Maemo 5 gets Alpha SDK, Nokia fans rejoice

Nokia has just introduced the Maemo 5 Alpha devkit, especially for all you adventurous software developers who just can't wait to get your hands on the beta. The operating system of choice for Nokia's next round of Internet tablets, the SDK includes the new UI framework and five (count 'em!) new APIs, including: Location (for building location-aware apps), City Information (obtains information including city name, country name, and country code), Time management, Vibra service (triggers and controls vibrations), and Device orientation. According to Maemo.org, all the APIs are unlocked, the thing includes no documentation except auto-generated API references, and it "features a simplified UI implementation of the Desktop and the Application Menu." Additionally, the new OS supports hardware-accelerated 3D graphics and WVGA resolution. What are you waiting for? Hit the read link and start developin'.

[superhobo @ Mar 3rd 2009 12:30PM]

First thought: KDE + XMB

[Matt @ Mar 3rd 2009 12:34PM]

"Nokia has just introduced the Maemo 5 Alpha devkit, especially for all you adventurous software developers who just can't wait to get your hands on the beta."

So, if the alpha devkit gives me the beta, what does the beta devkit get me?

[Canis_Minor @ Mar 3rd 2009 12:50PM]

Why, that would be the gamma devkit, duh! ;)

[ZSX @ Mar 3rd 2009 12:40PM]

Been watching this, but there doesn't seem to be much information on the new clutter hardware-accelerated interface. The above screenshot suggests a Canola-like UI.

Also rather sad that this will not be backported to the N8*0 tablets.

[qgil @ Mar 3rd 2009 4:04PM]

Have a look at the overview of the Maemo 5 UI for more details about the use of OpenGL ES and Clutter: http://maemo.org/development/sdks/maemo5_alpha_overview/

The screenshot contains icons aligned on a background, which is a paradigm used by Canola... and actually many others. To avoid confusion, the creenshot corresponds to the task launcher and not to the desktop, which keeps being a space available for home widgets, fully customizable.

The Mer project - http://wiki.maemo.org/Mer - has a goal of bringing Fremantle to the N800/N810 and they have got good comments about this alpha release.

[NickNick @ Mar 3rd 2009 12:41PM]

maemo ftw!

that is all.

[Autumn Autist @ Mar 3rd 2009 12:44PM]

Is it QT based?

[Andrew DeLisa @ Mar 3rd 2009 1:23PM]

According to some forum info from early 2008, they plan to support Qt, but it will exist outside of the GTK+ UI, as a 3rd-party app would on the previous tablets.

[qgil @ Mar 3rd 2009 3:51PM]

No, but Qt 4.5 bindings are available as well: http://blogs.forum.nokia.com/blog/kate-alholas-forum-nokia-blog/2009/03/02/qt4.5-for-maemo-5-fremantle-sdk

[Andrew DeLisa @ Mar 3rd 2009 1:03PM]

Their site says the API is "not frozen," which means that they're subject to change. To developers, this means that they might have to change the calls their application places to the APIs after such a change. I don't know if that's what Engadget means by "unlocked," but it seemed a bit misleading to me.

[Benson @ Mar 3rd 2009 7:32PM]

I doubt engadget was trying to indicate that at all. By "Unlocked" I guess they meant accessible -- that although documentation was sparse, all libraries and headers were present and in working order.

As for not being frozen, it's really no big deal. Very few changes are expected to be made, and they'd mostly be straightforward to update your code around. In fact, at least three existing apps have already been ported from Maemo 4.1, and so far it looks like they're mostly compiling without modification. (Obviously, any developers who really don't like it can wait for a beta release, but having the alpha out is awesome for Mer.)

[Olivier @ Mar 3rd 2009 1:27PM]

I have a N800 and I won't be fooled again buying into underpowered over promissing platform.
Nokia is goign to have a very hard time competng for my wallet with netbooks priced in the same range (I assume their new Tablet will be around $300 when it comes out).
N800 is OK hardware wise but of course it is let down by an appaling browser, no use of the current 3d chipset (and hence subpar video playback performance). Every piece of software on the platform is meh usually. I want to buy something with Atom inside so I can run x86 software easily.
OTherwise, Nokia should just give up and join the android bandwagon. Developpers wont't be flocking to the NIT anymore now that iPhone and Android are competing as well.
Thanks for trying Nokia.

