The N9 has been criticized by reviewers – ourselves included - for the paucity of apps available for the MeeGo platform. Now, it seems, Nokia is doing something about that itself: earlier today, the company released a Spotify app for MeeGo that, according to the company, “is developed and maintained by Nokia in cooperation with Spotify.” While it’s not unusual for a firm to feather its nest at launch by paying developers to produce apps to support a new platform – we saw Microsoft do similar at the release of Windows Phone – it seems somewhat strange that the Finnish company might bother for a platform that a) is seen as a dead end, and b) already offers support for the Ovi Music download store.

Nokia N9 Review:

Alternatively, it’s suggested, Nokia might be looking back to Maemo, the platform that was rolled into MeeGo – along with Moblin – when the company partnered with Intel last year. German site Telekom Presse points to the N9′s actual Maemo roots, and the fact that the smartphone – while branded a MeeGo device – in fact runs a hybrid OS of sorts called Harmattan, developed on Maemo 6. Nokia’s decision to ditch the Maemo name was a marketing one, given the focus and advertising budget (at the time, at least) was to be on MeeGo.

Apps developed in Qt for the N9 would therefore play nicely on Maemo, is one possibility, and Nokia’s sudden urge to bolster the Ovi Store might be a sign that it’s not entirely ready to shift focus. We’ve also heard talk of different color variants of the N9 targeted for limited release early in 2012, along with whispers of that mysterious N9 follow-up still cooking in Nokia’s engineering labs. Of course, there’s also Meltemi to think about, Nokia’s Linux-based platform apparently intended for entry-level devices as a Symbian replacement, and also supporting Qt-coded apps. That’s tipped to be using the Maemo UI but a new kernel, developed by an offshoot of the original Maemo team.

All eyes are expected to be on Windows Phone tomorrow, as Nokia World 2011 kicks off in London – we’ll be there, rest assured, bringing you all the news – and the consensus is that the company needs to present a strong, consistent front if it wants to convince analysts and the market that it stands a chance of competing in the smartphone segment. That might mean any offshoot Linux plans are put on the back burner for a more subdued launch later on, as the Finn’s partnership with Microsoft takes center-stage.

[via My Nokia Blog]

According to a report by DigiTimes, Intel may temporarily discontinue development on MeeGo to focus on hardware products for Android and Windows Phone handsets in 2012. This decision is said to be due to the lack of enthusiasm for MeeGo from handset and PC vendors, with the only exciting device for the platform being the Nokia N9. But even with that handset, distribution is being limited to very select markets to avoid competition with Nokia’s upcoming Windows Phone offering.

MeeGo was first launched by Intel and Nokia in March 2010 as a combination of each company’s Linux-based OS platforms called Maemo and Moblin. Almost a year after the merge, slow development on the platform may have led Nokia to switch to Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform, relegating MeeGo to the R&D playground and setting an expiration date in 2016 for Symbian.

The N9 runs MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan, a blend of the company’s MeeGo and Maemo projects. Physical controls are limited to volume and camera: the homescreen is accessed with a swipe, with three panes showing apps, notifications and social networks. There’s turn-by-turn navigation with Nokia Maps, and a dedicated Drive app for in-car use.

Other hardware includes a front-facing camera for video calls, WiFi a/b/g/n, GPS and A-GPS, and Bluetooth 4.0. There’s NFC, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microUSB port.Storage is either 16GB or 64GB, and Nokia reckons the 1450 mAh battery is good for up to 11hrs GSM talktime or up to 4.5hrs of 720p HD video playback.

The whole thing measures in at 116.45 x 61.2 x 7.6-12.1mm and will be available in pink, black and blue. It’ll arrive in stores later this year, pricing tba.

Make sure to check out our hands-on with the Nokia N9!

• Networks: Pentaband WCDMA 850, 900, 1900, 1700, 2100, Quad band GSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900
• Speed: HSDPA Cat10: 14.4Mbps, HSUPA: Cat6 5.76Mbps
• Display: 3.9” WVGA (854×480) AMOLED display with curved Gorilla glass, no air gap, anti-glare polarizer
• OS: MeeGo 1.2 Harmattan
• Memory: 1024MB RAM, 16GB/64GB storage
• Camera: 8Mpix auto-focus Carl Zeiss, wide-angle lens, 2x LED flash, Video capturing MPEG-4 SP 720p @ 30fps, 2nd camera for video calls
• Size / Weight: 116.45 mm x 61.2 mm x 7.6–12.1 mm (L x W x T) / 76 cm3/ 135 g
• Connectivity: BT 4.0, GPS, A-GPS, WLAN 802.11abgn, NFC, 3.5mm AV connector,  micro USB connector, USB charging
• Processor: ARM Cortex-A8 OMAP3630 1 Ghz, PowerVR SGX530
• Audio: MP3 player, Audio jack: 3.5mm,
• Supported codecs: mp3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, FLAC.
• Battery: 1450 mAh

Operating Times

• Talk time: (GSM/WCDMA) up to 11 h / up to 7 hours
• Standby time: Up to 450 hours (WCDMA), up to 380 hours (GSM)
• Video playback (720P): up to 4.5 hours
• Music playback: up to 50 hours

Nokia Connection coincides with CommunicAsia 2011, and so far details on the N9 “Lannku” are scarce. According to Tinhte – translated here – it will be a slimline, all-touch device (rather than the QWERTY-toting aluminum slider seen in previous leaks) with only power and volume buttons. Pricing in Vietnam is expected to be under the equivalent of $624 unlocked and SIM-free when it arrives this fall.

Talk of a large-screen Maemo 6 device goes all the way back to early 2010, where a 4-inch handset was tipped. The successor to the Nokia N900, itself a niche model targeted primarily at open-source developers, it’s expected to launch in addition to the single MeeGo smartphone which Nokia has promised for 2011.

