Having abandoned handsets, Finnish telecommunications company Nokia announced Tuesday that it was going to tackle tablets.

Nokia's N1 Android tablet has a 7.9-inch screen and will be powered by Google's Android operating system. It is expected to go on sale in early 2015.

Nokia is licensing its name and the industrial design to technology group Foxconn, which will make the device.

Tablets were to begin selling in China during the first quarter of 2015, for an estimated 249 dollars before taxes, Nokia stated.

Earlier this year, Nokia completed the sale of its ailing handset business to US software giant Microsoft.

Nokia was the world's leading mobile phone maker until smartphones from Apple, as well as companies using the Android operating system, overtook it.

In 2011, Nokia formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft and opted to use Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system in an attempt to regain ground.

Sales failed to pick up. A year ago Microsoft announced it was buying the handset business.

Following the sale, Nokia now comprises the mainstay network supply business NSN, the mapping service unit HERE, and Nokia Technologies.