4 ms·

I've always thought that Meego would be a much better 3rd platform than WP7. Meego is a much better competitor to Android than WP7 is. Meego can go in the same

I've always thought that Meego would be a much better 3rd platform than WP7. Meego is a much better competitor to Android than WP7 is. Meego can go in the same places Android can go because of its opensource and free nature. It can be on everything and built by "anyone" just like Android. WP7 on the other hand can only be used on mobile phones, and even then only by manufacturers that either want to pay the license fee, or are "allowed" by Microsoft to use it (see the case of Microsoft allowing only certain manufacturers to use Windows 8). It's a shame that Nokia won't give their best to make Meego succeed, because that would mean it could hurt WP7's adoption. Also, I'd rather see 2 of the top 3 platforms being open source, than 2 proprietary ones. I think it would be for the best for all of us.

ugh 15y ago
I think you conclusion is right but the way you get there isn't quite. It's not so much about some special property of Android or Meego, it's about control. WP7 might work great on tablets but Nokia can't just decide to make it run on tablets. That's Microsoft's decision. Nokia doesn't control their destiny. If they settle on WP7 the best case scenario for them is to become a company like HTC only with even less control over their software.
- timerickson 15y ago
  You're forgetting they already have WP7 on tablets. It's called Windows 8
  - contextfree 15y ago
    I don't think that's the usual definition of "already". =)
recoiledsnake 15y ago
The hardware seems excellent but the UI feels like another icon based copy-cat of the desktop UI metaphor like iOS and Android. Even WebOS had some new things going for it. For the sake of UI variety, I would pick WP7 to be in the top 3, atleast it offers an alternative form of UI radically different from the same old icon based desktop UI metaphor seen from almost 3 decades now in iOS/Android/Meego/WebOS. http://img.zdnet.com/techDirectory/_PROGMAN.GIF http://img.zdnet.com/techDirectory/_PROGMAN.GIF Principles of Metro UI Decoded. http://www.riagenic.com/archives/487 http://www.riagenic.com/archives/487
kenjackson 15y ago
Actually I think just the opposite. Meego is a poor competitor to Android, because of how similar they are. In fact Meego today looks too much like the Samsung skin on Android (it would be funny if Samsung sued Nokia over trade dress). There's no reason to get a Meego device over an Android device. But plenty of reason to get Android over Meego, at least today. Whereas with Windows Phone, it is fundamentally different than Android. There's a lot of reason to pick WP over Android (and vice-versa). Nokia can exploit that space for at least a few years -- at which point Meego might be ready to really differentiate itself.
- kwantam 15y ago
  There's no reason to get a Meego device over an Android device. But plenty of reason to get Android over Meego, at least today. I'll be the first to admit I'm a highly atypical case, but this certainly isn't true for me. I want a UNIX userland on my phone, and for that Maemo/MeeGo is pretty much the only game in town.
  - deadcyclo 15y ago
    I'm with you all the way, though I'm neither your typical user. I'm most definitely getting the N9 as soon as I can, and I really hope Meego survives. If nothing else I hope the community steps up and keeps it alive, while Nokia (or somebody else) if nothing else continues to provide hardware.I had nothing but Nokia phones from 1997-2010, but my last phone was an HTC, and unless Nokia keeps Meego alive, I'm pretty sure the N9 when I get it will be my last Nokia. It's been some enjoyable 13 years...
- Lewisham 15y ago
  Agreed. Windows Phone does offer differences to Android, and honestly, there was very little chance Nokia was going to push Meego to the 3rd platform position. If anything, Nokia probably learnt from WebOS. A great OS is not enough to save your company. You have to have the developer support, and you have to be able to push enough devices. Meego would have been limited to just Nokia handhelds, and the chicken/egg developer problem was very, very unlikely to resolve itself. No longer having to bleed money on a software division, spending time on getting Nokia's core hardware competency and riding Microsoft's coattails to a 3rd place in the smartphone space sounds like a much better proposition. Nokia can go all-in on WP7 in a way HTC and Samsung haven't, and quickly become the flagship device provider. I think the strategy makes perfect sense.
brudgers 15y ago
The issue with Meego isn't it's technical merits, it's adoption by Nokia's best customers. WP7 is designed to integrate vertically into the enterprise technology stack - just as Android is designed to facilitate integration with Google's services in order to allow data mining and iOS is designed to sell Apple hardware. WP7 facilitates B2B sales for Nokia in a way which Meego probably never could. For Nokia, WP7 almost certainly offers better potential globally in the high margin corporate smartphone market than the alternatives. Because of it's .NET capability one can implement some of the same objects on the phone the enterprise implements elsewhere, e.g. it's servers. While this is also possible with other approaches, there are not the same incentives for development tool providers to invest in the level of cross platform compatibility as the incentives which Microsoft has to do so. Based on the evidence, it looks like Nokia evaluated the WP7 roadmap to be better than those created internally for Meego and Symbian, and given the IP uncertainty surrounding the JVM their reluctance to become just another Android phone manufacturer does make some sense.
- riams 15y ago
  Wow, this was a very insightful and good analysis to which I agree. Thanks.
- bad_user 15y ago
  Because of it's .NET capability one can implement... Quite the contrary; considering how on WP7 you're forbidden to run native code, while on Meego/Maemo you're not, it's actually easier to port anything you can think of to Meego/Maemo. Also, AFAIK Intel was working in cooperation with Microsoft to port Silverlight to Meego. There's also Mono which has excellent characteristics for smartphones. given the IP uncertainty surrounding the JVM Nokia has the biggest and most relevant portfolio of patents related to mobile phones. Apple is paying them royalties already. No, Android does not make sense for Nokia. Considering their expertise and size, they can do better. And WP7 will be their doom.

