Archive for: maemo
While Symbian^3 already has some multi-tasking features built into the core of the operating system, it doesn’t look quite as nice as the image above. So when promotional pictures (like said image above) are released, it naturally piques our interest. As of writing, there’s no official announcement/confirmation/denial by Nokia of what exactly we’re looking at. Nonetheless, it certainly can’t hurt Nokia’s attempts at stemming the loss of users to other mobile platforms.
- February 15, 2010 6:59 am
Talk about a short lifespan — Nokia’s next gen mobile OS, Maemo, was effectively killed today at MWC with the announcement that the companies very own Maemo and Intel’s Moblin would be joining forces and emerge as a completely separate entity dubbed “Meego”. According to Nokia, Meego won’t just be for phones, but for pretty much “anything with a processor on board”. Hmm, the whole Android creep into every device just got a worthy competitor. Interesting
As we’ve all come to realize since the release of the iPhone and App Store, a mobile platform must have a good assortment of apps if it is to survive. For Meego, the Ovi Store will be the go-to standard for mobile apps and most everything else. The only oddity is that the developers actually building applications for Meego will use Intel’s App Center — why the split? Beats me. The fragmentation from the get-go however isn’t the wisest decision I’ve seen.
For those worried about Maemo compatibility: “the next release of Maemo will be 100% compatibile with MeeGo. So Maemo has become MeeGo but will still be separate, developers use Intel’s App Center and consumers download said apps with Nokia’s Ovi Store…Is anyone getting confused yet? I only ask because the name for the next version of Maemo is still undecided — “Maemo 6 or Meego something”?
Why branch Maemo off? Thoughts?
IntoMobile
- December 2, 2009 11:02 am
When compared to the likes of Android, the iPhone OS, in some instances BlackBerry and yes, even Windows Mobile, Symbian comes off looking pretty dated. Even though I dog it from time to time, it really isn’t that bad of an OS. It’s just suffering from a sickening lack of innovation and attention that Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry platforms have been thoroughly enjoying as of late. With constant back and forth rumors of the demise of Nokia and Symbians relationship, many were assuming that the death march would surely start playing. Nokia however has more plans for it’s long time friend and has announced that come 2010, a greatly updated Symbian interface will go live backing up the robust underpinnings of the mobile operating system.
This updated look will supposedly better cater to the touch revolution that has become the latest mobile phone feature as well as continuing innovation with traditional qwerty designs. While true that higher end Nokia phones will start phasing over to Maeomo — with the first Maemo 6 device to launch next year — Nokia isn’t giving up or neglecting the bottom end of the market. A sect of the market that for years has sustained Nokia’s overpowering market share mind you.
At the end of the day after all the dust has settled, we will end up seeing two children of Nokia — Symbian and Maemo. With Symbian being relegated to lower and mid-range devices, the high end is opened up for Maemo to trully shine. Of course, some Symbian faithful are no doubt distraught at Nokia’s direction. But you have to love, learn, and move on. Hopefully Nokia can get over their love for packing phones chock full of features and then failing to finish the job on any one feature. You know, a “jack of all trades, master of none” type of deal. Can Nokia do it? I sure hope so. The mobile sphere is heating up and another contender is more than welcome. Nokia, what do you say?
Asian News
Yeah yeah, I know that Nokia claimed all N-Series devices from this point forward would tout the surprisingly intriguing Maemo OS. According to a few Reuters sources however, Nokia appears to be getting a slight case of nostalgia and will in fact only release one, single Maemo device next year. Why?! Symbian was great in the day and still could be if it was totally rebuilt. But that isn’t going to happen so it’s time to move on. In the current mobile arena, when comparing Android, the iPhone OS, or even WinMo in some instances, Symbian comes away looking dated and grossly irrelevant. Because of that, Nokia was intelligently moving higher end phones towards a higher end and more sophisticated OS — Maemo. Apparently it was all talk or they are again feeling a bit hesitant about this whole Linux thing. It’s partially understandable being that Nokia has invested millions of dollars and tens of thousands of man hours tweaking Symbian to fit their needs. But at some point they have to realize, nothing lasts forever. If it turns out to be true, do you think Nokia is making the right decision or are they further removing themselves from the equation?
Gizmodo > Reuters
- October 22, 2009 12:48 pm
Awesome. Another delay. This time it’s the Nokia N900. Sorry for more bad news but I figured you’d want to know, especially considering how pivotal the N900 is for Nokia. It’s by far the most impressive gadget coming from the Finish company in quite some time. Any negative news surrounding it will certainly make someone’s day a bit less cheerful.
The dark tale comes from Nokia’s Head of Maemo Marketing, Peter Schneider. He goes on to say that we can expect to see the N900 start shipping in November ’09, not October as originally planned and hoped for. I guess one month isn’t too bad is it?