Nokia’s splintered platform strategy has been left confusing thanks to the company’s decision not to follow MeeGo (a merge of Maemo and Intel’s Moblin) for its high-end strategy and instead use Windows Phone. MeeGo has been relegated to the Nokia labs, a small-scale experimental platform to examine future disruptive technologies, while the first Nokia Windows Phone handsets are expected in Q4 this year.

[via HDBlog]

It’s not the first time Murtazin has talked about an imminent Maemo phone. Last month he claimed Nokia was readying a Maemo 6 device as part of a final hurrah for the platform, the company’s first handset since the N900 released in 2009. Maemo was the forerunner to MeeGo and Nokia’s half of the project that joined with Intel’s Moblin and was – until Windows Phone came along – the Finnish company’s intended salvation for smart devices.

Previously a Maemo “Harmattan” 6 device was expected to be discussed at the MeeGo Conference in late May, though no hardware details broke cover. Harmattan “is API compatible with MeeGo 1.2″ but “not exactly MeeGo”; unfortunately technical information is in short supply.

SlashGear has independently heard that Nokia expects June to be an “interesting month” though sources declined to say exactly what was on the roadmap. With the first Nokia Windows Phone handsets not expected until Q4 at the earliest, a Maemo device would certainly fit the bill.

More tablets will follow on with Windows 8 in 2013, though Maemo 6/MeeGo fans shouldn’t expect anything to their satisfaction. Although we’ve heard that there will be one Maemo 6 “Harmattan” handset released sometime this year, the platform is described as a “dead horse” with Nokia only expecting 92,000 units to sell to fans and intending to axe development afterwards.

The high-end will of course be catered for with Windows Phone, while the low- and mid-tiers will make do with S30, S40 Lite, S40 and S60 in the sub-€250 ($372) segment. Nokia is supposedly aiming for 21-percent of the worldwide smartphone market share in 2011, and 27-percent of the mobile phone market overall; recent figures from IDC suggested the company had dropped to 29.2-percent overall in Q1 2011.

Somewhat bizarrely, Murtazin also suggests that, if Microsoft fails to buy the mobile phone company in two years time, Nokia’s “backup strategy” is to bring Anssi Vanjoki back on as CEO in 2013 and adopt Android as the company’s second platform. Longtime Nokia smartphone chief Vanjoki quitthe company on the eve of Nokia World 2010 having been overlooked for CEO, with ex-Microsoft exec Stephen Elop selected instead.

We likely won’t find out if any of this is entirely true, but one thing is for sure: amid falling market share, Nokia needs to make a significant splash with its first Windows Phone devices.

Video demo after the cut

Thanks to Firefox Sync, all your desktop bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, form data and passwords are pulled across into the mobile app, and vice-versa. There’s also the Awesome Bar, Mozilla’s combination search and address bar.

HTML5 support is baked in, but no Flash support at present. Mozilla is also offering Firefox 4 for Maemo. More information at the Mozilla blog.

What’s New in Firefox for Android and Maemo:

• Streamlined Interface
• Focus on Web content: Features like tabs, one-touch bookmarking and browser controls that stow away when not in use help users focus on the websites they visit
• Browse More, Type Less
• Awesome Screen: Type less with easy access to history, bookmarks and open tabs
• Save to PDF: Capture important websites, like directions or a boarding pass, to view offline
• Share Page: Share websites via apps like email, Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader and more
• Add Search Engine: Customize your search engine list
• Private and Secure Synchronization
• Firefox Sync: Access Awesome Bar history, bookmarks, open tabs, passwords and form data across multiple computers and mobile devices with secure end-to-end encryption
• Most Customizable:
• Firefox offers thousands of ways for users to customize the features, functionality and look of their mobile Web browser with Firefox Add-ons
• Cutting Edge Tools for Web Developers:
• Firefox improves existing tools like CSS, Canvas and SVG to enable developers to make exciting Web pages
• HTML5 support in Firefox for Android and Maemo includes Location-Aware Browsing, device orientation, accelerometer, desktop notifications and more
• The JavaScript engine incorporates the new JägerMonkey JIT compiler, along with enhancements to the existing TraceMonkey JIT and SpiderMonkey’s interpreter for faster page-load speed and better performance of Web apps and games

That’s according to one of the sessions at the upcoming MeeGo Conference, scheduled to take place in San Francisco in late May 2011. Apparently Harmattan “is API compatible with MeeGo 1.2″ but “not exactly MeeGo”; the differences between the two, how apps will be handled and even how Harmattan will be named on Nokia devices are all topics up for discussion.

Maemo was last seen in v5 form on the Nokia N900, but the promised Maemo 6 (aka Harmattan) device was waylaid after Intel and Nokia decided to partner on MeeGo. “The relationship between Harmattan and the MeeGo project is expected to be clarified before the MeeGo Conference” we’re told; Nokia is expected to launch a single MeeGo phone, believed to be the N950, before the end of the year.

[via My Nokia Blog]

HARMATTAN IN THE MEEGO COMMUNITY

Session Summary:

Nokia is working on the release of a product this year, expected to raise the interest of the MeeGo community. It comes with an OS codenamed Harmattan that is API compatible with MeeGo 1.2. Let’s have a look at the peculiarities of Harmattan, and how to overcome them for the benefit of the MeeGo community. There have been discussions on whether community apps packaged for Harmattan should be available at the meego.com Apps catalog, or whether Harmattan should have an own product in bugs.meego.com as a 3rd party open source project. This session is a good chance to explain the discussions and conclusions (if any at that point) around these topics.
Session Abstract:
The relationship between Harmattan and the MeeGo project is expected to be clarified before the MeeGo Conference. No matter what this session will be useful to get a clear idea about frequently asked questions like:

What will be the official name of Harmattan in Nokia products?
Why Harmattan is not exactly MeeGo and what are the differences?
Why MeeGo developers and contributors should care about Harmattan?
What are the opportunities & challenges of hosting Harmattan related open source activities in the MeeGo infrastructure?
Where should Harmattan bugs be filed?
Where should Harmattan community apps be published?
Are Harmattan specific discussions on-topic in forum.meego.com?
More questions are welcome. The idea is to explain the current status of these discussions. If there are items open at the time of the conference this session might be useful to nail down the main points. Eventually a BoF could emerge from it if needed.

