MeeGo is the spanking new operating system unleashed today by Nokia and Intel. The two tech titans shared a stage at Mobile World Congress this morning, touting the new OS as the future of computing, not to mention throwing up countless questions about just how it works and when it’ll land.
Confused by it all though? Don’t be. Dive into our MeeGo guide now, get clued in and you’ll be able to sound off to your pals down the pub about just why it’s at the bleeding edge of tech.
It brings together Intel Moblin and Nokia Maemo
MeeGo is the result of Intel’s Moblin open source OS and Nokia’s Maemo effort, last seen sitting pretty in the top notch N900, buddying up. The idea is to pull together the expertise of both players and unleash an easy-to-use operating system that developers can tweak to their hearts content and users won’t find utterly confusing.
It won’t just work on phones
Nokia and Intel are desperate to stress MeeGo isn’t just a Maemo mobile replacement. Sure, it could end up on a next-gen blower near you, but the MeeGo official site touts the idea of it landing in everything from netbooks to connected TVs, tablets to “vehicle infotainment.” The latter is definitely our favourite corporate buzzword of MWC so far.
It’s got Chrome OS and Apple iPad in its sights
Take a peek at the only screenshot of MeeGo and you’ll see it’s definitely primed for tablets, what with its calendar app, Twitter feeds and RSS access. That means Nokia and Intel are braying for a scrap not only with Apple and the might of the forthcoming iPad, but also the web-based skills of Google Chrome OS, due to land on netbooks and slates in late 2010.
It’ll support multitouch
A must have for any touchscreen gadget these days, multitouch is defining how we prod and play with new kit. And Nokia and Intel said during their love in that MeeGo would support multitouch, opening up a slew of opportunities for stunning new phones and tablets to bash the iPad.
It’s open source
MeeGo’s Kai Oistamo said on stage at MWC that they weren’t, “…operating a walled garden.” And this OS is most certainly open source, based on Linux and allowing devs to work on any apps they see fit. Nokia says Maemo apps can be ported over to MeeGo too, so there’s already rich pickings for early adopters.
It doesn’t mean the end of Symbian
When asked if MeeGo was the end of Symbian, Oistamo was bullish in denying any suggestion this would kill off S60 for good. “Absolutely not,” he said. “Symbian is the perfect environment for democratising smartphones…this allows the future of mobile computing…opening up new opportunities well beyond what smartphones provide today.” But if MeeGo works out, it really is hard to see where Symbian fits in without confusing the hell out of consumers.
It’ll rock up in a new gadget in 2010
Nokia and Intel said they weren’t fussed about which OEMs came on board, saying they weren’t going to play favourites, and that operators as well as tech purveyors would be involved. However, its press gumph has said at least one MeeGo-rocking toy will land in 2010, with more announcements due in the second half of the year. Anyone would think they wanted to gazump Chrome OS.
