Nokia and Intel are merging their respective Maemo and Moblin mobile operating systems to create MeeGo.
The Linux-based software platform will support many types of hardware, including pocketable mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
MeeGo uses the Qt application development software and builds on the Moblin operating system. Using Qt, developers can write once to create applications for a variety of devices and platforms, and then market them through Nokia’s Ovi Store and Intel AppUpSM Center.
MeeGo will be hosted by the Linux Foundation and run as an open-source project. The first release of MeeGo is due in the second quarter of 2010, and devices should follow.
Kai Oistamo, executive vice president, devices at Nokia, said: “We see this as an open platform – no walls, no fences.”
He also opened the door to closer collaboration with Intel on the hardware side: “I think it is kind of a natural thing for us to pick the best partner for hardware.”
Applications developed for Moblin and Maemo should be forward compatible with MeeGo.
Asked if the emergence of MeeGo spelled the end of Symbian, Oistamo said: “Absolutely not. This is consistent with Nokia’s software strategy. Symbian is the perfect environment for democratising smartphones for the world. MeeGo is about the future of mobile computing.”
Engineering & Technology magazine 
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