Nokia considering Linux for high end phones

Posted by Al Warmington on Wed 3 Dec 2008

Nok sees open-source as the way forward, but not Android

Despite trundling out a brand new flagship N Series Symbian handset, the N97, Nokia is looking at a different kind of phone software platform for future high-end smartphones. Nokia VP Ukko Lappalainen told an interviewer at the the Nokia World industry conference that: “In the longer perspective, Linux will become a serious alternative for our high-end phones."

Although Nokia has used Linux in its products before – such as the N800 internet tablet – it has invested heavily in Symbian for use in its mobile phones. It has previously stated that Linux just wasn’t mature enough for mobile phones, but the arrival of Google Android may be causing the Finns to think twice.

So will we be seeing a Nokia Android handset soon? It seems highly unlikely; Lappalainen is confident that Nokia’s own Maemo platform will stand up as a competitor Google’s open-source project. "I don't see anything in Android which would make it better than Linux Maemo," he said.

That's fightin' talk.

Link: Nokia (via Reuters)

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