X

Surface 2, Nokia 'Sirius' tablets coming soon, reports say

There are at least two new Windows ARM tablets in the pipeline: The Microsoft Surface 2 and Nokia 'Sirius,' according to evolving rumors.

Mary Jo Foley
Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 30 years for a variety of publications, including ZDNet, eWeek and Baseline. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008). She also is the cohost of the "Windows Weekly" podcast on the TWiT network.
See full bio
Mary Jo Foley
2 min read
Microsoft's Surface tablet.
Microsoft's Surface tablet. Microsoft

Many Microsoft watchers, customers, and partners continue to believe there is no future for Windows RT tablets -- in spite of Microsoft remaining committed to the ARM-based port of Windows.

Despite Microsoft's $900 million Surface RT write-down, make no mistake: There are still at least two (and possibly more) Windows RT-based tablets in the pipeline.

The first, about which rumors have been swirling for the past couple of weeks, is Nokia's coming Windows RT tablet. The latest codename for this device is "Sirius," according to The Verge. A couple of weeks ago, the codename for this device was supposedly "Vanquish," reported The Verge's Tom Warren.

As various blogs reported in mid-August, Nokia is expected to launch this device in New York at the end of September. (September 26 is the most often rumored date.) Reports claimed at that time that these Nokia tablets will be 10.1-inch devices running the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 32GB of built-in storage, 2GB of RAM, a micro USB port, a detachable keyboard, and LTE support. There have been reports indicating that AT&T, Verizon, or maybe both could be the LTE partners for these devices.

On the Windows SuperSite, Paul Thurrott corroborated the Sirius codename and specs, adding that the pricing will start at $499 for these devices.

(Note: All of this information is from sources. Nokia and Microsoft are not commenting.)

The Nokia Sirius isn't the only ARM tablet arriving this fall. Microsoft also is readying the successor to the Surface RT, which Thurrott says is going to be known as the Surface 2, running Windows 8.1 RT. (The OS will still include the "RT" moniker, even though the hardware won't, according to Thurrott.)

These Surface 2 devices already are showing up in the latest AdDuplex stats, as are their Intel-based complement, the Surface 2 Pro, blogged Thurrott.

Microsoft officials said in July to expect Microsoft to deliver updates to the company's Surface RT and Surface Pro lines, along with new peripherals for those lines some time during the company's fiscal 2014 (which ends on June 30, 2014).

This story originally appeared as "Windows ARM tablet rumors heat up: Surface 2, Nokia 'Sirius' on deck" on ZDNet.