Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Information about Nokia's future OS Meltemi was leaked by Wall Street Journal today.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj
It's a new Linux based OS aimed at the low end market (S40 type)

It's behind the "Bringing Qt to the next billion".

Thoughts? speculations?

Meltemi is a wind like Harmattan, Fremantle, Diablo etc etc.

Edited for sanity

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

I'm very happy to hear that.

Let me just savor this moment for a second, because any speculations will inevitably involve any of our past wounds (Elop, wp, Ballmer, maemo cancellation, MeeGo, tizen, etc).

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Would be pretty sweet with 50€ phones with linux & Qt. Cheap hackable linux devices sounds like utopia. I'm excited. (Especially as a Qt developer)

One might go as far as wish for further funding to maintain maemo.org to work as a meltemi community too. That's just silly dreams though.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Very interesting. In my opinion Maemo successor > MeeGo/Tizen. If for no other reason than it will hopefully still use .deb and apt-get!

That was my biggest issue with MeeGo, not a big fan of RPMs.

slaapliedje

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Let me guess, it is for the desktops with Windows logo .... no no no, it is for tablets where Windows has no presence.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Its good that its Linux but it still depends on how they will implement it, if its RTOS like Bada or virtual machine like Android, i really don't give a crap.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

When are you bunch going to grow up and accept the FACT that the mobile industry is a BUSINESS. It's BIG business. Feelings have little place in there, the ultimate law is: Business as usual.

Now, when you accept that fact, you can enjoy the fruits of technology without being obsessed (way past the point of ridicule) by bad (or good) business decisions.

The N9 will live on for sure, in a multitude of incarnations. Why? because Swipe is the most ingenious UI philosophy yet to be seen, and because of the design. The N9 redefines the concept of cool.

We (at least I do) have a very interesting time ahead. Bada with Tizen, Maemo++ with Qt on billions of devices. For the first time I actually start to worry about WP. But at the same time, the mobile market is so incredibly large that WP is bound to have a place.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

This is great news, and I am feeling this is what qgil has been hinting to us: meltemi = qt + linux kernel + webkit + swipe ux. If the execution is well this will have a big impact to the market. Imagine a mini n9 available for < $200.

Of course Nokia doesn't have good reputation on software execution but it sounds like meltemi can use a lot of bits from Meego.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

I have a STRONG feeling it will be Qt. My guess is it will be harmattan-like but less multitasking and more locked down. We are after all talking low (as in S40 low) end devices.

Harmattan is pretty sweet, software wise IMO.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Hopefully Harmattan and Meltemi apps will be 100% compatible.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

If Nokia ever deliver it (and since they're not even acknowledging it currently that's a long way at best) then I might have a look at it. Until then it's just another piece of vapourware.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

You can't troll me.

I appreciate you writing up some details behind some of the elements that conjured my positive feelings.

Perhaps, for a completely emotionless flavor, you should go Android?

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

These are the Words that Nokia Have been Speaking ever Since N9 Launch Day
Qt for the Next Billion
Swipe UI will live on in future Products
Now we Know where and it could possibly be Nokia's saviour from the cheap Chinese devices eating up the Feature Phone Market Share in far east

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

This sounds great! Imagine if they get it perfectly tuned for low powered devices. it will be easier to scale up than opposite.

Maybe this was the plan how to get rid of Intel???

Maybe they can get things done right at last.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Don't care if they call it low-end or not. if it uses a linux distribution similar in capabilities and openness to Maemo, i will definitely buy it.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

I just can't get enthusiastic about this type of news anymore. XYZ "Linux based" OSes are lurking around, but is any of them what we want it to be? Mind you, Android is also "Linux based". If someone had told me that in 2011 we would have this many "Linux based" smartphones, but (almost) not a single one with a normal GNU/Linux stack, I wouldn't have believed.

That said, I do hope that the quantity will eventually bring us some more quality: I am just not willing to busy-wait for it anymore.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

very much agreed, though i would hope it would find its way into similar pricepoints as the upper end bada phones.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Ok it's linux based but the fact that it (potentially) brings Qt apps to cheap phones could be a very good thing for Nokia and Qt developers.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

All this speculation is giving me wind......

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Really hard to take this seriously. Nokia now again trying to create new Linux based OS. What was wrong with previous one, and how are they going to make this work, if they couldn't make the previous one work?

