MeeGo software off to good start: Nokia, Intel

FINLAND: Nokia and chip maker Intel said on Tuesday their joint software venture, seen as crucial for Nokia to improve its position at the top end of the handset market, had got off to a solid start.

"Take-up is really positive," Mika Setala, director of industry alliances at Nokia, told journalists.

In February, the two firms unveiled a plan to create MeeGo, merging Nokia's Linux Maemo software platform with Intel's Moblin, which is also based on Linux open-source software.

"The MeeGo community is active, vibrant," said Martin Curley, head of Intel Labs Europe.

Nokia hopes MeeGo will help it in the battle against Apple's iPhone and Google's Android at the top end of the cellphone market.

Nokia and Intel on Tuesday opened a new research centre in Oulu, northern Finland, to look at improving the usability of mobile devices.

The site -- focusing on 3D technologies -- is part of wider cooperation between the world's largest semiconductor firm and the top cellphone maker.

"As I look at the success of 3D movies I believe there will be strong development of 3D displays as well," Heikko Huomo, director of the new site, told journalists.

Last year, when the two firms unveiled their cooperation agreement, they also mentioned plans to create joint hardware.

"We are still exploring possibilities for joint hardware, but there is nothing to announce," said Nokia's Setala.