Nokia is reportedly working on a 10.1 inch Windows RT 8.1 tablet that will be revealed next month. The device will reportedly be manufactured by Compal and sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC clocked at 2.15 GHz or 2.2 GHz, 32 GB of internal storage, and a detachable keyboard/stand peripheral similar to what Microsoft offers on the Surface RT tablet. It will have at least 2 GB of RAM, although Nokia may use Samsung's new 3 GB module.
According to the leaked specs, the screen will support 5-point multi-touch input, wide viewing angles and a 1080p resolution. It will also have Wireless N connectivity, but the latest rumor indicates that it will be launched in the States with AT&T support. There will also be a micro HDMI port, a micro USB port, and several USB ports on the back of the keyboard dock, possibly USB 3.0. The keyboard will also have its own battery. Cyan matte will be one of the color options.
Rumors of a Nokia-based Windows 8/RT tablet have been around since March 2012 at the least. Unnamed sources said that Microsoft and Nokia would produce a 10 inch tablet using a dual-core Qualcomm SoC in 4Q 2012 at the earliest, and that the first batch of shipments from Compal Electronics would be around 200,000 units. At the time, Nokia design chief Marko Ahtisaari even confirmed with Finnish magazine Kauppalehti Optio that the company was working on a tablet, and that it would be unique. He didn't go into specifics, but a spokesperson followed up stating that Nokia was "eyeing the tablet space with interest."
Not long after that, two patents covering tablet design were discovered (#1, #2), filed in May 2010 and awarded in March 2011. Another patent was awarded in April 2013 called "Apparatus Cover with Keyboard" which defines a tablet with a keyboard cover. A prototype 10.1 inch tablet using Nvidia's Tegra 3 (1.3 GHz) and Windows RT was then spotted back in July, sporting a polycarbonate shell, 2 GB of RAM, space for a SIM card and supposedly 16-point touch input.
Who wants to bet that a new Nokia Windows RT tablet will have the company's new 41MP camera sensor? Regardless, the use of Windows RT 8.1 indicates that the tablet will not arrive until October 17 which is when Microsoft plans to launch the updated platforms. Microsoft previously stated that both the update and devices based on Windows 8.1 would be released simultaneously.
Honestly, if Nokia uses the same design style it incorporates into its Windows Phone 8-based Lumia phones into a Windows RT tablet, the company should be golden.