That would be awesome, but the problem is drivers. It has taken years for linux to have a broad set of drivers that cover most computer devices, and I still have trouble with my sound and my touchpad on my HP (one of the biggest laptop brands around). Nokia is not going to produce drivers for every mobile os for the different phone radios, gyroscope, compass, sound output, vibrators, screens, etc. They are not even releasing those things for the N900, which is why as cool as Nitdroid is I still can't make a phone call with it.

What would be really cool is if Nokia eventually built symbian as a layer on top of Meego, like android has done with davlik on top of linux. If that were the case you would have roughly 2/3 of the smartphone market sitting on linux, and it would allow the components manufacturers to create linux kernel drivers that should work with any of these handsets. Then you might see variations like mer, meego, maemo, groucho, zeppo, and harpo as possibilities on top of a meego base.

Is that good for nokia or htc or the other manufacturers, or just good for consumers and hobbyists? I don't know. It is certainly not good for apple, because it would make it easier and faster for other companies to get handsets out, and would make it easier to develop alternative user experiences on top of the linux kernel.

Yep I have been using Linux since 96 and am well aware of this issue.

I really do not think this will happen but it is fun to hope.

Here is what I will say though.

Nokia has been spending a lot of money on Meego developers. Look at the ads posted for open positions over the last several months.

Many of these developers may well have been working on open source drivers for the replacement to the N900 to allow more flexibility with Meego.

Creating drivers to support Just Symbian and Meego inhouse and allowing NitDroid or other open source projects to handle the rest as they wish would be a cheap option for them in the future.

And if they had done something like this on the N900. a device that could be purchased with the well supported Symbian OS or Meamo and converted at will later. The device would have had more uptake and prolly be better supported in general.

Support headaches. And Microsoft would fight that tooth and nail.

All of the above (except WP7) would be possible if this is an option. You would still need vendor buy-in for things like 3D drivers...

Cortex-A8 minimum, please

I love a bit of speculation but Elop won't switch to a different OS. If you saw the huge amount of jobs they've been posting in the Linkdin C++ and Qt groups or the fast pace at which things are moving on the MeeGo mailing list, you would sleep better at night

Plus, as a Nokia fan I (personally) will stop buying anything from Nokia if they _did_ actually use another OS.. Because if they did they are basically showing everyone that they've officially failed and are taking the easy route out.. Hence nomore innovation and exciting new stuff..

But, I also highly doubt that Elop is talking about a new OS..

Thats exactly the way I see it. They better not be throwing in the towel.

The new CEO is obviously no idiot.. he's playing poker, he's not going to give any indication of what Nokia will do.

But some common sense would suggest that WP7 is not an option.. if you look at the hardware restrictions they have placed on HTC regarding sd cards, there is no way Nokia would play ball with that.

Android also presents it's own problems.. even if they decided to go with it.. they are so far behind now in terms of being able to test new handsets and even in terms of trying to get Qt as part of that infrastructure.. it would just push them back even further.

MeeGo may or may not see the light of day.. but would it really make much of a difference? What kind of a level is it going to reach starting off? Something slightly better than Maemo?

It's not enough if that's all it will be.. we might get an N9 MeeGo device towards the end of 2011 that's only as good as the current crop of HTC or iPhone handsets..

Then those guys will be releasing their next wave of products.. and us guys who spent a bomb on our N900's will probably have spent something similar on a new device that will be outdated almost as quickly.

It's becoming harder and harder to stay loyal to Nokia i'm afraid..

Abit off topic..

Let's be honest with youselves. Lets face it, if Nokia released a brilliant MeeGo OS but yet the hardware is a piece of old equipments been or being flus out by the competitors then would you still buying the device Nokia made?

Most people here said that it is all about the OS that sufficiently make use of the hardware and you don't need powerful hardware, but in reality OS is only half of it, hardware is as important to people who knew about techonolgy and life span of it.

Scenario:
Nokia released two version of MeeGo Devices.
1. Cortext A8 Omap36xx + 512MB RAM + 5Mp camera $600USD
2. Cortext A9 Omap4xxx +1GB RAM + 12Mp camera $600USD

which will you buy? Device 1 or device 2?

I believe that whoever said that Cortext A8 1GHz with 512MB RAM is more than enough for the next Nokia flagship will be the one who'd drool and rush out to buy a MeeGO device that have A9 +1GB RAM instead of buying the shiity old A8+512RAM.

Lets face it, everyone want a faster car and nicer looking car, newer car and upto date. If it is the same price or slightly more in the the range they can afford then he/she would buy the better one. Only a few would be classic car for collection.

But smartphones are different, you can't really showing off your old phone to other people without being laugh at by other people who has a better phone than you. If you saying "FFS it's only a phone" then why not just throw away your smartphone and get a Nokia 1120 or something? those are Phone!

So in conlusion, Elop probably is going to announce something about the first Meego device will be running on A9 processor. If Nokia MeeGo device is not A9 and +1GB RAM then i'm not keen to waste money on it. Motorola Atrix is releasing in Feb and came with Dual Cores +1GB and so who'd want to stick with the old A8 cpu device this year, is all upto you.

In all Nokia History phones, N900 is currently the only device that has the best CPU in it and while the competitors have got it since 2007.

Nokia if you're heard us then you better act fast and response to our hunger of a powerful device that would make us WOW you.

You cannot use common sense to predict a CEO's actions unless you are aware of the politics and pressures involved. Anyone who has worked in business in a large corporation at a high level will tell you common sense is the LAST thing that determines how decisions are made (here is a hint - those Dilbert cartoons are REAL).

The closest thing we have is the continued hiring of ppl as mentioned above - but the company can throw a U turn at anytime. For all you know those ppl's positions can be cancelled immediately - this has happened a number of times in other companies. The hiring continues because the internal political battles are still being fought.

Until they release actual devices and services - its all hot air especially given the history of Nokia. Better spend your time more productively elsewhere then speculating here.

@Frappacino,

Were you talking to me? o.O I did not mention anything related to common sense. I did not predict Mr. Elop ctions either, I said "probably" as in proability is 50/50 is at the highest of my guess.

Beside my post was so called "off topic" so I assume you're not attacking me personally.

You like Frappacino and I like Cappacino