Nokia hopes to fight off Apple iPhone gains with Linux
Even though Nokia's Symbian mobile operating system commands the lion's share of the worldwide smartphone market, the world's largest handset maker is looking to Linux to take on the iPhone.
Sources have told Reuters that Nokia is positioned to announce its first Maemo-based phone next week at an event in Stuttgart, Germany. Originally designed for Nokia's Internet Tablets line, the Linux-based operating system will now reportedly transition over to at least some of the handset maker's cell phones.
Now, a Linux derivative is primed to play a "key role" in Nokia's top-tier lineup, reportedly offering more flexibility for the company than its Symbian operating system. Tero Kuittinen of MKM Partners said that Maemo is a better option for a line of complex devices that would benefit from "rapidly evolving user-interface software."
The report seems to confirm weeks of rumors that Maemo would make an appearance on Nokia phones after various screenshots surfaced online. However, Nokia has insisted that it is not abandoning Symbian.
Last month, Nokia told investors that its global market share would likely recede over the next year, as it loses ground to competitors Apple and Research in Motion.
Recent numbers showed that Symbian still has a 50.3 percent total market share, but that number is well down from the 72 percent the platform had in 2006. This as Apple's iPhone has continued to gain on the market leader since the debut of the iPhone in 2007. In the second quarter of 2009, the iPhone represented 14 percent of global smartphone sales.
While Linux has long had a presence on computers, it has not been widely adopted in the mobile phone world until recent years. The most high-profile Linux-based phone operating system has been Google's Android platform, which in under a year on the market has been said to manage a small but noteworthy 2 percent market share.
Sources have told Reuters that Nokia is positioned to announce its first Maemo-based phone next week at an event in Stuttgart, Germany. Originally designed for Nokia's Internet Tablets line, the Linux-based operating system will now reportedly transition over to at least some of the handset maker's cell phones.
Now, a Linux derivative is primed to play a "key role" in Nokia's top-tier lineup, reportedly offering more flexibility for the company than its Symbian operating system. Tero Kuittinen of MKM Partners said that Maemo is a better option for a line of complex devices that would benefit from "rapidly evolving user-interface software."
The report seems to confirm weeks of rumors that Maemo would make an appearance on Nokia phones after various screenshots surfaced online. However, Nokia has insisted that it is not abandoning Symbian.
Last month, Nokia told investors that its global market share would likely recede over the next year, as it loses ground to competitors Apple and Research in Motion.
Recent numbers showed that Symbian still has a 50.3 percent total market share, but that number is well down from the 72 percent the platform had in 2006. This as Apple's iPhone has continued to gain on the market leader since the debut of the iPhone in 2007. In the second quarter of 2009, the iPhone represented 14 percent of global smartphone sales.
While Linux has long had a presence on computers, it has not been widely adopted in the mobile phone world until recent years. The most high-profile Linux-based phone operating system has been Google's Android platform, which in under a year on the market has been said to manage a small but noteworthy 2 percent market share.
Comments
A competitive analysis chart encompassing the smartphone industry would fill a wall-sized whiteboard.
The N900 is one thing but what about this?
It's a netbook.
They will never reach the ecosystem and tight integration of hard- and software that Apple has. And that is what does it for me.
Other times they shrug and leave annoyances up to the community to fix.
I don't know if it's internal corporate politics or what, but the end result is -not- something that's going to meaningfully challenge the iPhone. Not until they straighten some shit out.
KRR
It's a netbook.
It's a Nokia Netbook from a company that thisfar has concentrated on phone's, aluminium body, glass screen, it reminds me of something but I can't place my finger on it.
The only thing missing is OSX.
Maemo is an interesting piece of kit, with a much brighter future than Symbian. But Nokia just doesn't know what it's doing with it. Some times it seems they want to really leverage their own flavor (instead of just using Android) to wring benefits from tighter control.
Other times they shrug and leave annoyances up to the community to fix.
I don't know if it's internal corporate politics or what, but the end result is -not- something that's going to meaningfully challenge the iPhone. Not until they straighten some shit out.
This is almost a perfect description of the attitude and state of the Linux community in general though.
Each year brings a new uber-cool "flavour" of Linux which solves many of the problems last years flavour, by establishing more control and more rules over what gets into the distro or not. Then next year there's a new flavour, and those in control of last year's flavour have relinquished some of their control in hopes of getting the community to solve some of it's many problems while this year's version is arguing for more control at the same time.
Rinse, repeat ...
it's Linux! the never-ending, almost-there, coulda-been, shoulda-been king of OS's
Well there goes another large company! Willing to shoot ones self in the head over linux! ... ~5 years to irrelevance!
KRR
Exactly, LInux won't save them! They've missed the boat! The horse is already out of the barn! They rested on their laurels! And Apple/iPhone has snatched the market away from them!