On the other hand, lot of people in this community have spent lot time and effort on getting into Qt thanks to Nokia's previous strategy. Hopefully this will give something back to them as a return to that investment.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

It is a lot of speculation, but it would explain how Nokia intends to bring Qt to low-end devices: using linux.
Qt for Symbian still has a lot of rough edges, and judging from that experience a lot of people (including myself), don't believe Nokia would be able to bring Qt to series 40 or any other new OS in a reasonable amount of time, in a good working state.
But if they intend to use a linux distribution as a base, that would be a totally different situation. Or nokia intends to use a similar strategy as in the N900, a device that is effectively an internet tablet + Series 40 phone glued together. All interesting speculation, let us wait and see.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

I doubt very much though that any linux based distro will run as efficient as Symbian. AFAIK even a dumbed down one like Android suck more juice than Symbian and Harmattan even more. Sure native code all the way through is going to help but still I think Symbian will be more efficient.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

I guess the message being conveyed is that Linux is only suitable for low-end devices (and perhaps only as a glorified boot loader for Qt at that) and if you want something better you should get Windows.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Yes. Fvck Tizen. I'm with Nokia on this one. Come on! One last push, we can do it this time! :D

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

OT: Is that Bill Murray in your avatar pic? :D

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

What do you mean by efficient? If you are referring to battery life i can't agree with you.
The Linux kernel is modular, that is why most embedded systems(where efficiency is VERY important) use it.
I would also like to know on which grounds you are basing the inefficiency of Harmattan, unless you own an N9, i don't understand how you arrived to that conclusion.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

It's Jack Lemmon. The picture is from the opening scene of Glengarry Glen Ross.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

This is not based on scientific testing, but I will say that the battery life of my N950 seems much worse than that of my N8. The N950 does however have a smaller battery than the N9 (1320mAh vs 1450mAh).

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Compare battery life with Symbian and Android and you'll se that Symbian is the clear winner. And no I don't got a N9 (got a N950 though) but as Harmattan is more or less a stock debian based distro it sucks more juice than Symbian. All those servers, (i.e dbus, pulse-audio, xorg-server) suck power so yes I know that Harmattan suck more power than Symbian.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

May not be as efficient, but development time is currently a much bigger issue. One thing is clear that Nokia wasn't able to release competitive products based on Symbian on time in the past.
Despite all the delays Nokia faced with MeeGo, other companies have proven that you can release competitive linux based devices in a timely manner, even if you are a small business. (routers, phones, ebook readers, gadgets etc.)

Now that people want more and more from their featurephones, linux could be a good choice on the low-end, without the need to develop an app ecosystem.

Calling Android "dumbed down linux" is a gross simplification of the situation. Also if the applications on Harmattan are correctly optimized, there is no need that Harmattan would require "more juice" than Android or vice versa. You are correct that code that is "closer to the metal", can be more efficient when looking at CPU performance, and thus battery life. But in reality in most situations, the difference is small, and in current Android versions you can also use native code when it does matter.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

The kernel isn't (shouldn't) matter much in terms of power usage, it's the userland that causes most of the battery drain.

As past Maemo device owners we all know Nokia only puts in just enough RAM to run the pre-installed stuff, if we don't multi-task too much. The N9 comes with 1GB, draw your own conclusions.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Just to clarify, the N9 will have just as good battery time as most other smart phones. Not as good as Symbian phones though.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

I gotta wonder what the heck is happening in the board room these days. If I was a shareholder I'd be pissed that every week someone comes in with a new idea about how to save the company. Meanwhile, the stocks keep falling.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

iPhone 4 has had the best battery life of my recent smartphones, but what i have read it seems like N9 will cope even better than ip4. That should mean a bit more than 2 days on my quite heavy daily use.

To be seen when i got that N9 in to my hands.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

A bit orthogonal to the topic, but let's not forget that Qt in the case of Symbian is a bolt-on, a glorified wrapper if you wish - Harmattan would do ways better even on identical hardware.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Its perhaps good news... buy I simply afraid about the "low end marked (S40 type)" words...

So, to make it clear. The devices are getting cheap and have only 256MB Ram, 800MHz, 2GB Storage, 3" touchscreen, 3MP Camera...
Qt and Linux is great, but I wan't a device to use one a daily basis.

If they say the N9 is only low end because of the used operating system and the Meltemi successor will use similar hardware and perhaps the next generation of them I'm very soon a S40 user again. ;)

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Nothing to get excited. I'm quite sure it will be as closed as it can be, and even less efficient (in any form...) that android gray mass out there.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

Personally, I have no real interest in another closed OS controlled by Nokia, Elop and MS. They will never allow any Linux OS they control to be capable enough to threaten WinPhone.

Give me real, open Linux or I might as well keep using Android. At least I have a wide choice of hardware.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

I think it's the way o Nokia saying that the remains of the MeeGo team will not work on Tizen.

Re: Meltemi - Lightweight Linux based os from Nokia
 

One word comes to mind: Aegis.

It doesn't really matter if it's linux, that doesn't necessarily translates as open. Nokia seems very much inclined to making a linux-based locked down platform with very little open for modification.