4 ms·

Interestingly Meego was really great to use. Super fluid and simple while not hiding linux too far under the covers. If Intel bought Nokia there could easily

Interestingly Meego was really great to use. Super fluid and simple while not hiding linux too far under the covers. If Intel bought Nokia there could easily be three mobile OS in current use.

nl 7y ago
Interestingly Windows Mobile was really great to use. Super fluid and simple while integrating well into the Windows ecosystem. If Microsoft bought Nokia there could easily be three mobile OS in current use. Oh wait.. they did. And there's not.
- BubRoss 7y ago
  I used them both and there was no comparison. Being snarky because you think it's clever doesn't change that. The design of the UI and the design of the apps was like the first time using a brand new system where everything has been thoroughly thought through. It used touch very well to be as basic and straightforward as possible.
  - nl 7y ago
    I'm not really being snarky - it just seems like it. Lots of people really thought Windows Mobile was great (including here on HN). Meego was great too. It doesn't matter. The point is that it's unclear why Intel (a company that has failed at every consumer focused business they have ever tried) would have done better with Nokia than Microsoft did, given that MS has had considerable success in consumer markets, already had carrier relationships, had developer relationships etc etc).
    - BubRoss 7y ago
      Anyone would have done better if they were left alone. The point is that they already had great technology. I'm not sure how this isn't sinking in, but you seem desperate to point out that Microsoft tanked Nokia, which is actually already common knowledge. A little less sarcasm and snark will probably leave room for absorbing what people are saying.
      - nl 7y ago
        desperate to point out that Microsoft tanked Nokia What? Not at all! Nokia was screwed before Microsoft bought them. If they'd shipped Meego on phones two years earlier (start of 2009) they'd have had a chance, maybe. At the time I thought Microsoft was Nokia's best hope (and Nokia was the best hope for Microsoft's mobile strategy). I'm pushing back on the idea that Intel would have been some magic lifeline for them.
    - abdulmuhaimin 7y ago
      >MS has had considerable success in consumer markets, already had carrier relationships, had developer relationships etc etc By consumer market, you mean PC market. They were tiny in mobile market. Its the reason they try to shove Nokia into its platform Nokia already has they the dev relationship, carrier relationship, retail relationship. They dont need all that from microsoft. The only thing they need is money and strong leadership. Nokia was mismanaged into oblivion. > It doesn't matter No, it does matter. They were already one foot in the grave, but jumping ship into windows mobile is just the nail in the coffin.
  - Steko 7y ago
    I often see the same sentiment here re:not just meego but also PalmOS and WP7. But the OS being 'well thought out and cool' simply didn't matter by that point. Apple had revolutionized the category and was making over 90% of the profits, had all the apps and other ecosystem lock-in, the ipad on top of that, the highest user satisfaction, an avalanche of free publicity, almost all of the consumer mindshare, and a fleet of rapidly expanding and phenomenally popular stores for distribution. A brand new "well thought out os" with no apps simply wasn't going to make any kind of dent in Apple's market share. Meanwhile the anti-Apple enthusiasts had been coalescing strongly around Android for several years. A bunch of big companies were fighting tooth and nail for the scraps and who won? The guys with the "most well thought out Android skin"? No. It was the guys who were by far the most ruthless and shameless competitors. That's what won between all the android handset makers, that's who won between Android makers and other "well thought out OS's" and imho that's who wins all hypothetical matchups as well if all you're bringing to the table is being cool and well thought out. Now if Intel wanted to lose $5B a year and buy marketshare then yeah they could have done that but they would have never made back that money.
    - BubRoss 7y ago
      The N9 was released in 2011, only two years into the modern smartphone era. The hardware and software were fantastic and it got a lot of attention but died due to no other devices following it, not because of a lack of demand. "Despite a limited release,[5] the N9 received widespread critical acclaim, with some describing it as Nokia's finest device to date. It was praised for both its software and hardware, including the MeeGo operating system, buttonless 'swipe' user interface, and its high-end features"
      - abdulmuhaimin 7y ago
        My sentiment exactly. Nokia was in a perfect position to launch a third mobile OS. even primer than windows mobile. Nokia was still on top eventhough declining. Many Nokia app dev are waiting to jump into the Meego ecosystem if Nokia commited. People are waiting for Nokia next move. Unfortunately, it was not a great move. At launch, we know that the software are great. Hardware are great. But the management was abyssimal. Alot of internal politics, burning money, and ultimately, Meego was killed before it was borne into the world. The irony is that N9 was still a great revolutionary phone critically acclaimed, despite knowing its gonna be short lived. I wouldnt have been so bitter about it if N9/Meego was not great.
- pjmlp 7y ago
  I do get your point, just a couple of nitpicks. Actually it was only Nokia Mobile that was bought and after how everything went Nokia Siemens Networks, got enough money to buy Siemens part back, become the current owner of Bell Labs and via the HMD agreement, one of the best Android OEMs. In what concerns Windows, although it lost on the phones, it is winning on the tablet space via 2-1 hybrid/convertible laptops against Android and ChromeOS tablets. And most PDA like industrial deployments are still mostly Windows based.

