meego

Could exec exits accompany Nokia strategy shift?

Nokia is widely expected to announce some sort of strategy shift when CEO Stephen Elop meets with investors in London on Friday. A new report suggests, however, that several executive departures could also accompany the shift.

German weekly Wirtschaftswoche reported on Saturday that a number of executives may leave, citing company sources. According to a Reuters summary of the German article, among those that may depart are phone unit head Mary McDowell, markets unit manager Niklas Savander, Chief Development Officer Kai Oistamo, and services and solutions manager Tero Ojanpera.

Elop suggested on the company's recent earnings call that a … Read more

Too little, too late for Nokia?

When it comes to Nokia, I think my CNET colleague Stephen Shankland said it best in his article here: "It is hard to ignore the paradox at Nokia's global partner and developer conference: the company sells more smartphones than anyone else in the industry but is fighting for its life."

If you take a look at the situation in the U.S., where the Finnish cell phone manufacturer only claims 3 percent of the cell phone market, one could argue that Nokia is already dead in these parts of the world.

Yet, the Finnish cell phone manufacturer … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1308: Maladjusted mustache guys sniffing your data (podcast)

On today's show, it turns out that people and not just computers are looking at some of the super-private data you give to Google. And some of those people are hipsters in ironic t-shirts. Yeah, scary. Also, the new Twitter debuts, and it's better than the iPad version. Plus, IE 9 and Nokia's new attitude (and personnel): too little too late?

Buzz Out Loud 1295: Facebook Places knows when you miss the bus (podcast)

On today's show, how future generations will know all too well where they were conceived, thanks to Facebook Places--and yes, it's opt-out and lets your friends check you in, but somehow, I can still find a way to love it. Plus, Intel buys McAfee, Verizon's bringing TV to your iPad (in bed), and Windows 7 is killing it!

Earbud hoodies

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Hulu may land on the PlayStation as early as next week;HP buys Melodeo;Nokia favors a Linux system over SymbianFox Mobile launches a video service on BlackBerry phonesPorn sites may soon end in .xxxA new hoodie has built-in earbuds

Linux and Windows heat up mobile market

For those resigned to 30 years of Apple dominance in the mobile market, think again. While Apple clearly hit a home run with the iPhone, it's now under several serious threats from the Linux camp, and it seems Microsoft might finally have its act together with Windows Phone 7 Series.

Time to kiss your iPhone goodbye?

Maybe. Google had already been giving the iPhone serious competition with its Linux-based Android platform, but Monday Intel and Nokia joined forces with their own Linux initiative, MeeGo.

MeeGo is an amalgamation of Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo, two initiatives that … Read more

Intel, Nokia join Linux efforts for 'smart' devices

Intel and Nokia are combining their respective Linux operating environments to power future smartphones and tablets, another step in a technology tie-up launched last year.

The technology merger will fuse Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo software to form a new operating environment dubbed MeeGo, which is expected to power a range of devices, including pocketable mobile computers, Netbooks, tablets, connected TVs, and in-vehicle infotainment systems.

Intel's Moblin operating system has been offered on Netbooks from Dell, Acer, and Asus and made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show on a future smartphone from LG Electronics. Nokia's Maemo OS has powered its N900, a high-end smartphone that Nokia refers to as a "mobile computer"--a likely precursor for future MeeGo-based devices from the Finnish telecommunications giant.

The Intel-Nokia collaboration began in earnest in June when the two companies announced the beginning of a "long-term relationship," focusing on developing new chip architectures, software, and a new class of Intel-based mobile computing devices. This move is part of a major shift for Intel--a giant in PC chips but not a player in cell phones.

The goal for MeeGo is to put more flesh on the bones of last year's announcement. In short, to combine two disparate, unwieldy operating environments under one roof, said Renee J. James, a senior vice president at Intel. "Across a range of devices we're looking to build a single Linux platform with a single developer environment and a merged API," James said in an interview with CNET. An API, or application programming interface, is a way for a program to interact with other software.

Both companies stressed that applications that run on Moblin and Maemo will run on top of MeeGo.

Importantly, MeeGo will support equally ubiquitous ARM-architecture chips, in addition to Intel processors. "It's going to be cross-platform. That means it supports both Intel and ARM," James said. ARM processors are offered by Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Samsung, and others, while Intel's Atom processor powers Moblin-based devices today.

Future devices and apps stores James emphasized that its "multi-device" target markets will include the emerging category of tablets.… Read more