Meego Archive

  • Nokia N900 drops to $369, unlocked

    Nokia N900 drops to $369, unlocked

    Posted on June 23, 2010 | No Comments
    Hard to believe but after all this time the N900 remains the most powerful handset in Nokia's vast collection of cellphones. No other Nokia handset even comes close and that won't change until Nokia launches the Symbian^3-powered N8 or the MeeGo-powered N9. So if you've got the dough and a certain inclination to write Python scripts on a Friday night, you might want to think about sliding $369 (down from $649 at launch or $479 currently at Nokia USA) Espoo's way for a crack at the ARM Cortex A8 slider. Sure, it's not the freshest face on the block, but the development community will certainly help eek-out every last bit of value for many months to come.

    P.S. Don't forget to apply the coupon code LL17PBSTFKZ440 to get the reduced price.

    Nokia N900 drops to $369, unlocked originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia N8 to be final Symbian N Series device, all MeeGo from here on out

    Nokia N8 to be final Symbian N Series device, all MeeGo from here on out

    Posted on June 23, 2010 | No Comments
    Whoa. Nokia's premier range of devices, the N Series, will bid adieu to the Symbian operating environment and go MeeGo full time after the introduction of the N8. That's what we've just heard directly from the Finnish horse's mouth. Nokia will naturally keep Symbian around -- of course there's a whole Symbian^4 to come -- but will utilize it on more mass market devices as it seeks to push smartphones further down the product hierarchy. So it's not necessarily bad news, as such, it means we'll likely see Symbian trickle down to handsets priced more like featurephones and less like miniaturized laptops. What it does mean, however, is that Nokia is pushing forward with its modernization plans, and doing so more aggressively than previously thought. Which we consider to be a pretty awesome (and necessary) thing.

    Nokia N8 to be final Symbian N Series device, all MeeGo from here on out originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 09:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia: pre-alpha release of MeeGo for handsets coming June 30th

    Nokia: pre-alpha release of MeeGo for handsets coming June 30th

    Posted on June 22, 2010 | No Comments
    We've already gotten an early peek at what's in store for MeeGo on handsets courtesy of some leaked UI guidelines, and it looks like folks now won't have to wait too much longer to try it out for themselves -- Nokia has confirmed that the pre-alpha release will be available on June 30th. That will be followed by the "fully productized" version sometime in October, which should also coincide with the release of some actual MeeGo-based handsets. No further details beyond that just yet, but N900 users should be the first to get a taste of a true MeeGo handset experience -- despite Nokia's lack of official support.

    Nokia: pre-alpha release of MeeGo for handsets coming June 30th originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia N9 MeeGo slider leaks in early video tease?

    Nokia N9 MeeGo slider leaks in early video tease?

    Posted on June 14, 2010 | No Comments
    Um, yeah. Let's just put this out there: the image above was grabbed from a video that could be an early, leaked teaser for the N9, Nokia's first handset to run the MeeGo OS. Could be. The production quality of the promo is certainly up to snuff and the industrial design of the slider itself features just enough N8 to make the whole thing seem very plausible. It doesn't hurt that it resembles an earlier leak... but that doesn't help authenticate it as real either. And what's with those impossibly shallow keys on the QWERTY? Watch for yourself after the break.

    [Thanks, Tigran]

    Continue reading Nokia N9 MeeGo slider leaks in early video tease?

    Nokia N9 MeeGo slider leaks in early video tease? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia’s 16 model house reveals a smokin’ S series, N9 MeeGo?

    Nokia’s 16 model house reveals a smokin’ S series, N9 MeeGo?

    Posted on June 9, 2010 | No Comments
    Lovely home except for those pesky leaks. This Nokia house built (circa 2010) upon on a foundation of Symbian with a MeeGo roof is also sporting an interesting looking S-series smokestack. Most of the building blocks we've already seen including the flagship N8. The N9 is almost certainly Nokia's followup to the N900 and Espoo's first handset to feature its new MeeGo OS. But what's with the business-class E7, mainstream C7, and socially entertaining X7? None of these handsets have been announced, yet all three are at the top-end of their respective series meaning mean more functionality at a higher price. Still, the most interesting revelation is the S-series which Nokia has never referenced under its new naming scheme. The translated text from the S-series bullet describes it as, "A name reserved for limited phones. Mobiles that do not fit in other categories come in here." The first Moorestown phone to run MeeGo, perhaps? Hey, we can dream.

    [Thanks, Mark]

    Nokia's 16 model house reveals a smokin' S series, N9 MeeGo? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 05:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Telefonica gets behind MeeGo, says ’smartphones, netbooks, tablets, and internet connected TVs’ are possibilities

    Telefonica gets behind MeeGo, says ’smartphones, netbooks, tablets, and internet connected TVs’ are possibilities

    Posted on June 2, 2010 | No Comments
    Virtually all of the MeeGo buzz since Intel and Nokia's tie-up back in February has been focused on high-end smartphones, tablets, and netbooks, but Telefonica reminds us that there's another potential target for the platform, too -- connected TVs. The Spanish wireless, fixed internet, and cable operator has thrown its weight behind MeeGo this week (which is a pretty big deal considering that the company has global reach across 25 countries and about a quarter billion subscribers), hinting that "services could potentially include content and applications that can be accessed from devices such as smartphones, netbooks, tablets, and internet connected TVs for Telefonica's wireline and wireless operations." We've yet to see any set-top box announcements in the MeeGo space, but with Google trying to light fires under the connected TV market, we imagine some competitors are bound to emerge -- and it's probably a good sign that they've got the backing of a cable company.