This session is targeting a generic community audience and development skills are not required. We will not attempt to go into technical details about the SDK, packaging, etc, since we assume that other sessions will cover this. Our main focus will be the impact of Harmattan in the MeeGo community processes and infrastructure.

This MeeGo OS concept was designed with Nokia tablets in mind, and borrows ideas from WebOS and Maemo. It utilizes a side scrolling structure with each panel then having a columns layout. A bottom menu features the main panel headings of Board, Applications, Now, Social, Media, and System.

The Board panel appears to be a customizable dashboard type of page where widgets could possibly reside. The Applications panel is self-explanatory showing all available applications ordered by category. The Now panel looks to be a page for customizable news feeds and the Social panel is like a doorway to all your social network channels.

The concept seems promising and may help MeeGo with a resurrection. But the future seems bleak with Nokia’s new direction and the strength of competing OS platforms such as iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and WebOS.

[via Concept Phones]

Details on the handset are almost entirely unknown, bar the chipset, but Intel hasn’t been shy with its Medfield expectations. Back in August 2010 the company promised to match ARM’s chipsets – currently the popular favorite in mobile devies like smartphones – for active power consumption with the new Medfield processors, which are expected to debut in shipping devices later this year.

At least one of those devices, so the rumors would have it, will be from Nokia’s stable and run MeeGo, the two companies’ collaborative open-source OS. Leaks earlier this month suggested the Nokia N9 had been reworked using a 1.2GHz Medfield processor and dropping the hardware keyboard, and would be shown off at MWC 2011 next month.

[via Twitter]

That includes the ability to make on-device music purchases through the N900′s browser and Nokia’s Ovi Music Store, with the downloads non-DRM encrypted.  You’ll either need a PC and the Nokia Suite to install the update manually, or wait until the “new software available” alert – a big yellow exclamation point – appears on the N900 itself.

[via Maemo News]

“The Nokia N900 is used as development hardware for platform developers working with MeeGo on ARM hardware architecture. While the software from the MeeGo project runs on the Nokia N900 for development purposes, Nokia does not intend to provide a dual-boot OS option to consumers in upcoming N900 commercial software releases as we want to ensure that we provide the best possible experience designed for that device. The meego.com blog post was primarily targeted to the audience reading the blog: MeeGo developers.” Nokia statement

The news echoes official statements back in May which amounted to much the same thing: that there will be no commercial MeeGo roll-out for the N900 in the interests of maintaining the best, most stable experience on Maemo.  Disappointing, yes, but we don’t doubt there’ll be plenty of people going the developer route with their N900 and loading whatever ROMs are out there.

Video demo of Peer-to-Peer gaming and more after the cut

Qualcomm demonstrated three devices – a Nexus One running Android, an N900 running Maemo 5 and a Dell notebook running Windows – all taking part in a local game, with automatically created peer-to-peer connections made over Bluetooth and WiFi.  As the video below shows, the game could search for local players, send out invites by itself and then manage whatever wireless technology the devices could support.  Play happens in real-time with minimal lag.  CEO Paul Jacobs also sees the peer-to-peer system as being used in multimedia applications, such as automatically showing photos or video on any nearby screen.

As for Unity, they’re working with Qualcomm to add the company’s Natural Feature image recognition system into their gaming development engine.  Natural Feature uses a shots from a device’s camera to calculate an individual signature based on target points on a person, object or glyph; those signatures are then used to track movement in real space, with the device superimposing digital content on top.

Mattel brought back its 40-year-old Rock’em and Sock’em flighting robots to Uplinq, taking advantage of the new AR technology.  The toymaker a printed battle-ring image and a pair of smartphones, with the robots themselves represented on-screen. Mattel developed the title entirely in the Android version of the AR add-on toolkit; however Unity CEO David Helgason says his company’s development engine not only works with multiple platforms – not just Android – but makes AR integration even easier.

Developers interested in taking part in Qualcomm’s AR challenge will be able to download the public beta of the Augmented Reality SDK later this Fall.  The SDK will be free, and will support Android 2.1 and higher.

Video demo after the cut

Despite the compact chassis – just 4.7 x 3.3 x 0.5 inches – the V7 packs in GPS, 3G, WiFi and Bluetooth, along with an SD card slot and microUSB port.  There’s also a 3.2-megapixel camera and a 3.5mm headphone socket.

Unfortunately there’s no sign of a price or a release date, which is disappointing as this actually looks quite decent.

As of this coming Thursday, meanwhile, the Ovi Store will get a gaming boost with the addition of Jurassic 3D Rollercoaster, Zen-bound, Angry Birds (level pack), Sygic, Kroll, Weatherbug and GoGadget for the N900.  There are also some UI changes and the ability to accept meeting requests from the email client.

As for MeeGo, Nokia have announced that there will be no “full scale commercial MeeGo upgrade” for the Nokia N900, with the smartphone left running Maemo.  That, they say, is to make sure users have the best experience with their N900, and they’ll continue pushing out Maemo updates.  We imagine that third-party unofficial MeeGo builds will proliferate, however, so this is probably not the dire news it could be; hurrah for open-source, eh?

“Although Nokia N900 devices are being used for platform development and testing purposes by those involved in the MeeGo project, we don’t have plans for a full scale commercial MeeGo upgrade on the Nokia N900.” Nokia Conversations official blog

[via SlashPhone]

Video demos after the cut

Performance is actually pretty impressive, certainly on the Internet Tablet, which loads into Maemo quickly and then whips through the menus.  WiFi seems to be the main stumbling point right now, though, which could put a dampener on your internet browsing.

