Nokia bet the farm on its Windows Phone partnership with Microsoft, but so far it’s been mum on potential Windows 8 tablets. That changed a bit today when CEO Stephen Elop implied it might be time.
During Nokia’s earnings call, Elop said that while Nokia isn’t announcing anything, there are tons of opportunities for other types of products:
“The broader digital experience is coming into focus,” he said. “If you look at the overall Microsoft strategy, you see the consistency of user experience… across PCs, tablets and phones. And for the operators, I suspect they see an opportunity to participate in a larger play when a consumer walks through their doors.”
It’s not a confirmation by any stretch, and back at Nokia’s CES press conference, when Elop was asked what would have to happen for Nokia to jump into the tablet game, he mostly side-stepped the question. At the time he said that if and when it happens, it’ll have to be great and different enough to be a spiritual sibling to the Lumia. Still, back in November a Nokia official let it slip that there’s a tablet in the works, so with Elop edging off the company’s hardline no comment phase, we might be getting closer tot he lid coming off. [Mashable]