Intel And Orange Tout Nokia Linux Platform

Intel and Orange have announced a strategic partnership to deliver Orange multimedia services on a range of mobile devices based on the chip maker’s Atom Processor and the MeeGo software platform announced at Mobile World Congress last month.

The companies hope that the partnership will boost uptake of new and existing applications and services on devices ranging from smartphones to netbooks, through the creation of a common software framework for development.

“Seventy-five percent of our customer base has yet to embrace the mobile Internet,” said Yves Maitre, senior vice president of devices at Orange Group. “Our collaboration with Intel on the MeeGo software platform will not only ensure a broader choice in terms of screens and devices, but that customers continue to benefit from a consistent user experience delivered through Orange Signature services, including a customised home-screen they trust and recognise, the highest quality network and secure and simplified billing.”

MeeGo is a Linux-based software platform, created as a result of a merger between the Moblin and Maemo software projects. Intel and Nokia unveiled the platform at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) convention in Barcelona earlier this year.

MeeGo builds on the capabilities of the Moblin core OS and its support for a wide range of device types and reference user experiences, combined with the momentum of Maemo in the mobile industry and the “broadly adopted” Qt application and UI framework for software developers. According to Nokia’s executive vice president of devices Kai Öistämö, “MeeGo will create a shared, single platform which will drive the future of mobile computing.”

The software platform supports multiple hardware architectures across a broad range of device segments, including pocket computers, netbooks, tablets, mediaphones, connected TVs and in-vehicle “infotainment” systems.

“This collaboration benefits developers, consumers and software and hardware vendors. It’s a complete Internet experience,” said Öistämö at the launch. “Applications and other content are not in a walled garden, rather the ecosystem more like an open frontier.”

According to Intel’s vice president of Software and Services Group and general manager of Systems Software Division, Doug Fisher, these PC-like devices based on Intel Atom processors will deliver “a wealth of Internet, computing and communications experiences with rich graphics, multitasking and multimedia capabilities and the best applications performance.”