MWC 2010: Intel, Nokia Announce Hybrid OS MeeGo

MWC 2010: Intel, Nokia Announce Hybrid OS MeeGo

Techtree News Staff, Feb 16, 2010 1238 hrs IST

For smartphones, netbooks, tablets

While new phone launches were the highlights of previous editions of the Mobile World Congress, this time round, there is a slight addition. For a change, there is a deluge of Operating Systems and platforms instead of just phones! What started of with the Samsung Bada and then went on to Windows Phone 7 Series has now culminated in the MeeGo - a new Linux based platform that would be backed by erstwhile unrealistic partners Intel and Nokia.

To tell the truth, the MeeGo (whoever thought of that name, we wonder) is nothing but a hybrid version of Nokia's Maemo OS and Intel's Moblin. This platform will be used to power smartphones of tomorrow and will also be powerful enough to be used on Netbooks. Like the parent Operating Systems, MeeGo too will be open source and obviously, Linux based. MeeGo will support ARM architecture and Intel's own Atom processors. MeeGo is an advanced OS that would be comfortable in various avatars. It can be full fledged desktop OS - if needed, can be scaled down to be an advanced Smartphone OS and can also be used on Tablets.

While there are no screenshots or visual cues as to how MeeGo will eventual end up looking like, what we do know is that the first devices based on this platform would be available this very year, in late 2010. While most other OSes (except for the notable exception of Google's Chrome OS) try to concentrate on one platform - be it mobile, Internet tablets or netbooks and then diversify into offering versions for various platforms, MeeGo, right from the start, aims to be a one stop OS for all platforms. The source code and other details would be made available in the weeks to come. As of now, it is unclear if other brands apart from Nokia will also be using MeeGo to power their devices.