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Unreleased Nokia Lauta QWERTY slider emerges, shows where MeeGo might have tread
Those of us who remember Nokia's late-stage MeeGo phone development will recall how the dreams fell apart: we got the N9 and the developer-tuned N950, but the future grew dark almost immediately as Nokia swung its attention further towards Windows Phone. If MyNokiaBlog's prototype leak is accurate, however, the engineers in Espoo had planned at least one more MeeGo phone for the general public: meet the Lauta, or RM-742. It would have been an "immediate" follow-up to the N9 that brought a tilting, sliding QWERTY keyboard to the party, with performance identical to its touch-only sibling. Nokia was reportedly committed enough that it had fully functional prototypes and had penciled in a fall 2011 release to give the N9 some company. We don't really know why Nokia scrapped the Lauta, although it's not difficult to surmise that the company wanted to simplify its lineup at a time when profits were falling fast. The real tragedy may not be so much the decision to axe the Lauta as the absence of a true heir to what it represented -- between Nokia's public silence and recent departures from the relevant software team, MeeGo's future is more in doubt than ever.
Jolla signs deal to bring future MeeGo handsets to Chinese retailer D.Phone
With only vague plans for two new Meego smartphones and a loose commitment from Nokia in its pocket, nervy startup Jolla went ahead and signed its first sales channel -- Chinese retailer D.Phone. The company made the announcement by Twitter, since it doesn't even have a website yet, calling itself a "rising smartphone product company," and saying that it will use D.Phone's 2,000 stores to sell the as-yet nonexistent handsets to Chinese consumers. It also confirmed that the first device would launch later this year featuring a fresh version of MeeGo, though the company didn't discuss dates or any new features that the new OS version might pack. For a mobile platform that was on death's door, it may have just been gifted a possible reprieve -- provided Jolla can build phones to match its ambitious plans.
Key MeeGo team members leave Nokia, N9 owners swipe away a few tears
This week will be remembered as a volatile one if you're a MeeGo fan. Just hours after Nokia posted the PR 1.3 update for N9 owners, the company's MeeGo development lead Sotiris Makyrgiannis and other team members have confirmed that they're leaving for greener pastures. The split appears to be an amicable one, with the crew largely going to CloudBerryTec to write mobile apps (including for MeeGo) and consult on software even as they share fond memories. What's left is a lot of doubt over the fate of the swipe-driven OS itself. Nokia promised years of support for the OS as a side project following the big leap to Windows Phone, but it also hadn't mentioned the possibility of important staff departures, either. We've reached out to the company for a fuller answer -- if it turns out that MeeGo development is winding down, the staff shift could be the end to completely in-house OS creation at a company that was once defined by its custom platforms.
Nokia City Scene is Street View for your N9, mostly works in the US where you can't get one
Worried that the lack of Street View functionality is going to spoil your impending N9 honeymoon? Fret not MeeGo fans, as Espoo's Labs outfit is here to save the day with Nokia City Scene. The Navteq-powered app looks much like a clone of Google's mobile offerings, except that it's tightly integrated with location based services (Foursquare, Facebook Places) highlighting venues your friends frequent. Currently restricted to "about a dozen" US cities and London -- with more European locales coming soon -- its usefulness may be limited unless you're a globetrotting jetsetter or super friendly with some gray-market importers. Hop past the break for a video demo, and then hit the source to get your download on. [Thanks, Martin]
Nokia's N9 gets its tap-to-pair on with the Play 360 Bluetooth speaker (video)
Oh, Meego, we barely knew ye. Yet, the Finnish OS that could continues to shower us with glimpses of what might've been... more widespread, that is. At least we have the consolation prize of seeing your host hardware, the N9, effortlessly display its untapped powers of NFC. Shown off here in a demo taken at the just wrapped Nokia World, that tap-to-pair functionality we'd previously seen in HP's webOS devices and, more recently as ICS' Android Beam, bridges the blue polycarbonate slab to a Play 360 speaker by a mere gentle swipe. That's all it takes to send tracks from Nokia's Music app direct to the Bluetooth peripheral's curvature continuous form. Like what you see? Then hopefully these tricked out features will make their way to identical twin Lumia's Mango-fied line. Full video awaits you just after the break.
Nokia N9 countdown timer removed, confusing calendars everywhere (update: here's why)
Psych. It was too good to be true -- Nokia's Swedish site had begun an official countdown for the Meego-laden N9, instilling hope within our souls that the gorgeous device would show up on at least a few shelves by September 23rd. Now, the timer is nowhere to be found, leaving disappointment, depression, and confusion behind in its tracks. Was it briefly taken down due to maintenance issues? Has the N9 been delayed -- or worse, cancelled? Perhaps it's the victim of some rare good luck and is getting bumped up to a sooner date? Until more answers come our way, the only thing we can do is sit and wait... and hope. And continue frantically clicking the "refresh" button. [Thanks, Mark] Update: We were just sent a link to Swedish website Tech Again, which notes they talked to Nokia Sweden's press officer about the situation. Apparently, the timer was removed because it insinuates a guarantee that operators and retailers will have the phone exactly at the moment the timer gets down to zero. The N9 is still expected to reach customers on the 23rd, but the specific time of launch may vary depending on the retailer. [Thanks, Joel]
Nokia's N950 demos MeeGo Harmattan in marathon video
Still obsessing about Nokia's N950 -- you know, the sexy developer-only MeeGo device you can't have? Before you let Elop rain on your parade, indulge yourself with an exhaustive 17 minute video from Thailand, dutifully documenting every nook and cranny of Espoo's ill-fated OS. The long-winded film tours the dialer, browser, and gives a peek at a plethora of camera settings -- like ISO, aspect ratio, and timers -- that we didn't get to see on the N9. Also making an appearance are maps with turn-by-turn navigation, what appears to be a document viewer, and a Facebook app. Go on, have a gander, and dream about a luscious MeeGo future that might have been.
Amino launches Freedom over-the-top video set-top box, challenges Google TV to arm wrestle
If the AppleTV announcement didn't satiate your need for a Google TV set-top box battle royal, then new details about Amino's Freedom box might do the trick. Yes it still packs the same hardware announced back in 2009 such as an Intel CE4100m Atom Processor, 500 GB of internal storage, SD card support, Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11n and 1 GB of RAM. We've now discovered however that it'll also run its own Amino branded version of Nokia's MeeGo OS, adding apps and gaming support to its list of capabilities that already included 1080p playback, VOD streaming, and DVR recording. In other words there's going to be a new Google TV competitor on the block sometime before the end of this year looking for a fight. Whether it'll provide a Lincoln Hawk-worthy performance though is something we'll let the bookies squabble over until we can go hands on with both. [Thanks, Hary]