Interestingly Meego was really great to use. Super fluid and simple while not hiding linux too far under the covers. If Intel bought Nokia there could easily be three mobile OS in current use.

nl 7y ago

Interestingly Windows Mobile was really great to use. Super fluid and simple while integrating well into the Windows ecosystem. If Microsoft bought Nokia there could easily be three mobile OS in current use. Oh wait.. they did. And there's not.

BubRoss 7y ago
I used them both and there was no comparison. Being snarky because you think it's clever doesn't change that. The design of the UI and the design of the apps was like the first time using a brand new system where everything has been thoroughly thought through. It used touch very well to be as basic and straightforward as possible.
- nl 7y ago
  I'm not really being snarky - it just seems like it. Lots of people really thought Windows Mobile was great (including here on HN). Meego was great too. It doesn't matter. The point is that it's unclear why Intel (a company that has failed at every consumer focused business they have ever tried) would have done better with Nokia than Microsoft did, given that MS has had considerable success in consumer markets, already had carrier relationships, had developer relationships etc etc).
  - BubRoss 7y ago
    Anyone would have done better if they were left alone. The point is that they already had great technology. I'm not sure how this isn't sinking in, but you seem desperate to point out that Microsoft tanked Nokia, which is actually already common knowledge. A little less sarcasm and snark will probably leave room for absorbing what people are saying.
    - nl 7y ago
      desperate to point out that Microsoft tanked Nokia What? Not at all! Nokia was screwed before Microsoft bought them. If they'd shipped Meego on phones two years earlier (start of 2009) they'd have had a chance, maybe. At the time I thought Microsoft was Nokia's best hope (and Nokia was the best hope for Microsoft's mobile strategy). I'm pushing back on the idea that Intel would have been some magic lifeline for them.
  - abdulmuhaimin 7y ago
    >MS has had considerable success in consumer markets, already had carrier relationships, had developer relationships etc etc By consumer market, you mean PC market. They were tiny in mobile market. Its the reason they try to shove Nokia into its platform Nokia already has they the dev relationship, carrier relationship, retail relationship. They dont need all that from microsoft. The only thing they need is money and strong leadership. Nokia was mismanaged into oblivion. > It doesn't matter No, it does matter. They were already one foot in the grave, but jumping ship into windows mobile is just the nail in the coffin.
- Steko 7y ago
  I often see the same sentiment here re:not just meego but also PalmOS and WP7. But the OS being 'well thought out and cool' simply didn't matter by that point. Apple had revolutionized the category and was making over 90% of the profits, had all the apps and other ecosystem lock-in, the ipad on top of that, the highest user satisfaction, an avalanche of free publicity, almost all of the consumer mindshare, and a fleet of rapidly expanding and phenomenally popular stores for distribution. A brand new "well thought out os" with no apps simply wasn't going to make any kind of dent in Apple's market share. Meanwhile the anti-Apple enthusiasts had been coalescing strongly around Android for several years. A bunch of big companies were fighting tooth and nail for the scraps and who won? The guys with the "most well thought out Android skin"? No. It was the guys who were by far the most ruthless and shameless competitors. That's what won between all the android handset makers, that's who won between Android makers and other "well thought out OS's" and imho that's who wins all hypothetical matchups as well if all you're bringing to the table is being cool and well thought out. Now if Intel wanted to lose $5B a year and buy marketshare then yeah they could have done that but they would have never made back that money.
  - BubRoss 7y ago
    The N9 was released in 2011, only two years into the modern smartphone era. The hardware and software were fantastic and it got a lot of attention but died due to no other devices following it, not because of a lack of demand. "Despite a limited release,[5] the N9 received widespread critical acclaim, with some describing it as Nokia's finest device to date. It was praised for both its software and hardware, including the MeeGo operating system, buttonless 'swipe' user interface, and its high-end features"
    - abdulmuhaimin 7y ago
      My sentiment exactly. Nokia was in a perfect position to launch a third mobile OS. even primer than windows mobile. Nokia was still on top eventhough declining. Many Nokia app dev are waiting to jump into the Meego ecosystem if Nokia commited. People are waiting for Nokia next move. Unfortunately, it was not a great move. At launch, we know that the software are great. Hardware are great. But the management was abyssimal. Alot of internal politics, burning money, and ultimately, Meego was killed before it was borne into the world. The irony is that N9 was still a great revolutionary phone critically acclaimed, despite knowing its gonna be short lived. I wouldnt have been so bitter about it if N9/Meego was not great.
pjmlp 7y ago
I do get your point, just a couple of nitpicks. Actually it was only Nokia Mobile that was bought and after how everything went Nokia Siemens Networks, got enough money to buy Siemens part back, become the current owner of Bell Labs and via the HMD agreement, one of the best Android OEMs. In what concerns Windows, although it lost on the phones, it is winning on the tablet space via 2-1 hybrid/convertible laptops against Android and ChromeOS tablets. And most PDA like industrial deployments are still mostly Windows based.