14 DAY TRIAL // Wednesday, 17th of September, during the Open Source in Mobile (OSiM) event in Berlin, Nokia's Dr. Jaaksi revealed that Maemo 5, the next Linux-based OS used on the company's MIDs (mobile Internet devices) would offer users 3G connectivity, through high-speed packet access (HSPA), also known as 'super 3G'.
Until now, many have criticized Nokia's MIDs for not having 3G, hence their low popularity amongst users, since Nokia's N800 series OS only allowed calls using VoIP applications and Wi-Fi instead of offering cellular connectivity (which would link MIDs directly into the mobile phone networks).
Recently upgrading its membership to the Linux Foundation from 'Silver' to 'Gold', Nokia contributed with code on HSPA cellular connectivity for Texas OMAP3 processor, which will be used for the Linux kernel in Maemo 5. The OMAP3 CPU enables laptop-like performance and advanced entertainment capabilities, and it is based on the ARM Cortex-A8 superscalar microprocessor core.
The company now regards the success of its Linux platform as an important factor in its long-term mobile strategy, especially since it seems it reoriented its strategy from Symbian (which it owns in proportion of 47.9%) to Linux.
Another thing that Dr. Jaaksi said at the conference was that the user experience was a high priority for Nokia, therefore photo sharing would be supported in Maemo 5 using a high-definition camera. Unfortunately, there's no information regarding hardware details or the timeline for launching the next MID that will support the new unveiled Maemo 5 platform.
Furthermore, there is the question of whether the existing Nokia Internet Tablet devices will be able to support the new software platform, as the move to OMAP 3 will create some portability challenges for developers. Let's hope that it won't be too difficult to include all the new features into previous versions of the device.