MeeGo prototype tablet shows off swipe and tap potential in hands-on video
Intel shows us MeeGo hasn't been thrown away following Nokia's partnership with Microsoft, but whether we ever come to see this platform arriving in the shops is another matter.
- Association of Online Publisher Award winner for Best use of Video
Despite's Nokia's partnership with Microsoft, its next-gen operating system MeeGo isn't a defunct duck. Nokia's development partner Intel was keen to show off its potential as a tablet interface here at Mobile World Congress.
We're glad plans are still in place for MeeGo's continued development, as we were more than happy with the introduction we were given. The interface is novel and intuitive, requiring you to swipe between tabs of friends, music, photos and so on, and then swiping down on each one to access more information or tapping and holding to bring up menus.
It's important to bear in mind, however, that this is a pre-alpha version, so a lot could change before any MeeGo product is launched. But even in this early stage the Web browser was responsive, loaded pages well and supported Flash for embedded video content.
It's unknown, however, whether we will ever see MeeGo hit the shops -- Intel and Nokia both claim plans are in place for its continued development, but we're not convinced app and game developers will want to spend their time on a new platform in the light of the ever-increasing success of Android and the rise of Windows Phone 7.
For more on the MeeGo demo, check out our gallery of hands-on photos here.