From a usability standpoint, you’re probably better off sticking with the native OS on the two MIDs.  Still, if you’re keen nonetheless, instructions on how to install it yourself, together with the images for download, are available here.

Archos 5 Internet Tablet running Maemo:

Archos 5 Internet Media Tablet running Maemo:

[via ArchosFans]

The report suggests that the device – which is said to have a display 4-inches or larger – is based on a Qualcomm 7000-series chipset.  That most likely would mean a Snapdragon family SoC, but counts out Qualcomm’s upcoming dual-core 1.5GHz MSM8x72.

Still, the 7000-series does still have the OpenGL ES 2.0 graphics support that was name-checked by games developer Fishlabs, when they confirmed they were working on a large-screen title for the Finns.  We’re presuming that while the original report mentions Maemo, the device will run the MeeGo collaborative OS that Nokia have partnered with Intel to produce.

Video demo after the cut

Constructed out of LEGO Mindstorm NXT 2.0 parts with custom software, Niko can use the Twitter API to monitor a specially created account, @N900Niko, for instructions.  Users can remotely trigger a photo to be taken with the N900′s 5-megapixel camera – complete with flash – or instruct Niko to move around the room.

The video below shows Niko moving automatically, grabbing a photo and uploading it to Twitpic for sharing – you can find the robot’s photo account here – as well as responding to its touch sensor.  With a week to go until the competition finishes, the team are working on fettling the last of the code and getting things stable.

[via MAKE]

Of course, since other devices support Qt – such as Symbian – apps will also load on those handsets too.  As for hardware support, MeeGo will run on both x86 Intel Atom processors and ARM-based chipsets more commonly found in mobile handsets.  All the usual buzzwords are here, ubiquitous connectivity being the most significant one.

Intel and Nokia expect the first MeeGo release to be in Q2 2010, though the open-source source code will be released in the next few weeks, while the first devices should be on sale by the end of the year.  There’s more information at the MeeGo site.

Press Release:

Intel and Nokia Merge Software Platforms for Future Computing Devices MeeGo* enables an open ecosystem for rapid development of exciting new user experiences
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS:
• Global leaders Intel Corporation and Nokia merge Moblin and Maemo to create MeeGo*, 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.
• MeeGo offers the Qt application development environment, and builds on the Moblin core operating system and reference user experiences. Using Qt, developers can write once to create applications for a variety of devices and platforms, and market them through Nokia’s Ovi Store and Intel AppUpSM Center.
• MeeGo will be hosted by the Linux Foundation and governed using the best practices of the open source development model. The first release of MeeGo is expected in the second quarter of 2010 with devices launching later in the year.
• Nokia and Intel expect MeeGo to be adopted widely by global device manufacturers, network operators, semiconductor companies, software vendors and developers.
ESPOO, FINLAND, and SANTA CLARA, CALIF., Feb. 15, 2010 – In a significant development in the convergence of communications and computing, Intel Corporation and Nokia are merging their popular Moblin and Maemo software platforms. This will create a unified Linux-based platform that will run on multiple hardware platforms across a wide range of computing devices, including pocketable mobile computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems. Called MeeGo, the open software platform will accelerate industry innovation and time-to-market for a wealth of new Internet-based applications and services and exciting user experiences. MeeGo-based devices from Nokia and other manufacturers are expected to be launched later this year.
This announcement strengthens the Nokia and Intel relationship, and builds on the companies’ broad strategic collaboration announced in June 2009. Intel and Nokia now invite participation in MeeGo from existing Maemo and Moblin global communities and across the communications and computing industries.
“Our vision for seamlessly communicating between computing devices from the home, auto, office or your pocket is taking a big step forward today with the introduction of MeeGo,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. “This is a foundational step in our evolving relationship with Nokia. The merging of these two important assets into an open source platform is critical toward providing a terrific experience across a variety of devices and gaining cross- industry support.”

“MeeGo will drive an even wider range of Internet computing and communication experiences for consumers, on new types of mobile devices,” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO, Nokia. “Through open innovation, MeeGo will create an ecosystem that is second to none, drawing in players from different industries. It will support a range of business models across the value chain, building on the experience and expertise of Nokia, Intel and all those who will join us. Simply put, MeeGo heralds a new era of mobile computing.”
MeeGo blends the best of Maemo with the best of Moblin to create an open platform for multiple processor architectures. MeeGo builds on the capabilities of the Moblin core OS and its support for a wide range of device types and reference user experiences, combined with the momentum of Maemo in the mobile industry and the broadly adopted Qt application and UI framework for software developers.
MeeGo also unites the robust worldwide Maemo and Moblin applications ecosystems and open source communities. For developers, MeeGo extends the range of target device segments for their applications. Using Qt for application development means that they can write applications once and easily deploy them on MeeGo and across other platforms, for example, on Symbian.
The Ovi Store will be the channel to market for apps and content for all Nokia devices, including MeeGo and Symbian-based, with Forum Nokia providing developer support across all Nokia device platforms. The Intel AppUpSM Center will be the path to market for Intel-based MeeGo devices from other device manufacturers, with the Intel® AtomTM Developer Program providing support for applications targeting devices in a variety of categories.
The MeeGo software platform, running on high-performance devices, will deliver a range of Internet, computing and communication experiences, with visually rich graphics, multitasking and multimedia capabilities and the best application performance. Since MeeGo runs on multiple device types, people can keep their favorite applications when they change devices, so they are not locked into one kind of device or those from any individual manufacturer.

MeeGo Hosted by the Linux Foundation
The MeeGo software platform will be hosted by the Linux Foundation as a fully open source project, encouraging community participation in line with the best practices of the open source development model. Intel and Nokia invite the respective members of Maemo.org and Moblin.org to join the combined community at MeeGo.com, as well as encouraging wider participation from the communications, computing and related industries. Developers can begin writing applications for MeeGo in Qt immediately. The first release of MeeGo is targeted for the second quarter of this year.
About Intel
Intel [NASDAQ: INTC], the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and http://blogs.intel.com. About Nokia
Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices. Today, we are connecting people in new and different ways — fusing advanced mobile technology with personalized services to enable people to stay close to what matters to them. We also provide comprehensive digital map information through NAVTEQ; and equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

Video demo after the cut

Because of that, it’s not exactly a usable implementation; in fact it’s more a very slow proof-of-concept rather than anything else.  According to Nikkanen, it took over an hour and a half to boot and get to the “About this Mac” dialog shown above, and he had to do some heavy editing in order to avoid viewers falling asleep during the video below.

