The Nokia name lives on in the newly announced N1 tablet, whose spec sheet includes a highlight we haven't yet seen on any other device: a reversible USB Type-C connector. The specification for the next generation of USB cables was settled in August, but with most companies withholding their major hardware upgrades until the Consumer Electronics Show in January, there's been an understandable dearth of Type-C-compatible devices announced. The Nokia N1 is thus the first high-profile launch to feature it, though it might not be the first to market as the Finnish company proposes a release in time for the Chinese New year, which will be marked on February 19th in 2015.
The appeal of the slimmer and more versatile USB connectors is obvious, though there's an unexplained peculiarity about the Type-C implementation in the N1. Nokia's new tablet will support the older and slower USB 2.0 standard rather than the latest USB 3.1. Here's how Nokia explained the decision:
"The reason for that was that our partner didn’t have access to that kind of solution on the chipset that we’re building the device on. It’s just a pure question of having the availability. We believe that the reversible connector is an easier way, and of course the chipset from Intel is quite capable and we wanted to maximize the capability there, but the 3.1 USB capability was not available for this chipset at this time."
