Nokia Reportedly Working on Two Low-End MeeGo Phones

Hey, remember MeeGo, that mobile OS that everybody loved but Nokia effectively killed off when it went all in with the Windows Phone platform? The mobile OS that got splintered into Tizen, which is now a pet project of Intel and Samsung?

Well, it looks like it’s back, apparently. According to a report from NetbookNews, Nokia is planning two new MeeGo-based phones, which would increase the number of devices running the OS from one to three.

The force behind these phones is apparently Nokia’s Next Billion project, which is dedicated to bringing the Internet to emerging markets via low-cost mobile devices.

Setting aside for a moment the irony that Nokia kicked MeeGo to the curb and is now the only group actively working with it, MeeGo just might be a perfect solution for keeping costs down on these emerging market phones. The S40 and Asha low-end mobile lines perhaps aren’t cutting it in Nokia’s eyes, and for as good a platform as Windows Phone may be, the licensing costs it requires are an issue affecting cost.

So why not MeeGo? It’s generally acknowledged that the mobile OS is a great one, and it’s free. MeeGo just might find a future overseas.