We’d plump for a Maemo/Android mixture, then, over OS X, but we bet there are Apple-lovers eyeing up this project and wondering what might need to be done to shave OS X 10.3 down to a more usable size.  Nikkanen is also the same guy who got Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 3.1 running on the N900.

[via Engadget]

It’s also designed – like the N900 – to be used not only as a “portable computer” but as a phone.  Under the hood there’s an ARM-based 806MHz Marvell PXA310+ processor running the show, along with 128MB RAM and 256MB ROM, while connectivity includes WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.0, 3G EVDO (obviously with voice and data support) and GPS.  You also get a 3.2-megapixel camera, a VGA webcam, 4.3-inch WVGA resistive touchscreen and a 2,600mAh battery.

That’s all strikingly similar to the first non-Nokia Maemo device we saw, Optima’s OP5-E, though Aigo have sensibly slotted some hardware controls onto the N500′s front panel.  Most interestingly it’s already on sale – albeit in China – for 3999 RMB ($586); Aigo devices have previously shown that they’re capable of crossing over to Europe and the US, so we’re quietly hopeful that the N500 will too.

[via Pocketables]

In addition SIM cards from UK network 3 are now supported, larger mailboxes are handled better, Ovi Maps is improved, and there have been various modifications made to optimize CPU and battery use.  The rest of the changes are mostly tweaks and improvements: you can now silence phone ringing by flipping the N900 face-down, WiFi stability is increased, camera thumbnails load faster and task alarms are now synchronized.

OTA updates will be rolling out in the next 24 hours, so don’t be surprised if you don’t have the option straight away.  There’s a full software changelist for Maemo 5 PR1.1 here, and it’s also possible to flash the N900 rather than use the OTA update.

[via Nokia Conversations]

Maemo Italia has posted a short video of the application in action to youtube, which is unfortunately in Italian. But you can still get the general idea of what is going on and see the N900 connect to the PS3.

Blue Maemo is still in early development which of course means you get all of the problems associated with a piece of alpha software. This instability could lead to crashes and freezing on your device. So if you are feeling brave enough to give it a try do so with caution.

Via Maemo Central

Video demo after the cut

The OP5-E squeezes in GPS, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth and a 2,600mAh removable battery.  There’s a microSD card slot (16GB cards supported), a 3.2-megapixel camera on the back and a VGA camera up front for video calls.  The whole thing measures 143 x 74 x 17.6 mm and Optima reckon you’ll get around 8hrs video playback out of it.

Charbax reckons the VoIP possibilities of the OP5-E are one of its strongest points, together with the size of its screen – the N900 is 3.5-inches, in comparison; however there are some Bluetooth issues and lacks a TV output.  Still, at $500 unlocked (Optima are looking for carriers who might want to subsidize it, but we reckon that’s relatively unlikely) it’s an interesting alternative to the Nokia for those not enamoured with the N900′s hardware keyboard.

The graphic – which compares OS market share for Nokia’s devices in 2009 and then 2011 – suggests that rather than ousting S60, Maemo will instead squeeze in at the expense of S40, the entry-level OS on Nokia’s budget and mid-range devices.  The indication seems to be that S60′s reach – with a new UI, Nokia promise – will be extended down the line-up to contend with users expecting more from their handsets, while Maemo slots in at the flagship end of the spectrum.  Indeed S60 device share actually increases from 2009 levels, rather than decreasing.

Of course, there are no actual figures so it’s hard to tell exactly what Nokia expect to happen.  The company has promised two “major device milestones” in 2010, but earlier rumors suggested that only one new Maemo device was planned for next year.  If that’s the case, 2011 will need to have quite a few more Maemo smartphones on offer if it’s to grab its chunk of pie.

[via Twitter]

They also want to increase the number of touch and/or QWERTY blessed devices, as well as “deliver our first Maemo 6-powered mobile computer, with an iconic user experience, in the second half of 2010″.  It sounds like Nokia’s intent to push S60 down the range into cheaper devices will also come to fruition in 2010, with the company looking to make smartphones more accessible.

Nokia’s UI work has been a common theme among smartphone discussion, with S60′s somewhat tired interface (masking what’s still a very capable OS) often leaving reviewer opinion lagging behind when compared to more visually-rich rival platforms.  Their software teams have not been shy in putting together tempting concept videos, proposals for next-gen UIs and new collaborative functionality, but so far there’s been no timescale for when any of that might transfer over to a shipping handset.

Video demos after the cut

That second preview follows on from October’s first code example, which coincided with the initial confirmation from Nokia that they would be making Qt compatible with the OS running on the Nokia N900.  Before that, developers had been told that Maemo 5 would be bypassed by Qt in favor of Maemo 6, set to debut in late 2010, leaving the N900 in something of a limbo situation.

As well as Qt 4.6, Nokia have updated their Qt Creator tool for cross-platform development.  With them, they reckon it’s easy to create apps with advanced UI and support for multitouch and gestures such as flicking, kinetic scrolling and pinch-zooming (as long as the hardware supports it, of course).

Mobile demos on Maemo and Symbian:

Qt everywhere on Mobile Platforms:

Qt everywhere on all platforms

Qt multitouch and gesture demos:

Qt for Maemo 5 technical preview two demo:

Press Release:

Nokia releases Qt 4.6

Now easier than ever for developers to create great applications for Symbian, Maemo, and other platforms

Espoo, Finland – Nokia today released Qt 4.6, the latest version of the cross-platform application and UI framework. Featuring new platform support, powerful new graphical capabilities and support for multi-touch and gestures, Qt 4.6 makes developing advanced applications and devices easier and more enjoyable.

