Nokia ditching Symbian for Maemo

According to the German FT (via Techcrunch) Nokia is going to move from Symbian to Maemo for its phones.

Nokia doesn’t trust its Symbian mobile operating system any more and plans to equip many of its smartphones with the mostly open source Maemo operating system it uses in its Internet tablets, according to undisclosed Nokia sources speaking to the Financial Times in Germany  (FTD).

Nokia uses Maemo on its internet tablets, and having used the Nokia N810 quite a bit I quite like it as an operating system. Likewise though I also like the operating system on the Nokia N95. Which one do I prefer? Well it’s not that simple, as the N810 is a very different device to the N95 and I use them in different ways.

The Nokia N97 which had huge potential seems to be limited by the Symbian operating system, as Techcrunch report:

The Nokia N97 from June 2009 required heavy tweaking on the Symbian software. It’s touchscreen OS still looks aged and the handling is far from easy and not always logical.

Nokia having seen the Apple iPhone and Google’s Android phone take their market share, they need todo something if they are to remain competitive.

I expect not to see upgrades to existing phones like the N95, but Nokia using Maemo on their new phones.

New phone

Well my Nokia N73 is “broken” in the sense that it keeps turning itself off on a too regular basis. Upgrading the firmware hasn’t helped and as a result I am thinking about a new phone.

Obvious choice would be the Nokia N97, but it’s not out yet, so can I wait, or do I go for the E71.

Hmm. Decisions.

Nokia N97 – Looking good!

Nokia’s new N97 phone is looking really good.

I hope it is as good as it appears to be.

Nokia’s press release on the Nokia N97:

The N97 isn’t a device that will trigger knee-jerk hysteria, but instead it should breed cool-headed excitement at the prospect of a new era of mobile experience.

It may be an Nseries handset, but the N97 carves a new space in the otherwise blurred realm between smartphone and laptop – a product built on a foundation of rock solid mobile principles, Nokia innovations, and tangible new technologies, pushed to the extreme and embodied in a slimline pocket shell.

Nokia N97

I see that the Nokia N97 has been announced. A very nice new phone which as well as a touchscreen also has a slide out keyboard.

Obviously designed to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s G1 it is Nokia’a answer to the new internet phone now being demanded by consumers.

There are some early reviews out now, CNET and ZDNet.