will maemo 5 have more apps
 

i am planning on getting the n900 when it comes out. does anyone know if the gameboy and snes emulators will be ported for it, as thats the main reason i want to get the phone. i saw they are on os2008 and i dont know whether they will be available for maemo 5 or not. also does anyone know the uk release date?

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

Yes, those apps are already in extras-devel and extras-testing.

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

what about the release date, i heard the 22 oct but im not sure

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

What about 3rd party apps from established companies?

Electronic Arts for games perhaps? What about those kind of releases from other companies? Not trying to say anything bad about what's in Extras/Extras-Devel, but since this is a more public device, the lack of apps from parties outside of the ones that were already there - Skype, Rhapsody, Gizmo (not announced yet, I think) were there on the last iteration already - is somewhat bothering me.

Not that it won't come. I just want to know more than "it's coming" or it's an evolution of an app I already use now. Fring, Skype, Mauku... glad they're coming and being updated.

I just would like to see more. See the announced apps...

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

You probably won't be seeing EA putting out games on the N900 due to the lack of an easy way to port games over (we need you Unity3D!) and the lack of any protection/security for their IP. I could see Maemo 6 getting that kind of attention however.

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

After looking at Bounce - I've been talking up Unity3D for a while now, been testing dev in it for a while now on the iPhone/Web - and just hit me... Torque 3D would be a big plus for the N900 too.

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

My company's iPhone games are all done through Unity3D. I gave our technical director a look at my N900 and the specs and everything and he pretty much said that if Unity3D happens for the platform, we're instantly porting our games to it.

I just hope it happens soon.

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

There is no work going on with regard to getting Unity3D on Maemo. Basically, they're in wait and see mode, meaning that IF the N900 proves to be a smash hit and IF there is demand for it THEN they will START working on it. So don't hold your breath, that means 2011 at best for Unity3D games to actually appear on Maemo.

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

Ouch. While I appreciate your honesty, I just wish that wasn't the case.

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

We need Nokia to 'lend some hands' to ease the burden of Unity 3D's porting then, if they're not interested in expending the required resources to do the job before the N900 reaches critical mass...

...is that possible?

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

It's a bit more difficult than usual. Most of the Nokia 'lending of hands' was to subcontractors who developed open source components which then find their way upstream, to other developers, etc. Unity on the other hand is fully ocmmercial and does everything in-house, they have stated several times either they do the porting, or there is no porting. So basically Nokia would be just footing the bill for Unity to have another platform (and to draw income from). It's a bit of a catch 22, but really, it's much more up to Unity to make that leap of faith than Nokia.

Re: will maemo 5 have more apps
 

Well, then it's completely up to Ovi store to attract developers like Unity... it'll need to grow big enough to make Maemo 'worth developing for' for these companies that are currently successfully monetizing other platforms that already have running app stores with good traffic.

I'm sure it's just a matter of time, but it seems that we'll need to wait for Maemo 6 before it happens.