“Qt 4.6 marks an exciting time for developers, regardless of their target form factor or platform,” said Sebastian Nyström, Vice President, Application Services and Frameworks at Nokia.

“Developers can easily create visually appealing and web-connected applications for desktops or devices, including targeting the hundreds of millions of Symbian and Maemo-based devices,”

“The community will enjoy using Qt’s intuitive programming interface to quickly create powerful, appealing applications.” Nyström added.

More platforms
Qt 4.6 includes support for the Symbian platform for the first time, and also adds Windows 7, Apple Mac OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and the upcoming Maemo 6 to the list of Qt supported platforms. Also available is community support for real-time operating systems QNX and VxWorks. Support for Maemo 5 is also currently in development, with the second technology preview being released today.

Qt support for Symbian and Maemo creates the first opportunity for developers to target both of these platforms from the same codebase. Being able to share code across platforms means that the applications they create will reach the market faster and reach a broader audience of device users.

Also released today is a technology preview of new Qt APIs from the Qt Mobility project. These cross-platform APIs provide developers with functionality such as location for navigation-type devices, as well as messaging, contacts, and bearer management.

More eye candy
Qt 4.6 builds upon the graphical improvements of 4.5 and enhances them with the addition of new Animation Framework – including intuitive state machine functionality – plus new advanced graphics effects like opacity, drop shadows, glow, and filtering.

More fingers
One of the most exciting new features in Qt 4.6 is the ability to create multi-touch applications. New multi-touch and gesture based input methods such as flicking and kinetic scrolling make Qt 4.6 a powerful framework for creating dynamic, tactile ways for users to interact with applications and devices.

More horsepower
Qt 4.6 challenges the conventional development notion that advanced UI capabilities normally come with a significant performance cost. Extensive work has been done to deliver the best possible performance while enabling developers to deliver the “wow” effect that is demanded by users.

Key performance improvements come in the form of a highly optimized, re-written Qt GraphicsView rendering algorithm, a new OpenGL paint engine, WebKit, 2D vector graphic support using OpenVG, and new DirectFB support.

Updated tools
Complimenting the release of Qt 4.6 is an updated release of Qt Creator, a cross-platform IDE for Qt development. Qt Creator 1.3 and Qt 4.6 form the Qt SDK which contains everything developers need to create cross-platform applications.

To learn more about Qt 4.6, Qt Creator 1.3 and to download the packages, please visit http://qt.nokia.com/whatsnew.

Reuters reports today that a source close to Nokia has said that next year Nokia will offer only one device running Maemo. Nokia has only said that it will not comment on future products. If this is accurate, it could mean one of two things. First, perhaps Nokia is simply not moving to Maemo and its devices will continue to run Symbian for the most part.

The other option is that perhaps Nokia is simply not planning to release many high-end devices. The company has already cut hundreds of R&D employees around the globe so a corresponding reduction in new products would be expected. Nokia has said that it remains firmly committed to Symbian.

Despite shortcomings in Symbian S60 (where apps and settings are located appears to have been chosen at random) and a wildly inconsistent touch experience, the 5800 and N97 have sold over 10 million units. Nokia has sold well over 100 million Symbian S60 phones overall, which puts it in a classic case of what Clayton Christensen calls the Innovator’s Dilemma: Nokia’s existing customers are happy with S60, so Nokia has resisted cannibalizing it. However, the iPhone may have launched without 3G or corporate email, but Apple keeps adding features with each new version, so when S60 users are ready to buy a new phone, they are increasingly picking one from Apple or one of Apple’s competitors. (It is also worth noting that arguments against cannibalizing S60 can only be made for Europe – in the U.S., S60 has never had any traction whatsoever.)

The solution to the Innovator’s Dilemma is to fund skunkworks development or a spin-off that attacks the new technology on its own terms. While initially planned as a way to get Nokia’s feet wet in open source software, Nokia does have another OS, Maemo Linux, that it has been quietly using for its line of Internet tablets (770, N800, and N810). At Nokia World in early September, Nokia announced Maemo 5 and the N900, the first Maemo phone. When I first saw Maemo 5 demonstrated just ahead of Nokia World, my first reaction was to question why Nokia would limit Maemo to pricey, high end devices. After all, S60 isn’t competitive, and Maemo looks really, really cool. Why not just kill S60 and switch to Maemo?

After playing with a production N900 for the past couple of weeks, I have discovered the answer: Maemo is nowhere near ready for mainstream consumers.

There was reason for my initial optimism: the OS has power to spare; it is basically a desktop Linux system in a tiny package. Maemo can handle multiple live apps minimized to little cards (similar to Palm’s webOS); the browser is unadulterated Mozilla code and includes support for a full implementation of Flash 9. The N900 has a high resolution 800×480 screen, TI OMAP3 (Cortex A8) processor, 32 GB flash storage plus an empty microSD card slot, forward facing VGA camera, and 5 MP camera on the rear with dual LED flashes and Carl Zeiss branding. There is a sliding physical QWERTY keyboard, and, for watching media, a pull out kickstand. The N900 has WiFi, quadband GSM and Triband HSPA 900/1700/2100, making it perfect for T-Mobile’s 3G network in the U.S.

Unfortunately, the whole is much less than the sum of its parts. The user interface is maddeningly inconsistent and opaque, and while you can learn to live with its quirks after a while, why should you have to? Nearly every mobile OS does a better job of making it easy to navigate; the iPhone is the easiest (at the expense of efficiency) and Palm’s webOS is the most elegant. Nokia needs to add hard buttons or dedicated screen real estate for navigating and launching options menus. For example, touching the top left corner is usually the “go back” area. Except when touching the blank space in between app tiles backs you out. Except when you’re in a web browser, and a link is occupying the top left, then there’s really no way to get back at all without first minimizing the view. The resistive touchscreen is another problem – even when you push in the right spot, it doesn’t always register. I find myself repeatedly pulling out the stylus, and that should simply never happen on a modern smartphone.

