MeeGo

MeeGo is the platform, it is announced by corporations Intel and Nokia which became a hybrid of mobile systems Moblin (Mobile Linux) and Maemo.

The platform MeeGo was issued at the beginning of 2010. Projects are its cornerstone Moblin and Maemo. An initiator of the Moblin project was Intel, Maemo- Nokia Corporation. Nokia on this platform released the tablet. For the rest, projects had no significant impact on the market, and other devices on this platform was not created. In 2011 the project was closed.

MeeGo was intended for work on a broad spectrum of devices, including smartphones, tablets and netbooks. It will allow to create applications which without adaptation will work at several types of devices at once. App store for MeeGo became belonging to Ovi Store Nokia.

The MeeGo system was completely open, developers published its source codes. Both corporations stated that all manufacturing companies of the hardware will get equal access to MeeGo.

MeeGo had to coexist with the Symbian platform which was at that time used for the Nokia smartphones. It was planned that new OS will be installed in more expensive, than usually, mobile phones. In particular, it was intended for devices of the class N900 Nokia which the Finnish corporation preferred to call mobile computers.

Features

Following features of a system were declared:

1. B to a system will use .rpm packets (as in Moblin), but not .deb (as in Maemo)
2. three components act as basis of the new platform: MeeGo OS Base is a basis for interaction with the equipment (a kernel of Linux and basic system services), MeeGo OS Middleware — API for involvement of opportunities of the equipment, communication, multimedia, graphic (2D/3D) and service functions from user applications, MeeGo User Experience is the user cover supporting options of creation of the interface for work on netbooks and handheld devices
3. Source texts of a cover and the API level will be available within the license BSD which is not prohibiting to producers to enter improvements without their opening
4. Plans of Nokia for Maemo 6 will not change; it will be based on Qt therefore it is programmatically compatible to MeeGo
5. Good news to owners of N900 Nokia are the applications written for MeeGo on Qt it will be possible to start on it

Developers report that the appearance of MeeGo will be so flexible that producers of devices will be able to transform it beyond recognition, changing color, the size and a form of windows, using different fonts and effects of animation. Founders of MeeGo chose original option of removal from blocking: for this purpose it is necessary to touch the image of the lock and to drag it to a certain area on the screen.

MeeGo will maintain multitasking. At the same time two options of switching between active applications will be offered to users: using a roundabout or a grid from the reduced images by analogy with Maemo 5. The menu of the choice of applications will be multipage, and number of the current page will be specified in the form of a point on the screen. Implementation of the menu most of all reminds the iPhone interface which also includes several pages with arrangement of icons in a grid.

Architecture of MeeGo

The MeeGo platform was worked carefully out for support a component, users of devices, necessary for convenient work.

The architecture of MeeGo consists of three layers:

• 1. The basic layer of MeeGo (OS Base) contains a kernel of Linux and service of a core along with software for support of the hardware necessary for work of MeeGo on devices with different hardware architecture.
• 2. The interface layer of MeeGo (Middleware) provides independent of the hardware and model of use of API for creation of both native programs, and web applications.
• 3. The user layer of MeeGo (UX) provides creation of interfaces for different platforms. The first release of MeeGo will support interfaces for handheld devices and netbooks. Support of additional platforms will appear over time.

Screenshots

MeeGo 1.2

Initially MeeGo was the joint project of Nokia and Intel companies, however after the Finnish mobile giant signed the agreement with Microsoft on transition to the Windows platform of Phone 7, Intel remained the only large system developer. For this reason of MeeGo 1.2 considerably concedes by quantity of innovations to the previous versions.

The main innovations of MeeGo 1.2 consist in expansion of network capabilities of the platform. So, in the new version there was a support of function of a tetering (tethering) allowing to use the smartphone as the external 3G-modem for the notebook or other device. "To distribute the Internet" devices under control of MeeGo will be able through USB-or Bluetooth connections and also on Wi-Fi.

Besides, MeeGo got support of different Bluetooth devices and a connectivity to corporate VPN networks. Also work with mobile networks and SIM card content management was improved.

The test version for tablet computers was also for the first time submitted to MeeGo 1.2. The new graphic cover – a desktop and a set of widgets became the only innovation. However this version does not contain any appendices which are specially adapted for use on tablets.

Interesting Facts

• 1. The source code MeeGo will be added in process of creation of a system of infrastructure of development.
• 2. MeeGo combines the best of Moblin with the best of Maemo to create the platform for several processor architecture covering a broad spectrum of devices. MeeGo is based on a core of Moblin and developments of the user interface on Qt for Maemo. MeeGo is original merge of two platforms at the component level.
• 3. MeeGo is the open project supported by Linux Foundation.
• 4. MeeGo is an independent distribution kit, it is not based on any other distribution kit (Fedora and Debian).
• 5. The MeeGo graphical interface is based on Qt as it is described in architecture. MeeGo will also include Clutter and GTK+.
• 6. MeeGo will use telepathy.
• 7. MeeGo is the multiplatform project maintaining architecture of Intel Atom and ARM.

History

October, 2010: The Nokia company announced the plans for release of devices based on MeeGo. According to the guide of the Finnish producer, the communicator expected to emergence in the market until the end of 2010 based on it the mobile platform, will appear only in 2011. There are no exact terms of its announcement, but experts assume what happens during the first quarter. Points to it that in Nokia confirmed that it will be the device N9 Nokia which was already shown in Network unofficial earlier and, therefore, it is almost ready to commercial release. Let's remind that the collective of the foreign blog Negri Electronics removed the first video test of the N9 Nokia smartphone. The smartphone represents QWERTY device from 8 MT fotokameroy3d with double LED flash. Also there is a frontal VGA camera with LED flash. The device works based on Symbian OS and supports networks of third generation (850/1900 MHz). In the smartphone the nHD-permission display – 640*360 pixels, just the same, as in Nokia 5800 and N97 Nokia is used. Nevertheless, it became more by the sizes – diagonal from 3.5 inches increased up to 4 inches. Besides, the screen became capacity.

In July, 2010 the Genivi group (which includes several car makers) announced the choice of the MeeGo platform as a basis for the information and entertaining systems giving the chance of use of navigation, video playback and music, connection of wireless devices and Internet connection from a seat of the driver or the passenger in the car or other vehicle. As for BMW, this German concern in 2007 became the partner of Novell in corporate implementations, and in need of use of the open source software for the onboard systems announced in 2008. Then the car maker began to work with Intel and Wind River in this direction (it is remarkable that both are included into alliance Genivi). It is supposed that accession to the project of Genivi industrial group will allow to make an additional contribution to its development. For example, developers will have an opportunity to use new API and to apply the experience accumulated by them at creating applications to products in other spheres. Let's note that earlier interest in MeeGo was shown by the Chinese car maker HawTai Automobile who is going to take it as a basis for the own onboard systems also.

In February, 2011 it became known that Nokia refused further development of the first mobile device on the MeeGo platform. With reference to two independent sources the Reuters agency reported about it. Let's remind that this device was not announced. In the middle of 2010 representatives of Nokia promised to provide a "vekhovy" product in the end of the year. It was supposed that it is about the smartphone on MeeGo, but no announcement so followed. Later in Intel said that development of MeeGo will be complete only in 2011. The MeeGo platform was created by a join path of Linux projects of Nokia companies (Maemo) and Intel (Moblin).