Nokia May Produce Windows 8 Tablets

Nokia indicated that the Lumia experience will appear on tablets and PCs in the future.

With Nokia's Windows Phone-based Lumia 800 and 710 smartphones now out in the open for all to see, the company may be setting its sights on producing tablets with Windows 8. The news arrives by way of Nokia CEO Stephen Elop in an interview with The Financial Times.

"We're not commenting on specific plans for tablets, but one of the things that we are excited about in terms of support for the Windows Phone are the announcements that Microsoft made around Windows 8 for tablets and personal computers," Elop said. "When you see the user experience from the Nokia Lumia environment appearing on hundreds of millions of tablets and PCs in the future, you can see that there is a clear synergy between all those environments. So that presents an interesting opportunity for Nokia."

Naturally the interview focused on the two new Nokia phones announced this week. When asked if the launch will be the "make or break" moment for Nokia, Elop instead described it as one step in the company's journey of transformation. He also added that Nokia will learn from its first Windows Phone launch no matter the outcome, refine and then keep going -- meaning Nokia isn't going anywhere even if the new Lumia phones sell like the KIN smartphones.

But Elop seems confident that he'll rule the smartphone world and take down that pesky fruity competitor. "There's no question about [competing with the likes of Apple]," he said with a smirk. "I said on stage that with our announcements, we are singling our intent to be today's leaders in smartphone design and craftsmanship."

And what of Plan B if Plan A isn't successful? Make sure Plan A is successful. To be honest, Nokia and Microsoft need to worry about Android, not Apple, as Google's OS is commanding a good chunk of the smartphone sector despite the iPhone's popularity. Why? Because it's installed on multiple phones and not just on a certain proprietary hardware set.

That said, let's see how the world's first "real" Windows Phone device, the Nokia Lumia 800, performs on the market this holiday season. Who wants to bet Microsoft is crossing its fingers and gritting its teeth?