facebook rss twitter

Nokia said to launch N9 running Intel Atom and MeeGo at MWC

by Scott Bicheno on 21 January 2011, 12:30

Tags: Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Nokia (NYSE:NOK)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qa35i

Add to My Vault: x

Three for the price of one

We usually try to limit our speculative reporting to inferences drawn from concrete statements, but this rumour is so juicy we just had to share it with you.

An apparently respected Finnish tech site - Processori - has reported that it has heard Nokia will be launching the N9 smartphone at MWC. That alone is no big deal, but the Finns reckon it will not only be the first phone to run the MeeGo OS, but it will also be the first commercially available phone to run on an Intel chip.

Of course it was at last year's MWC that Nokia and Intel announced they were combining their respective mobile OS efforts to develop MeeGo. With Intel desperate to get its chips into mobile devices and Nokia's current smartphone OS - Symbian - proving an Achilles Heel, MeeGo is of critical importance to both companies in this market.

Also at MWC last year we spoke to Intel about its Moorestown chip - designed for mobile devices - and there was much bullish talk. But in the intervening time, despite the odd spasm of PR activity, there has been little to say about either MeeGo, or Moorestown, or indeed its successor Medfield.

So if this is true it would combine three major launches into one: a new Nokia smartphone, a major new mobile OS, and Intel's formal entry into the smartphone market. If it's true.

While we're at it, we've seen reported that Nokia has cancelled the launch of an X7 smartphone in the US, that it may still be some months before we see the E7 in the UK, and that Apple has filed another patent-related lawsuit against Nokia in the UK. Never a dull moment for the Finnish phone giant.

 



HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!
If the lead Meego device rolls up in May sporting an Atom SoC then i won't touch it with a barge-pole, and i have an n900 now and have been cheering Meego on ever since·
Jedibeeftrix
If the lead Meego device rolls up in May sporting an Atom SoC then i won't touch it with a barge-pole, and i have an n900 now and have been cheering Meego on ever since·

Awfully shortsighted given that there is no data on how an Atom SOC will peform in a phone size device with MeeGo on and what the power metrics will be… perhaps at least read some reviews first :rolleyes:
What software support does meego have compared to Android or i os or even mobile 7.

I think this is a case of too little too late for Nokia.
kingpotnoodle
Awfully shortsighted given that there is no data on how an Atom SOC will peform in a phone size device with MeeGo on and what the power metrics will be… perhaps at least read some reviews first :rolleyes:

there has been nothing in the history of x86 atom to make me believe that it can deliver equivalent performance/watt as Arm A9.

there is no real need for it either given the ecosystem of ARM/linux development that has sprung up around touch-enabled market.
Jedibeeftrix
there has been nothing in the history of x86 atom to make me believe that it can deliver equivalent performance/watt as Arm A9.

It also very much depends on the OS, and whether the raw performance is put to could use and how the device is designed (battery etc) as to whether the experience is a good one, perf/W of the the CPU is part of the puzzle only, and not many of the A9 SOCs have been heavily tested yet either in phones…

Jedibeeftrix
there is no real need for it either given the ecosystem of ARM/linux development that has sprung up around touch-enabled market.

Competition is always good for the consumer, even if the new competitor is only minor it forces the incumbent to stay on the ball. Ref: Athlon vs Pentium 4 results in Core.