My immediate concern about the info in this presentation is the timeline for release. It doesn't sound like Maemo 5/Fremantle exists in any useful form yet, and if there are any real prototypes, they're too early to reflect the final devices' functionality. This means it most likely will be 1yr+ before the new device is released, and (esp. w/the added cellular capabilities) at least 6mo after that before it can be sold in the US. Palm may actually get its Linux-based OS out the door before this thing ships!

and pigs can fly

given how palm is the master of letting chances and deadlines slip, the company should be renamed to slippery palm...

Wow, lots of comments. Just skimming through them now.

I recorded the talk and will be making video and audio available when I get back home. (after the weekend).

I wouldn't count on backwards compatibility for the exact same reasons you mentioned.

Good morning,

One point I forget yesterday were those posts dreaming of seeing a proto device in the Summit and speculating about Yannick's "snak preview". That was funny. The only OMAP3 hardware that might appear in the hands of a Maemo SW developer is the very interesting Beagle board, and to demo really low level stuff totally uninteresting to end users but hopefully pretty cool stuff for the platform developers familiar with those components.

We are the Maemo Software team at Nokia and we deal with... software. Protos and hardware are "devices" and there are whole units dealing with them at Nokia, who decide what is said & shown where.

Yannick (head of Maemo SW Applications team) was supposed to show some progress done around productivity tools. We don't have a public name for the project and this is why I could only write "Sneak preview" with all my innocence, not even thinking that someone would make that relation with a potential proto unveilment. Sorry for the confusion.

Anyway, I just got an email saying that Yannick cannot make it to Berlin, but don't worry because Mika Kuuha will introduce the stuff from a technical level in his session on Saturday.

Then one thing about this so well written post:

Ah, so is there people concerned about this? Well, if you think about it the fear has very little ground from a project management point of view. Let me connect a collection of non-secrets to hopefully substitute your concerns with excitement:

1 - Maemo is in this mission of bringing Linux and open source to the mass market. This was the LinuxTag motto.

2 - HSPA + OMAP3 + hi-def camera support are very concrete steps on that direction.

3 - Bigger potential market goes together with bigger investment since it comes too with bigger competition, bigger pressure to have more and better products and etc. Maemo goes through those steps 4 and 5 maturizing the platform and tuning up the set of essential own applications + partnerships.

4 - A big part of the increased investment goes into hiring more developers since at the end code and pixels are essential elements of that success. Nokia is hiring a lot for Maemo. Just follow http://maemo.org/news/jobs/ or http://www.nokia.com/imaginemaemo - There is even a HHRR person helping out full time in the stand!

5 - Whatever development going to the HSPA/3G stuff doesn't compete directly with resources going to work on the issues that concern you now since the competences needed are totally different.

Hopefully all this makes sense to you. And now... time to got to OSiM and share more Fremantle plans!

Based on what I've seen from the presentation and what has been discussed in this thread, I am really looking forward to finding out more about the future of maemo and the hardware that will be running it. It's good to see that Nokia are serious about making tablets that will appeal to a wider market.

The addition of HSPA seems like common sense to me. This is the direction now for all MIDs. With the prevalence of data only plans and the horrible value and carrier T&Cs of data on a phone plan, one more connectivity option is a good thing. I'm happy to keep my phone and my tablet seperate though, and this finally makes that possible: I can use the tablet without having to rely on having my phone with me, with bluetooth constantly draining the battery (if it's not already flat!).

But I guess I'm still going to be going through the same pre-rehearsed speech I have when people ask me "so is it a phone?"

Here's hoping Nokia know what they are doing! For now they still seem to be holding on to their own niche, it will be interesting to see how this changes when the next hardware is unveiled...

Huh? As far as I understand it will have on-board HSPA!

You do have a point with your Zaurus flexibility remark however I must add to this that the CF card was almost always used for WiFi (802.11a/b). IIRC only the SL6000 had on-board WiFi _and_ a free CF card, and that was Sharp's last Zaurus. Switching CF cards is not something one wants to do a lot. Keep one in it, and keep it firm!

BTW, I'm interested getting in contact with more former Zaurus users. I believe we former Zaurus users have a unique experience to discuss, and might also be able to contribute some kind of Wiki page with Zaurus -> Nokia upgrade path information. When I bought a NIT, as former Zaurus user, I'd have very much appreciated this. Although maybe its a minority.

The options are CF, PCMCIA, USB, BT are used for this nowadays. SDIO isn't good enough, IrDA too limited range.

Thanks to Texrat I finally know what HSPA stands for. I must have been absent that day in kindergarten when they explained it.

"legislative and regulatory bodies may have to step in at some near future point to resolve sticky issues of cross-provider access."

Suddenly, government intervention seems to be in.

All this sounds exciting to me. I think I'll start saving my money now.

the big thing about government intervention, is it being done for the silent majority or the vocal minority?

last decade or couple of decades have been about he latter...

The very same is true for WiMAX. According to Wikipedia WiMAX is part of 3G. With WiMAX, you also buy a subscription. Its just that WiMAX doesn't have good coverage (yet), whereas HS(D)PA (*insert big list*) does have good coverage. At least, thats true for my country (Netherlands), and its what I've gathered for most European countries around me as well. In America this is different, but America is getting the N810WE!

Both WiMAX and HS*PA are licensed spectrums. This is normal because of government regulations, and they have a different goal than unlicensed WiFi. If you want (near) 24/7 connectivity you will need a licensed spectrum one way or another! The only difference between WiMAX and HS(D)PA is that the latter is rolled out by the (big) telcos who have been upgrading the GSM network to higher standards throughout the years where WiMAX allows new comers, and many independent corporations are starting to roll out WiMAX. I've seen this happening with DSL as well, and now there are again a few big players in consumer broadband land (all this, cccording to TAZ principles).

Heck, you even need a license for 27 MC. There simply is no option using an unlicensed spectrum with wide coverage.

As for branding, I don't know whether there will be NIT branding, nor simlocks. We don't know about this. We can't comment accurately on this. Why bother? If you do, feel free! However, at least realize they're assumptions and/or Symbian behaviour.