[pdexter @ Mar 4th 2009 8:14AM]

N800 was ok on it's time hx wise and n810 was just repacked n800 on sexy shell. "n900" is different from these because it will be running omap3 and it will have hw accelerated 3d chip that n770, n800 and n810 was lacking. All this was already officially announced in maemo summit. Cant personally wait how will the maemo 5 look at the end.

[Eric @ Mar 3rd 2009 3:16PM]

The new hardware will be $500+, that is the implication from Nokia itself at the developer summit. They specifically said it would be at least as expensive as the n810 when it was released.

They have lost their minds if they believe that is a viable price point at this point.

[Benson @ Mar 3rd 2009 7:26PM]

Yeah, Olivier, let me know when those netbooks actually compete on battery life and size -- right now they're slightly ahead in price and performance, but way behind on power and pocketability. A different set of tradeoffs for a different product.

If those don't matter to you, then go buy a netbook, but don't write the tablets off just because they're targeting a market segment you're not part of.

[Fernando @ Mar 3rd 2009 1:43PM]

Omfg ovi icons! :D finally the icon divide between Maemo and the rest of Nokia's portfolio is going down! Puts a tear in my eye...

[kawasaki @ Mar 3rd 2009 2:00PM]

You have got to be kidding. The N800 came out in 2007, and could, out of the box, play flash videos (youtube), which in 2009 the Iphone still cannot do. N800 Vs Eee is apples to oranges. Despite the larger size, I love the huge screen, the fact that it also comes with Skype out of the box, the whole open source philosophy, hundreds of strictly free apps (they just ported gftp and transmission).

[cb88 @ Mar 3rd 2009 4:20PM]

actually I don't think it did play flash nativly out of the box did it?

[loosely_coupled @ Mar 3rd 2009 4:22PM]

@kawasaki

So because the slow POS N800 can play flash video, it is somehow instantly superior to the iPod Touch??

Lol... The only thing the iPod touch needs is a Cortex-A8 processor and a WVGA screen and nothing will "touch" it..

[Cory @ Mar 3rd 2009 5:01PM]

Totally agree, N800 is a great device if the next internet tablet is as revolutionary as the N800 was back in 07 I can't wait to see what's to come.

C

[Benson @ Mar 3rd 2009 7:48PM]

@cb88: Yes, the N800 had Flash upfront, as does the N810.

@loosely_coupled: Maybe that's all the iPod touch needs, but the point is, it _doesn't_ have them. You're stuck on a HVGA screen and 533MHz ARM11; the N800 has had a WVGA screen and 400MHz ARM11 (like the, um, "slow POS" 1st generation iPod touch?) since it came out, and we _know_ the successor is coming out soon, with an A8 processor.

Maybe a third generation iPod touch will come out over the summer, maybe it'll have an A8, maybe even WVGA. Given Apple's way of operating, we won't know till it happens. But we _know_ Nokia will be there, so I guess I don't see the point of bragging about what the iPod _could_ be, if only.

(Then again, I'm not sure why I'm even arguing, since it doesn't matter whether my N810 is 'untouchable'; what matters is that I have a mobile device that suits my needs and expectations better than any other I've seen. If you've got a different device that's better for you, that's fine by me, and if you elect to blather about how wonderful a hypothetical upgraded version would be, that really doesn't harm me.)

[elive @ Mar 3rd 2009 4:49PM]

zoom zoom

[daniel @ Mar 3rd 2009 8:40PM]

I was about to sell my n810 also, I am wondering however, the n810 already had apps for it through a repository (did i spell that wrong) that had programs created in various different kinds of code, it wasn't jailbroken or anything, this is what it came with, how is having an SDK any different from having the repository that is already there? a unified programing language? an actual app store? thanks

[Ryan @ Mar 3rd 2009 10:17PM]

daniel, the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_development_kit is what application developers use to make the software that ends up in the repository that you use. :)