    Telefonica gets behind MeeGo, says 'smartphones, netbooks, tablets, and internet connected TVs' are possibilities originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia will kick off MeeGo effort with ARM-based silicon, not x86

    Nokia will kick off MeeGo effort with ARM-based silicon, not x86

    Posted on May 30, 2010 | No Comments
    We've heard a similar message from Nokia dating all the way back to MeeGo's introduction at MWC back in February, so it comes as little surprise that Espoo is apparently trumpeting the virtues of ARM for its first MeeGo-powered device that's still targeted for the tail end of 2010. What might make this particularly interesting is the fact that MeeGo 1.0 is clearly further along for Atom devices than it is for the Cortex A8-based N900, not to mention that Nokia has already warmed up to Intel thanks to its Booklet 3G -- but regardless of the silicon, getting the platform solid enough for any sort of retail device by the end of 2010 still seems like a tricky proposition when you figure that the ARM build doesn't even have a proper user interface yet. Ultimately, it might come down to a question of size; Intel still hasn't proven that it can scale Atom down far enough to tackle the smartphone market head-on, so if Nokia wants to go small with its first MeeGo hardware, that alone could be impetus enough to go ARM.

    Nokia will kick off MeeGo effort with ARM-based silicon, not x86 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 May 2010 21:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia sells just 100,000 N900s after first five months: so? (updated: more like 5 weeks)

    Nokia sells just 100,000 N900s after first five months: so? (updated: more like 5 weeks)

    Posted on May 28, 2010 | No Comments
    Look, the N900 might be sitting at the top of Nokia's handset pyramid in terms of capabilities, but as we've said all along, the N900 is not a mass-market device. Nokia's been very clear that the N900 was launched as a means to strengthen its Maemo development community (on the path to MeeGo we now know). And by all accounts, it's done just that while winning a rabid fanbase of nerds in the process. Nevertheless, Reuters uses Gartner's estimate of less than 100,000 units sold in the device's first five months as proof that Nokia can't mount a challenge to RIM and Apple. True the numbers are paltry compared to the 8.75 million iPhones Apple sold from January to March, but a more apt comparison might be the oft noted Nexus One sales that reached just 135k units moved after 74 days. Regardless, in its defense, Alberto Torres, head of Nokia's solutions business said that "Sales have substantially exceeded expectations." So yeah, Nokia has problems, but the N900 isn't wasn't one of them.

    Update: While Nokia doesn't normally give out detailed sales figures per device, we've just been told that more than 100,000 N900s sold in the first five weeks -- not months -- globally.

    Nokia sells just 100,000 N900s after first five months: so? (updated: more like 5 weeks) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 05:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • MeeGo 1.0 for netbooks and N900 now available to download

    MeeGo 1.0 for netbooks and N900 now available to download

    Posted on May 26, 2010 | No Comments
    You've seen it teased, and now it's time to shelve whatever you had planned for this evening (or morning, depending on your current coordinates) and slap the first bona fide 1.x MeeGo release onto whatever device you've got handy. As of right now, MeeGo v1.0 for Netbooks and v1.0 for Nokia N900 are available for download, with the former supporting Atom-based machines and the latter supporting... well, we'll let you take a stab there. The API that's being released includes Qt 4.6, and while the current SDK is tailored for netbooks, the next version -- slated to hit devs in June -- will support "touch-based devices, such as handsets and tablets." We're also told that v1.1 will be outed in October, with the development tree already being open. We're certainly digging the layout shown here at a glance, but why not give that source link a visit and find out how it suits you in real life? We heard Snooki totally digs it, too.

    [Thanks, Ernst]

    MeeGo 1.0 for netbooks and N900 now available to download originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 May 2010 18:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia updates N900 to version 1.2 in UK, closes door on MeeGo

    Nokia updates N900 to version 1.2 in UK, closes door on MeeGo

    Posted on May 25, 2010 | No Comments
    You've overclocked it and hacked it to run OS X and Android, now you can return your N900 to its native Maemo 5 OS with the launch of a version 1.2 software update. The V10.2010.19-1 bump now available in the UK (global on Wednesday) packs several enhancements including face-to-face video calling, improved Ovi Maps, and a better email experience with bundled Facebook IM Chat and the ability to accept or decline event invitations from the inbox. You'll also see a number of new games when the Ovi Store switches over on Thursday.

    And after much speculation, Nokia's also admitting that MeeGo will not be officially supported on the N900 once the Intel / Nokia OS is device ready. Nokia will continue to support the core Maemo OS, however, as demonstrated by today's update. Regardless, we're sure that the N900's active fan-base will deliver a MeeGo update outside of official channels, especially since the N900 is already being used as a platform for ARM-based MeeGo development.