Like MS, Dell, HP, RIM, Adobe, Motorola, Gateway, Sony, Palm, etc., etc., 'unfortunately, more foreskin than foresight!'
Look at the companies that are actually making an OS; BB, Android, Palm, WM. The only OS that people actually want is mobile OSX. All others are just a disparate collection of features and eye-candy.
Look at the companies that are actually making an OS; BB, Android, Palm, WM. The only OS that people actually want is mobile OSX. All others are just a disparate collection of features and eye-candy.
I agree sort of.
The few times I've seen the Pre I've actually been fairly impressed with the OS, and I like the hardware too. They seem to be the competition for Apple now - I agree that the others are not upto much.
Still, an interesting device. It's got a desktop web-browser and a screen with enough pixels to make zooming and horizontal scrolling unnecessary.
it's Linux! the never-ending, almost-there, coulda-been, shoulda-been king of OS's
All OSs have their strengths and weaknesses. Linux is the ultimate webserver in my opinion. Android actually makes a pretty decent phone too, not as good as iPhone but still pretty good. So it is possible for sure. Linux is highly customizable, can run in a tiny memory space, and is open source which makes it a good starting point not having to reinvent the wheel.
People sometimes forget that OS X and iPhone OS get a lot of their strength from unix which is essentially the same code base as Linux. So under the hood they are quite similar, mostly just the GUI is different.
It's a Nokia Netbook from a company that thisfar has concentrated on phone's,
You might want to correct that comment.
The report seems to confirm weeks of rumors that Maemo would make an appearance on Nokia phones after various screenshots surfaced online. However, Nokia has insisted that it is not abandoning Symbian.
Weeks of rumors? Nokia gave details of this device last year.
And they have been selling Maemo devices since 2005
Competitors still do not understand why Apple is succeeding among consumers. Apple is the only company in the industry who builds a mobile OS that people actually want. Competitors understand features and eye candy, but not total user experience. They do not understand that software is not just something slapped onto hardware after the fact. Software and the way it works must be designed in lock-step with the hardware from the beginning for total integration.
Look at the companies that are actually making an OS; BB, Android, Palm, WM. The only OS that people actually want is mobile OSX. All others are just a disparate collection of features and eye-candy.
I'm always amazed by the Apple critics who dismiss them as nothing but 'cool design'.
When will they understand that design follows function, not visa versa.
I'm always amazed by the Apple critics who dismiss them as nothing but 'cool design'.
When will they understand that design follows function, not visa versa.
Because in the past, design was the primary selling point with regards to the general consumer. Apple has changed that by offering a smart device aimed at the general consumer AND the business person alike, and it has done so with resounding success. High design and functionality is now the norm which is why there are still lines for the iphone.
All OSs have their strengths and weaknesses. Linux is the ultimate webserver in my opinion. Android actually makes a pretty decent phone too, not as good as iPhone but still pretty good. So it is possible for sure. Linux is highly customizable, can run in a tiny memory space, and is open source which makes it a good starting point not having to reinvent the wheel.
People sometimes forget that OS X and iPhone OS get a lot of their strength from unix which is essentially the same code base as Linux. So under the hood they are quite similar, mostly just the GUI is different.
I understand where you are coming from and I don't dismiss Linux entirely, but in the context of a good consumer friendly OS for something as low-end as a phone, I don't think Linux of any variety is going to succeed.
It's main flaw is the very fact that it's completely open and a work of many hands. This often leads to confusing, overly complex GUI's that never strike out into "unknown territory" and never quite rid themselves of all the bugs and confusion because the preferred method of interaction by those designing the GUI, is actually the command line. This has always worked against it's adoption as a desktop operating system and will only work against it's adoption as a phone OS moreso.
What people are looking for in a portable OS on a minimal device like a phone, is utility and ease of use, not endless complexity. The very fact that it took the iPhone OS for people to start using phones for serious things illuminates that clearly. The absolutely huge growth of the smart-phone market since the iPhone's debut is arguably the most remarkable part of the iPhone's success. So it's not the kernel that's at issue here, but the GUI and the user interaction with the system, which not only has always been Linux's weakest point, but something that arguably cannot be designed by committee.
Android has a chance, only if individual hardware manufacturers get behind their own solid "branded" copy of it that's designed, by actual designers, not Linux-heads.
Also, just to be picky, Linux is "unix-like" but is not "based on Unix" or a Unix variant itself, but rather based on "Minix" which itself is a copy of some of Unix. Mac OS-X on the other hand, *is* Unix, (with a lot of GUI stuff bolted on). Granted, they are both a long way from the original thing that used to be called Unix, but to say Linux has the "same codebase" as Unix is misleading. The whole point of Linux is that it's not the same codebase as Unix.