The portable computing world is buzzing with the news: Intel and Nokia have teamed up to launch MeeGo, a mobile platform combining the best bits of the Moblin project and Nokia’s Maemo. But what are the important points for developers to note? We’ve distilled the best bits from Renee James’s and Kai Oistamo’s press conference earlier this afternoon…
What is MeeGo?
According to the Intel/Nokia announcement today, MeeGo is ‘a Linux-based software platform that will support multiple hardware architectures across the broadest range of device segments, including pocketable mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems.’
Straight away, it starts looking like this could be a great thing for developers – it should be possible to build one application for one platform and still benefit from monetisation across a large number of devices.
How does it enable this?
MeeGo utilises the Qt ‘write once, run many’ app development environment as well as building on the Moblin core OS. Crucially for developers, James and Oistamo were quick to reassure developers that this would allow backwards compatibility for existing Moblin and Maemo applications.
How can I monetise apps I develop on MeeGo?
Applications built on the MeeGo platform can be sold both through Nokia’s Ovi store and Intel’s AppUp Center (which should have many rebranded manifestations in the OEM space), potentially opening up a diverse revenue stream for the app developer.
Who will be looking after MeeGo?
MeeGo is set to be hosted by the Linux Foundation and should therefore be governed by open source development best practices.
When will MeeGo be available and which devices will it run on?
Developers can start work on MeeGo applications immediately. According to Nokia, MeeGo itself should be launched in the next quarter of 2010 (April-June timeframe) with MeeGo devices to follow later in the year. Both Nokia and Intel were keen to stress that the platform will be fully open, meaning any device manufacturer can take advantage of it. For this reason, we shouldn’t expect just a few Nokia devices to be running MeeGo, but a plethora of MIDs, netbooks, tablets and IVIs from a multitude of brands.
When pressed on which device manufacturers were committed to the platform, James was hesitant to specify, warning press and developers to look out for further announcements from device companies over the coming weeks.
I’m a Symbian developer – does this mean I have to start over?
This is a tricky one. Oistamo was adamant that Nokia still sees Symbian as the platform of choice for smartphone devices but, as anyone who has followed Moblin news through the last year knows, it has been suggested as a platform that covers anything from a smartphone up to a netbook. It’s safest to say that it remains to be seen what Nokia will do with Symbian but, for now at least, Symbian smartphone developers don’t seem to be under immediate threat.
Filed under: Event, Mobile Tagged: | Intel, maemo, meego, MID, Mobile, Mobile World Congress, Moblin, netbook, portable device, smartphone, symbian
[...] badly over the past 24 months amid steadily negative PR. Nokia and Intel teamed up to announce “MeeGo.” The goal of MeeGo is to create an entity that will go beyond smartphones and expand to cars, [...]
[...] processor, including netbooks and mobile internet devices. As I blogged from Mobile World Congress, Intel and Nokia have teamed up to merge Moblin with Nokia’s Maemo platform to create MeeGo. There will be a smooth migration path for Moblin, and developers will be able to tap into a much [...]