    [Thanks, Pasu]

    Nokia updates N900 to version 1.2 in UK, closes door on MeeGo originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 May 2010 03:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Nokia reshuffles management looking for gold

    Nokia reshuffles management looking for gold

    Posted on May 11, 2010 | No Comments
    We're not alone in grumbling about Nokia. Investors are miffed -- to put it gently -- over Nokia's inability to ignite the industry (and profits) with innovative, high-margin handset sales since the launch of Apple's iPhone some three years ago. And let's not forget about that feisty upstart Google, Microsoft's revamped Windows Phone OS, or HP's new-found love for mobile devices. Investor unrest was made clear last week as Nokia's shareholders gave CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo an earful. But as slow moving as Nokia can be, it's not immune to the situation by any stretch. Following up on its announcement to combine services and devices, we now have details about Nokia's planned re-org, the second in seven months. The goal, as described by OPK, is as follows:
    "Nokia's new organizational structure is designed to speed up execution and accelerate innovation, both short-term and longer-term."
    The heat will be on Anssi Vanjoki (pictured) to deliver as he'll be assuming responsibility for the Mobile Solutions group on July 1st. That gives him direct control of Nokia's MeeGo Computers (led by Alberto Torres), Symbian Smartphones (headed by Jo Harlow), and Ovi Services (led by Tero Ojanpera) -- the holy trifecta that interests us the most. Mary McDowell will head the Mobile Phones unit while Niklas Savander will head up the Markets unit. The loser in all of this appears to be Richard Simonson, the former CFO currently leading the Mobile Phones unit, but soon to be retired. Full press release after the break.

    Continue reading Nokia reshuffles management looking for gold

    Nokia reshuffles management looking for gold originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Intel’s Atom Z6xx series isn’t targeting Windows Phone 7, but ‘full Windows experience’ still an Atom priority

    Intel’s Atom Z6xx series isn’t targeting Windows Phone 7, but ‘full Windows experience’ still an Atom priority

    Posted on May 5, 2010 | No Comments
    As many times as Intel has tried and failed to shoehorn its way into the phone arena, you'd think it'd want to pimp as many notable platforms as it possibly could -- but strangely, Windows Phone 7 is notably absent from Intel's fact sheet on the just-announced, smartphone-focused Z6xx series of Atom cores. Instead, the wording of the paperwork clearly spells out that Android and MeeGo / Moblin are the focal points right now, which is leading everyone to wonder whether Intel's looking to steer clear of Microsoft's mobile strategy altogether. Granted, Microsoft's focus is clearly on ARM right now with its Qualcomm partnership having been announced back in February, but we're sure it wouldn't take too much pressure from Intel to get an x86 build of Windows Phone out there if these guys really wanted to play ball. We reached out to Intel to get some clarification on the issue and got this in response:
    "Intel's goal is to ensure we offer our customers a choice of software that runs best on our processors. Yesterday's announcement was focused on Linux OSs, however our strategy is to also support a full Windows experience on Atom as we do with Menlow, Intel's first generation atom chip for mobile devices and Pinetrail, Intel's chip family for netbooks. Stay tuned."
    What's getting us here is Intel's seemingly careful phrasing: "full Windows experience on Atom." Does that mean that Intel wants to keep Atom up in the Windows 7 end of the horsepower spectrum and avoid Windows Phone for the foreseeable future? It seems like a tough sell to say that Android is playing in an entirely different ballpark than Windows Phone is, and we're not sure that Intel can effectively argue that distinction -- but hey, with the Z6xx series' iffy power consumption stats, maybe it's for the best.

    [Thanks, R2V2]

    Intel's Atom Z6xx series isn't targeting Windows Phone 7, but 'full Windows experience' still an Atom priority originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Q&A with Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation

    Q&A with Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation

    Posted on April 14, 2010 | No Comments
    Today marks the start of the fourth annual Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit, which is "an exclusive, invitation-only summit gathering core kernel developers, distribution maintainers, ISVs, end users, system vendors and other community organizations for plenary sessions and workgroup meetings to meet face-to-face to tackle and solve the most pressing issues facing Linux today." All the names you'd normally expect at a Linux event are going to be there -- IBM, Google, Hewlett Packard -- along with companies jumping on the MeeGo bandwagon -- Nokia, Intel, and more. The agenda lists some interesting topics, but the Summit itself raised a number of questions for me. I exchanged emails with Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, about the Summit, and the state of Linux in general.

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  • MeeGo project garners new industry participants

    MeeGo project garners new industry participants

    Posted on April 12, 2010 | No Comments
    MeeGo, the unification of Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo, and shepherded by the Linux Foundation, is getting a lot of support from a variety of companies. From hardware developers to software houses, from games to automotive to embedded solutions providers, the recent announcement indicates an influx of potentially millions of developer-hours. Some of the new participants are no-brainers, while some are a bit surprising. Whether it's an effort to hedge bets for or against Android, or just widening the market potential for their products, the end result is hopefully a better MeeGo, which is better for you and me.

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