There are no SEND or END keys (Motorola’s DROID has this problem, too), and there is no permanent place for the soft keys – depending where you are in the UI, it can be awfully hard just to find the dialer. This is the first phone I have used in a while where making a phone call isn’t just a secondary use case, but is barely a use case at all.

Web browsing is good, though navigating around a web page is not as smooth as Apple’s Safari. Still, this is one area where the N900 can do things no other phone on the market can do, at least until Adobe rolls out Flash 10 support broadly next year. YouTube videos play smoothly, and navigating around Flash-heavy sites is possible. (Theoretically, you should even be able to watch Hulu on the N900. Practically, it doesn’t work, even over WiFi – the video loads, slowly, then… stops.)

While I encountered system messages that would terrify non-technical users (do you want to update your phone’s SSL sockets? Who knows?), the N900 is better than previous Maemo Linux devices. For example, downloading and installing applications is a simple process now. But there aren’t that many apps yet, and Nokia’s Ovi Store still has a “Coming Soon” banner. Nokia is providing for cross platform (Symbian and Maemo) development with upcoming versions of its QT tools, but Nokia’s focus with developers is still on Symbian.

This leaves Nokia with some tortured market positioning: Nokia told me it is firmly committed to Symbian as its smartphone platform of choice, while Maemo will be relegated to high end devices and aimed at consumers who want more of a computer and less of a phone. The latter description fits every iPhone, Android, and webOS user (and those handsets start at just $100 after carrier subsidies). Nokia needs something better than S60 with touch. Maemo Linux could be that thing, but it isn’t yet, and it doesn’t look like Nokia really wants it to succeed broadly.

Full statement after the cut

“While it is our policy not to disclose details of our product roadmap, we’d like to explicitly communicate that we remain firmly committed to Symbian as our smartphone platform of choice. Any speculation on what our 2012 roadmap, including operating systems and product branding, are completely premature.

As we have stated earlier, Nokia has multiple platforms to serve different purposes and address different markets. Symbian is more successful than ever in bringing smartphones to the masses. Maemo is our software of choice for devices based on technology that you’d typically find inside a desktop computer. It delivers a different user experience and enables us to widen the market we can address.” Nokia statement

While at first glance the statement appears to disagree with the earlier speculation, there are still a few wriggle holes in place.  Nokia have already gone public regarding their intention to filter S60 down through the ranks of devices, just as S40 did before it, catering for different and evolving user models in an ever-maturing user ecosystem.  In its place will come Maemo, though they’ve also been open about the fact that, in its current form at least, the OS is targeted more at enthusiasts than the mainstream.

So, calling the death of S60 as a smartphone platform might be “completely premature”, but that doesn’t mean it’s not accurate; it just means Nokia don’t want to talk about it today.  Will Maemo be consumer-friendly by 2012 and ready to take up position in Nseries handsets?  We’d certainly expect so.

The Nseries has been Nokia’s flagship technology range, usually the place where new and high-end functionality debuts before filtering down to the rest of the company’s devices.  Up until now the Nokia Internet Tablets have been the only Maemo devices with the N-prefix, with the rest of the line – which includes media-centric handsets as well as more traditional smartphones – using Symbian S60.

As recently as back in September at Nokia World, the company was still talking about Maemo being a test bed to gauge consumer opinion, and coexisting alongside Symbian.  Even then, Nokia did say that the older S60 platform would begin progressing down the range, just as S40 has done before it.  The company is apparently “surprised” by response to the N900, which may have accelerated their plans somewhat.

For instance, if one person attending a concert tweeted about it from their mobile device, and another person at the concert retweeted that message, or added a photo to a public Flickr feed, then other users at the concert might be matched up with them.  That way users would build and encounter different bubbles of collaborative content, discovering crowd-shared media and opinion that they might otherwise have missed.

Unfortunately, as with last week’s video – which you can find here – you’re unlikely to see contagious content on a Maemo device any time soon.  Schneider told us that “there’s no plan on when it might be built”, instead showing us a page of current and upcoming widgets, UX plug-ins, codecs and other tweaks to the Maemo 5 platform.  More on those tweaks in our video demo.

Video demo of N900 Maemo 5 enhancements after the cut

Meanwhile, Peter Schneider of Nokia devices research & development pulled out his own N900 at the TWWLN3.0 conference to demonstrate a few of the newest enhancements to the Maemo platform, and we grabbed a quick video of the smartphone in action.  Among the functionality is an app which periodically pulls down contact profile photos and automatically syndicates them out to the various social networking and address book databases across the Maemo handset.

Incidentally, this also demonstrates one of the N900′s frequently unsung skills: it ships with a video output cable in the box, ideal for big-screen presentations or entertainment.  Curious as to what your first experience with the N900 will be like?  Check out our unboxing video below, together with some hands-on first impressions here.

Nokia N900 enhancements:

Nokia N900 unboxing:

Video demo after the cut

The app is the handiwork of Qt developer Eskil, who took the open-source despotify client and then created his own custom GUI for Maemo 5 in Qt 4.6.  The end result is, unsurprisingly, named qtspotify, and available for anybody with early access to an N900 to download here.

despotify (and therefore qtspotify) use the official Spotify API, and as such require a premium account in order to gain access to the streaming media catalog.  Still, you’ll need the same thing in order to use the Android or iPhone clients, so no great loss there.  We’ll be testing qtspotify out on our own N900 review unit, and will follow up with just how easy it is to use.

In fact, at time of writing Amazon’s launch date has slipped into November, to be precise November 2nd.  That’s only just outside the October window, certainly, but for people who’ve been sitting on their N900 preorders for some time now it’s another few days pain to endure.

