MeeGo 1.1 arrives, sans tablet UI

MeeGo 1.2 may include support for tablets

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MeeGo 1.1 introduces an interface for mobile phones

MeeGo, the Linux-based operating system co-developed by Nokia and Intel, has reached the 1.1 milestone and now includes an interface for mobile phones, but despite recent interest in tablet PCs, a tablet distribution remains absent.

MeeGo is being targeted at a variety of devices including phones, netbooks, televisions and even in-vehicle entertainment systems.

The most significant feature of the 1.1 release is the inclusion of the Handset UX (user experience).

The Handset UX “technology snapshot” implements basic mobile phone apps for voice calling, text messaging, Web browsing, photo viewing and multimedia playback.

MeeGo is tipped to replace Symbian on high-end Nokia devices and become the company’s flagship mobile operating system to compete with Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android.

MeeGo-based mobile devices from Nokia won’t appear until 2011, the company’s CEO confirmed last month.

MeeGo 1.2, scheduled for April 2011, will include a Handset UX release with “a complete set” of applications and support for “other device usage models” say its developers.

A MeeGo tablet UX has already been demonstrated, but at this stage of its development no clear product release has been confirmed.

Also included as part of the 1.1 release is an updated netbook UX (the first was released with version 1.0) and a UX for IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment).

The IVI UX features speech recognition software, a multimedia player and software from open source automotive projects.

The MeeGo Netbook user experience now integrates Google Chrome (and the open source Google Chromium) Web browser.

All of MeeGo’s UXs are built on top of the Core Software Platform, which resembles a typical Linux software stack, including the 2.6.35 kernel, X.org 1.9, Qt 4.7, PulseAudio and BTRFS.

MeeGo will continue its six-month release cycle and a roadmap with 1.2 features will be published by the developers soon.

Rodney Gedda is Editor of TechWorld Australia. Follow Rodney on Twitter at @rodneygedda. Rodney's e-mail address is rodney_gedda@idg.com.au. Follow TechWorld Australia on Twitter at @Techworld_AU.