Intel and Nokia Join Forces to Make Linux OS

News
By
published

Intel and Nokia today revealed a new operating system that the two plan to put on smartphones, netbooks and tablets.

Last year Nokia and Intel announced that they would collaborate on several projects; but at the time, neither offered much information on what those projects might be. Today we've got a little insight into what the Nokia-Intel partnership is all about: Software.

At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the two companies announced a Linux-based operating system called MeeGo.  MeeGo is actually just a mash-up of Nokia's Maemo OS and Intel's Moblin. Nokia and Intel have said the open source OS will run on both smartphones and netbooks, with support for ARM architecture and Intel's line of Atom CPUs.

At the moment, there are very few details available but it will be interesting to see how this goes. The OS will more than likely have a better chance on smartphones than netbooks. Microsoft is still dominating the netbook OS market because it has the advantage of familiarity. Still, we can't say much until we see it in action. Watch this space.

Jane McEntegart
14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • zorky9
    If this is successful, it'll be downhill for Symbian and WM, unless Windows Phone 7 is as good as promised.
    Reply
  • dameon51
    Is it just me, or does it seem the mobile OS market is becoming very saturated? The more competition the better, to a point. Apple is doing great because it's supported really well. I was hoping to see Android take off on non-Apple devices, but it seems to me that if every company tries to make their own OS instead of support Android (or another well established OS), it's just going to give Apple an easier time.
    Reply
  • MU_Engineer
    dameon51Is it just me, or does it seem the mobile OS market is becoming very saturated? The more competition the better, to a point. Apple is doing great because it's supported really well. I was hoping to see Android take off on non-Apple devices, but it seems to me that if every company tries to make their own OS instead of support Android (or another well established OS), it's just going to give Apple an easier time.
    Android is another Linux distribution for mobile phones, just like this MeeGo is. It shouldn't be too big of a deal to run MeeGo apps on Android and vice-versa as typically all you would need are the shared library files for whatever window manager you used to write the application, as long as the CPU architecture is the same. It would be analogous to running a KDE program on the Ubuntu- no big deal.
    Reply
  • henrystrawn
    I have just started dual booting ubuntu on my desktop. I spend more time "playing" with it than gaming. I know this article concerns phone OS, but the point I wanted to make is that the use of my desktop and my phone seems disconnected. I hope that in the near future, wireless phone carriers will no longer be able to get away with the iron fisted control over the application on my phone, and it seems more of an extension of my desktop rather than a separate locked out device. Wireless carrier should be more like ISP's.
    Reply
  • dameon51
    MU_EngineerAndroid is another Linux distribution for mobile phones, just like this MeeGo is. It shouldn't be too big of a deal to run MeeGo apps on Android and vice-versa as typically all you would need are the shared library files for whatever window manager you used to write the application, as long as the CPU architecture is the same. It would be analogous to running a KDE program on the Ubuntu- no big deal.
    I agree from a techy stand point, but from a marketing standpoint it would better to have one flag for all of the linux operating systems maybe. To the average techy it may not make much of a difference, but to the average user the idea of having a one stop shop for all their apps is very appealing, and right now unfortunately it doesn't seem like anything is on even ground to the iphone app store (from my understanding anyways, I always just hear iphone iphone iphone it seems).
    Reply
  • megamanx00
    Nokia's OS Sure needs an update :D
    Reply
  • MU_Engineer
    dameon51I agree from a techy stand point, but from a marketing standpoint it would better to have one flag for all of the linux operating systems maybe.
    No. The biggest strength of Linux is that it is open and free for people to mess with and mold it to fit what they need. FYI, there is a good deal of compatibility between different distributions due to the Linux Standards Base.

    To the average techy it may not make much of a difference, but to the average user the idea of having a one stop shop for all their apps is very appealing, and right now unfortunately it doesn't seem like anything is on even ground to the iphone app store (from my understanding anyways, I always just hear iphone iphone iphone it seems).
    First of all, there are "one-stop shops" for applications in just about all Linux distributions; they're called "package managers." They have also been around for a long time before the Apple App Store has been, too. And why you hear "iphone iphone iphone" all of the time is because Apple has a good marketing department marketing to people who are far more fashion-conscious than they are tech-literate. Somebody who is actually a real geek would much prefer something like the Nokia N-series units since they are fully-fledged Linux computers that don't require being cracked just to run your own programs.
    Reply
  • JohnnyLucky
    It seems like one article after another is pointing toward total oversaturation. When the wave crests there's going to be one heck of a wipeout.
    Reply
  • Who voted MU_Engineer down? He's dead-on-balls right, the App Store is yet another fine idea Apple stole from the Linux community. Anybody who's spent a day of their life with linux knows that they all have package managers, which all have pretty much all the same ~20,000 apps for you to use, all free of charge...
    Reply
  • Abrahm
    Intel and Nokia should have just gotten behind the already prominent Linux based Android. What is bringing another OS into the market going to accomplish? Join the Open Handset Alliance, and make Apple another niche!
    Reply