When Nokia announced it would be partnering with Microsoft on Windows Phone 7, investors and consumers alike were assured that MeeGo was not going to be phased out. However, shortly before the collaboration was announced, Nokia decided to indefinitely postpone the first of its MeeGo phones and the mysterious (and perhaps entirely falsified) Plan B group seemed intensely worried MeeGo was on its way out.
But apparently Nokia remains committed to introducing at least MeeGo device. At a recent Nokia development event, CTO Rich Green announced that the Nokia N950 will be the first MeeGo handset and will be released in 2011, according to GSM Arena. Reports suggest it will succeed the N900 (also called the N9) and potentially be able to run various operating systems. Unfortunately, that’s about all the information available about the N950 thus far. The discussion was generally about the device’s concept and little else, although Green did say the device promises to be “very elegant.”
While any mention of MeeGo should mean its existence within Nokia is safe, the platform still faces an uncertain future. Green mentioned that the N950 will be something of a test run, saying that once it’s released Nokia will “see how well [it] goes.”
Nokia has been under heavy scrutiny lately. The cancelled N9 didn’t exactly inspire confidence with the manufacturer, and there’s been no shortage of opinions regarding its partnership with Microsoft. But even if Nokia planned to slowly push MeeGo under, Intel won’t be. At the Mobile World Congress earlier this month, Intel said it would continue to create for all operating systems, including MeeGo. “Our MeeGo tablet user experience shows the power and flexibility of MeeGo, and by adding new developer tools and programs we will accelerate our tablet strategy and MeeGo ecosystem momentum to enable faster time-to-market with innovative products for OEMs and service providers alike.”
So at least for the time being, the tech world (including Nokia) hasn’t forgotten about MeeGo. Still, one upcoming, thus far spec-less handset doesn’t exactly mean you should go invest in the fledgling OS.
