind--with large screens and Qwerty keypads. The first to be announced is expected to offer a large 4.2-inch touchscreen display as well as a slide-out keyboard, and it should ship later this year.
Of more interest is Nokia's futuristic "Project Nautilus" that is expected to come to market in 12 months time. This device is rumoured to include a slim touchscreen, as well as a Qwerty keyboard that slides out when triggered by a sensor, after which the keys automatically rise for easier typing. Reports of Nokia working on a range of devices to simplify interaction with "strokes or gestures" first appeared a few months ago.
The company is also planning to release new smartphones sometime next quarter featuring vibration technology from Immersion to help make typing on touchscreens more lifelike.
There is renewed speculation Nokia is working to develop its own Linux software platform, which will be based on Maemo, and could become available by the end of this year. In addition to the modified Linux platform, it seems Nokia also plans to have a new line of Linux-based devices that could replace the existing N-Series. The Nokia S60/Symbian handsets would then be relegated to handsets positioned to go into the mid-tier/mass market segment instead.
For more on this story:
Softpedia, knowyourmobile and Pocket-Lint
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