MWC 2010: Intel and Nokia unveil MeeGo

MeeGo logo

Intel and Nokia today announced a new Linux-focused collaboration to develop the software of the future for mobile devices.

Dubbed MeeGo, the two computing giants claimed the open system will result in enhanced user experiences and an ability to port apps from one device to another quickly and easily.

MeeGo will be hosted by the Linux Foundation, with the first iteration expected to arrive in the second quarter of this year. Software created as a result of the project - making use of the Qt development environment - will span mobile phones, netbooks, tablets and more.

"It's hard not to be impressed with the speed of change in our industry," said Kai istm, who heads up Nokia's devices unit. "Users will be able to keep their favourite apps whenever they change devices. MeeGo is an open system. A new frontier with no walls and no fences."

And it's not just good news for users, either.

"[This will offer] equal opportunities for all manufacturers," istm added. "It will co-exist with Symbian and they will complement one another."

Intel is equally as enthused by what the future holds for this open collaboration.

"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," Intel president and chief executive Paul Otellini said in a statement.

"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."

Maggie Holland

Maggie has been a journalist since 1999, starting her career as an editorial assistant on then-weekly magazine Computing, before working her way up to senior reporter level. In 2006, just weeks before ITPro was launched, Maggie joined Dennis Publishing as a reporter. Having worked her way up to editor of ITPro, she was appointed group editor of CloudPro and ITPro in April 2012. She became the editorial director and took responsibility for ChannelPro, in 2016.

Her areas of particular interest, aside from cloud, include management and C-level issues, the business value of technology, green and environmental issues and careers to name but a few.