Intel: MeeGo Must Go On, Seeking New Partner

Last week Microsoft and Nokia surprised the world with their partnership announcement that has been quite an episode. Nokia chose Microsoft's Windows Phone over Google's Android platform, pretty much sending Nokia's old Symbian to the retirement home and dumping Intel–now the single parent raising MeeGo. Intel's CEO, Paul Otellini, held a meeting today with analysts in London to express his thoughts on Nokia's decision and his plans for MeeGo's future.

Otellini believes that Nokia was baited by lots of money from Google and Microsoft to make the switch. He said that Nokia's CEO Stephen Elop received "incredible offers–money" from the two suitors and continued saying, "I wouldn't have made the decision he made, I would probably have gone to Android if I were him. MeeGo would have been the best strategy but he concluded he couldn't afford it."

He believes that Nokia will find it difficult to differentiate using the Windows platform saying, "It would have been less hard on Android, on MeeGo he could have done it." But after seeing the MeeGo demo at MWC 2011 being far from impressive, it's hard to say if MeeGo really was an option. Despite all of this, Intel firmly stands by MeeGo saying that they will find another partner. "The carriers still want a third ecosystem and the carriers want an open ecosystem, and that's the thing that drives our motivation," says Otellini.

[Via Reuters]