Amazon US, meanwhile, are not even giving a release date, only accepting preorders, but they’re offering a not-insignificant $66 discount compared to Nokia’s official $649 MRSP and free shipping to boot.  $66 buys quite a few bags of popcorn, so we’d be tempted to suck up what could be a few days’ delay and save money where we can.

Nokia N900 unboxing:

[via N900 Blog]

Other specifications are pretty much in-line with what we’ve seen on the Nokia N900 already, which means WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS, together with integrated UMTS/HSPA.  There’s some speculation that the repositioned Nokia logo is a sign that the company see the N920 as more of a VoIP-centric phone device than the N900 (which currently has minimal portrait-orientation display support) but that’s all theory right now.

To our eyes it’s all a bit render-like, and we’re not sure Nokia would go with something quite so iPhone-like in design; the N900′s dark-finish metal highlights and bezels are far classier, we reckon.  Still, according to the rumors the N920 should be upon us in mid- to late-2010, pretty much the same timescale as Maemo 6 itself is tipped.

[via Pocketables]

However, Nokia are at pains to point out that the software this N900 is running isn’t final, so we’ll be holding off on our full review until we get the final build.  That doesn’t mean we won’t have plenty of hands-on articles, feedback and video demos before then, however, and if you’ve any questions about the N900 then we’d love to hear them; anything we can’t answer, we’ll put to Nokia to get a definitive reply.

The Nokia N900 is currently available to preorder in the US and UK, priced at $649 and at £499 respectively.  Early suggestions tipped a late-October release, though Nokia UK are currently suggesting the N900 won’t arrive until November 2009.  Until then, enjoy the unboxing video and gallery below!

Nokia N900 unboxing video:

Nokia are describing Maemo 6 as delivering an “iconic user experience and integrated internet services in one aesthetic package”, which smacks of PR hyperbole – I’m sure Apple, Google, Microsoft, Palm and all the others would describe their own mobile platforms as offering the same.  Still, there are some interesting advancements on top of Maemo 5, such as the idea that the device screen is a window on the desktop, otherwise known as the “canvas principle”.

As shown in the image above, the desktop is filled with widgets and controls and the device screen pans over it, showing different elements.  Nokia also intend both portrait and landscape support for Maemo 6, which up until now only supports the latter.  Unfortunately this will all be some time in coming; Maemo 6 isn’t expected to launch until late in 2010.

Video demo on the N900 after the cut

In fact the port is based on Qt v4.6, which isn’t set for a final release until Q1 2010.  Nokia have already revealed that it will deliver such niceties as multitouch gesture support to Maemo 6, but right now it means that applications coded for Qt will run not only on the N900 but Windows Mobile and Symbian devices.  It should also make the road from Maemo 5 to 6 more straightforward for developers, which had been a point of contention during Nokia World back in September.

The Qt for Maemo project has developed from a community-driven port, which Nokia has used in no small part for their official code.  The port is available to download from http://qt.nokia.com/maemo; there’s a demo video from Qt themselves of the port running on the N900 below.

Press Release:

Nokia announces official Qt port to Maemo 5
October 09, 2009

Developers will be able to target the Nokia N900 and upcoming Maemo and Symbian devices.

Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced the creation of the official Qt port to Maemo 5 and published an initial Technology Preview release. This port to Maemo 5 means that developers can now use Qt to target the upcoming Nokia N900 device and also ensures that applications can be easily ported to all Qt’s supported platforms including the next Maemo 6 release as well as Symbian and Windows Mobile.

The Qt port to Maemo 5 is designed specifically to work within the Maemo 5 environment, which will power the upcoming Nokia N900 device. The port itself will be based on Qt’s upcoming version 4.6 and is scheduled for final release in Q1 of 2010.

“With this announcement and our upcoming port of Qt to the Symbian platform, we will quickly see Qt established as a leading framework for mobile application development. Developers will be able to use Qt as a framework to create powerful native applications and with Qt’s Webkit integration, it also provides them with a platform for creating web applications and services,” said Sebastian Nyström, Vice President of Application Services and Frameworks at Nokia. “Qt’s support for Maemo 5, Maemo 6, Symbian, as well as Windows Mobile makes Qt the most sensible choice for developers looking to target multiple devices and achieve the broadest reach with their innovations.”

This port of Qt will incorporate the community-driven ‘Qt for Maemo’ project that was created as result of substantial contributions and enhancements. The community project provided a strong foundation for building the official port, and because of the open nature of the project, Nokia was able to base the official port on this code. The change from a community port to an official port was necessary to ensure that applications developed with Qt will be compatible with both future versions of Qt, future versions of Maemo, as well as Symbian and the other platforms Qt supports.

Developers looking to support the Qt port Maemo to Maemo 5 are encouraged to visit http://qt.gitorious.org and participate in its further development. Since May 2009, Nokia has received over 400 contributions into Qt and Qt-related projects, which has helped ensure that Qt remains a stable, robust framework for developers to innovate on.

Developers looking to learn more about Qt 4.6 should visit http://qt.nokia.com, as a beta release of Qt 4.6, including the Symbian port, will be launched next week at the Qt Developer Days conference in Munich.

Download information
To download the Qt port to Maemo 5 technology preview, please visit http://qt.nokia.com/maemo.

Video demo after the cut

The N900 lacks a D-pad, but can be controlled using the accelerometer by simply tilting the smartphone around.  Nokia’s N-Gage game download service has plenty more titles than the two pre-loaded on the N900, but unfortunately the company has already confirmed that N-Gage access won’t be present when the handset first launches.

Still, there’s already a distribution network for Maemo Internet Tablets, and titles like Doom have been ported over to the open-source platform, so getting hold of games shouldn’t be an impossibility.  The N900 lacks the same graphics grunt as the iPod touch 3G (or iPhone 3GS), yes, but its higher native-resolution 800 x 480 display (the Apple devices run at 480 x 320) may give it some advantage.  More on the Nokia N900 here.

[via UMPC Fever]