ugh 15y ago

I think you conclusion is right but the way you get there isn't quite. It's not so much about some special property of Android or Meego, it's about control. WP7 might work great on tablets but Nokia can't just decide to make it run on tablets. That's Microsoft's decision. Nokia doesn't control their destiny. If they settle on WP7 the best case scenario for them is to become a company like HTC only with even less control over their software.

timerickson 15y ago
You're forgetting they already have WP7 on tablets. It's called Windows 8
- contextfree 15y ago
  I don't think that's the usual definition of "already". =)

recoiledsnake 15y ago

The hardware seems excellent but the UI feels like another icon based copy-cat of the desktop UI metaphor like iOS and Android. Even WebOS had some new things going for it. For the sake of UI variety, I would pick WP7 to be in the top 3, atleast it offers an alternative form of UI radically different from the same old icon based desktop UI metaphor seen from almost 3 decades now in iOS/Android/Meego/WebOS. http://img.zdnet.com/techDirectory/_PROGMAN.GIF http://img.zdnet.com/techDirectory/_PROGMAN.GIF Principles of Metro UI Decoded. http://www.riagenic.com/archives/487 http://www.riagenic.com/archives/487

kenjackson 15y ago

Actually I think just the opposite. Meego is a poor competitor to Android, because of how similar they are. In fact Meego today looks too much like the Samsung skin on Android (it would be funny if Samsung sued Nokia over trade dress). There's no reason to get a Meego device over an Android device. But plenty of reason to get Android over Meego, at least today. Whereas with Windows Phone, it is fundamentally different than Android. There's a lot of reason to pick WP over Android (and vice-versa). Nokia can exploit that space for at least a few years -- at which point Meego might be ready to really differentiate itself.

kwantam 15y ago
There's no reason to get a Meego device over an Android device. But plenty of reason to get Android over Meego, at least today. I'll be the first to admit I'm a highly atypical case, but this certainly isn't true for me. I want a UNIX userland on my phone, and for that Maemo/MeeGo is pretty much the only game in town.
- deadcyclo 15y ago
  I'm with you all the way, though I'm neither your typical user. I'm most definitely getting the N9 as soon as I can, and I really hope Meego survives. If nothing else I hope the community steps up and keeps it alive, while Nokia (or somebody else) if nothing else continues to provide hardware.I had nothing but Nokia phones from 1997-2010, but my last phone was an HTC, and unless Nokia keeps Meego alive, I'm pretty sure the N9 when I get it will be my last Nokia. It's been some enjoyable 13 years...
Lewisham 15y ago
Agreed. Windows Phone does offer differences to Android, and honestly, there was very little chance Nokia was going to push Meego to the 3rd platform position. If anything, Nokia probably learnt from WebOS. A great OS is not enough to save your company. You have to have the developer support, and you have to be able to push enough devices. Meego would have been limited to just Nokia handhelds, and the chicken/egg developer problem was very, very unlikely to resolve itself. No longer having to bleed money on a software division, spending time on getting Nokia's core hardware competency and riding Microsoft's coattails to a 3rd place in the smartphone space sounds like a much better proposition. Nokia can go all-in on WP7 in a way HTC and Samsung haven't, and quickly become the flagship device provider. I think the strategy makes perfect sense.

brudgers 15y ago

The issue with Meego isn't it's technical merits, it's adoption by Nokia's best customers. WP7 is designed to integrate vertically into the enterprise technology stack - just as Android is designed to facilitate integration with Google's services in order to allow data mining and iOS is designed to sell Apple hardware. WP7 facilitates B2B sales for Nokia in a way which Meego probably never could. For Nokia, WP7 almost certainly offers better potential globally in the high margin corporate smartphone market than the alternatives. Because of it's .NET capability one can implement some of the same objects on the phone the enterprise implements elsewhere, e.g. it's servers. While this is also possible with other approaches, there are not the same incentives for development tool providers to invest in the level of cross platform compatibility as the incentives which Microsoft has to do so. Based on the evidence, it looks like Nokia evaluated the WP7 roadmap to be better than those created internally for Meego and Symbian, and given the IP uncertainty surrounding the JVM their reluctance to become just another Android phone manufacturer does make some sense.

riams 15y ago
Wow, this was a very insightful and good analysis to which I agree. Thanks.
bad_user 15y ago
Because of it's .NET capability one can implement... Quite the contrary; considering how on WP7 you're forbidden to run native code, while on Meego/Maemo you're not, it's actually easier to port anything you can think of to Meego/Maemo. Also, AFAIK Intel was working in cooperation with Microsoft to port Silverlight to Meego. There's also Mono which has excellent characteristics for smartphones. given the IP uncertainty surrounding the JVM Nokia has the biggest and most relevant portfolio of patents related to mobile phones. Apple is paying them royalties already. No, Android does not make sense for Nokia. Considering their expertise and size, they can do better. And WP7 will be their doom.