Nokia Windows 8 tablet promised for 2012

Nokia is planning a Windows 8 tablet for next summer -- and a bigger brother for the Nokia Lumia 800 Windows Phone too.

The tablet teaser was revealed by Paul Amsellem, Le General Manager du Nokia en France. He let slip that we could expect a Windows 8 tablet from the Finnish company in June 2012.

Our Gallic confrère also dropped a hint that the Lumia 800, which hits shops today, will sit in the middle of the Nokia Windows Phone lineup: a higher-specced smart phone and a lower-specced model will join the 800 next year.

To be precise, Monsieur Nokia compared the 800 to a BMW 5 Series car, telling French newspaper Les Echos that a 7 Series and a 3 Series are also on the way.

The higher-end phone could boast a faster processor and more memory, for a suitably inflated price tag.

The lower-specced phone -- the BMW 3 Series in this continental analogy -- could be the Nokia Lumia 710, a cute Windows Phone that's set to be more affordable than the 800, which could be important in making Windows Phone a more attractive proposition.

Windows Phone is yet to take a big slice of the smart phone market, but Nokia's long-standing popularity and marketing clout could launch it into the public consciousness as a serious rival to the iPhone and Android.

Meanwhile, we doubt Windows 8 will have any popularity problems: Windows is the most-used operating system for computers across the world, and when version 8 arrives next year it will boast many of the design cues of Windows Phone.

Windows 8 will also use the colourful square live tiles that make Windows Phone such fun to use, which will be handy on tablets. Windows 8 could share apps with Windows Phone, which would be great if it meant your apps work across your computer, laptop, tablet and phone.

What features would you like to see in a higher-specced Lumia smart phone or a Windows 8 tablet? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below, on our Facebook page, or at Google+.