Nov 1, 2010 10:13 GMT  ·  By

Nokia Z500 seems to be the codename of the first Nokia MeeGo tablet to be launched on the market. Information about a future device with a larger screen has been showing up all over the internet since this Spring, when game developer Fishlabs revealed that they are closely working with Nokia on a triple-A title featuring OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics for large screens.

Even though Nokia N8 might qualify for these requirements to some extent, recent reports are pointing out to a totally different device. The tablet in question, the Z500 made its appearance on Nokia's Ovi Store listing.

Coincidence or not, the same codename was mentioned by the (in)famous Eldar Murtazin on his Twitter page, back in June. Furthermore, Nokia X7 was also leaked the same way, as it made its appearance on the same listing page.

It seems that the Z500 device cannot be selected from the pictures listed, but you'll be able to reach the said webpage by entering the URL directly. Of course, you will get a blank page, as there are no products available for this device, but the fact that an error is not returned makes it clear that Z500 is a Nokia product.

Moreover, a recent statement of Niklas Savander, executive vice president and general manager of markets for mobile handset maker Nokia, seems to confirm that the Finnish giant is preparing to launch its own MeeGo tablet.

In a recent interview published by The National, Savander doesn't confirm, but neither denies the existence of the Z500 tablet: “We are always eyeing what I would call the 'neighbouring businesses' to see if it would make sense for us to enter it.”

Nokia is probably itching to enter the tablet market with a device that will be able to rival Apple's iPad and Samsung's Galaxy Tab, and with the announcement of the new MeeGo OS, the company has all it needs to make it work.

It is still unclear how the spec sheet of the Z500 will look like, but rumors suggest a 7 to 9 inch touch display, MeeGo OS, as well as OpenGL ES 2.0 support for gaming.