Brighthand > Maemo
- October 15, 2009 12:03 pm
AT&T users may be left wondering aimless around the country searching for speed of any kind, but T-Mobile customers may not wonder very long. T-Mobile U.S.A’s 3G footprint while still pretty weak when compared to other big players is apparently helluva fast. Take the screenshot above for example. The shot was captured on a freshly baked Nokia N900 which Mark Guim from The Nokia Blog received as a gift after attending the Maemo Summit in Amsterdam. 2+ megs down is awesome! And that’s not even on the *rumored* soon to launch 21Mbps+ HSDPA network.
Of course, as IntoMobile points out, he’s probably one of very few using the towers 3G capability meaning as more users sign on, expect that number to drop like a rock. Still, it’s cool to see some real speed via wireless means isn’t it? In case you were wondering how it stacks up compared to other wireless carriers, a couple months back BGR conducted a rather useful poll on wireless speeds. At least for this lucky chap above, he’s twice as fast as anyone else without a cord. Oh how we envy thee…
Into Mobile
- October 14, 2009 10:46 am
Uh oh. Seems like all of those Nokia fans who bashed the iPhone for the last 2-1/2 years for not being able to send a simple MMS message are about to get a rude awakening if they had any hopes of upgrading to the N900. It seems Nokia is pulling an Apple and leaving the ancient technology out of their brand spankin’ new device. Ya ya, I get it. MMS is old. Tons of people now have IM or email support on their phones. Awesome! Many more don’t and rely on MMS for sending pictures. I can understand dropping support for old outdated technology, but when so many people use it, problems arise.
Of course, looking at the other side of the coin, you have start somewhere don’t you? That was Apple’s hope — to drive enough people away from MMS into more modern IM and email methods. Maybe Nokia will have better luck since they have such a large presence no? Besides, I’m all for reducing the amount we overpay to wireless carriers each month. But remember, this is so far only on their N900, a niche device that will sell in low numbers. Is it doomed without MMS? Or will they simple backtrack like Apple and provide it after the fact?
In the end, while no MMS will be no less than a pain in the ass every time you want to send a quick pic to someone on the fly that doesn’t a phone as smart as yours, the N900 is still a sexy device both hardware and software considered. I wouldn’t mind borrowing one. You?
IntoMobile
- September 15, 2009 5:25 am
As if I really needed to convince you that the N900 is a beast of device, a “release” date to distributors should perk you up and get you ready for action. If all goes according to plan, the N900 will hit distributors on September 27th with us mere mortals seeing the devices in our hands just as the calendar flips into October. When you think about it, it isn’t that far away at all. This device has the potential to be pretty big for Nokia as it is their first Maemo powered device — a new OS that so far looks very promising. The only thing stopping this from really taking off is the stratospheric $650 price tag. Still, to people like us, such monetary figures are badges of accomplishment. Anyone ready to drop nearly seven Benjamin’s?
Source: BGR, Nokia Blog
Those of you who have been aimlessly wondering the streets, wasting away, and more or less turning in to an anti-social hermit since the demise of Nokia’s widely popular (in geeky circles) N800 internet tablet. For those of you who call gourmet eating finding 3/4 of an old McDonalds cheeseburger in the dumpster, Nokia has some news that may inspire you to clean up just a tad, reversing months of decline. Nokia is back in the game however with the official announcement of the N900. Even though we’ve known about this for awhile, official confirmation is always appreciated. While this isn’t solely an internet tablet like the now defunct N800, the “N” prefix will surely catch many consumers off guard. But the N900 is a completely different beast and goes on record as Nokia’s first Maemo-powered phone. So what else does this Nokia Jesus phone attempt number xx have?
- Quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE, WCDMA 900/1700/2100, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth with A2DP, and GPS *kitchen sink a $50 option*
- 5.0 MP Carl Zeiss camera with dual-LED flash, auto-focus, and sliding cover
- 3.5-inch WVGA (800 x 480) resistive(?) touchscreen display (really guys….? All the hype and oozing next-gen appearance and image and you stuff resistive crap on it. WTF?!
- Sliding, portrait QWERTY keyboard
- 1320 mAh battery (ya, that’s a problem, hopefully Maemo is super frugal or else wall outlets are going to be your best friends)
So how do the specs look so far? Is your mouth oozing yet? While AT&T would seem like a given as cream of the crop Nokia phones, heck, most high end smartphones stray on over to AT&T’s turf, the appearance of the 1700MHz band in the spec list gives extremely high hopes and credibility to a T-Mobile USA release. We can only hope. AT&T’s network can’t take much more.
The only set back, though it’s to be expected with high end Nokia phones, is the roughly $700 USD pricetag. Hey, our bodies come with extra organs for a reason. I’m just sayin’…..
Video after the jump…
