MeeGo Handset Project Kicks Off With UI Shots And Video

Day 1 is always a scary thing, but the coders at MeeGo are diving right in. Recently, a lot has been revealed about MeeGo. It'll be hitting tablets, it'll be hitting x86 devices, and it will definitely be hitting smartphones. We're assuming that it'll be loaded onto Nokia phones at first due to Nokia's influence on the OS (it's part Maemo and part Moblin), but that's all to be worked out in the future. For now, we're just happy to see the MeeGo Handset Project get off of the ground.


Starting this week, MeeGo has made the baseline source available for the community, and it's being actively developed as MeeGo 1.1, which is scheduled for release in October. The technical details are all listed below, but we can't help but stop and look at the user interface in particular. MeeGo will have a tough road ahead of it in the smartphone universe. Apple's iOS 4 and Google's Android both have huge footholds in the market, and Microsoft's incoming Windows Phone 7 will certainly provide another legitimate threat.


But MeeGo may actually have a chance. The UI is colorful, flashy and sharp, and while we are certain that not everyone will appreciate it, it still looks great compared to the tired Symbian interface. If you have the means, you can also download a developer preview and use this UI on your own phone right now. If you are so brave, be sure to let us know how things go in the comment section below.


The MeeGo Project Handset Day 1 includes:

  • MeeGo APIs, incorporating Qt and MeeGo Touch UI Framework (MTF)
  • Subset of the handset reference UI and applications
    • Status Bar: clock, network, Bluetooth, 3G connection, notifications, and battery charge
    • Home Screen
    • Lock Screen
    • Application Launcher
    • Virtual Keyboard
    • Applications: Dialer, SMS, Browser, Contacts, and Photo Viewer
  • MeeGo Core OS (including the middleware components)
  • Hardware adaptation support for Intel Atom-based handset (Moorestown) and ARM-based Nokia N900