RSS Link

Tweet

Sunita Shenoy Blog

Send Private Message Posted February 13, 2011 9:20 pm

Many tablet entrants have been delayed or un-successful in the market in part because they lack a compelling tablet-ready operating system.  An operating system includes kernel, middleware, APIs and, in many cases, a complete user interface layer with applications. A compelling tablet OS must deliver an intuitive, stellar user experience for the consumer, not only in terms of its aesthetic look and feel, but also in terms of its extensible and compatible applications.

While there are a number of comparable operating systems available for devices, MeeGo OS distinguishes itself in two areas- 1) a radically unique user experience that makes the tablet “think like you do” and, 2) an open standards based platform for developing a un-fragmented and rich application ecosystem that can be re-used across a product categories, architectures and versions.

The MeeGo Tablet User Experience 

The table user experience is radically different from existing devices out in the market today. It puts the person using the device to be the center of the user experience, making the device “think like you do” making the experience very personal.  It is designed for the multi-tasking generation and capable of multi-tasking just like we do switching from one task to another making the experience versatile. And, it has smart contextual panels and menus for more natural usage of content, such as when on tap and hold a picture, you have the option of printing, emailing or uploading to a social network.

 Note: This is an artists rendering of MeeGo UX. Actual implementation varies.

The MeeGo* software platform for Ecosystem Development

In an ideal world software developers would chose one development environment write their application once and re-use in multiple devices and marketplaces to maximize their investments.  That is precisely what MeeGo software platform is designed to achieve. MeeGo is a fully open software platform that supports a broad range of computing devices, including next-generation smartphones, netbooks, tablets, media phones, connected TVs and in-vehicle infotainment systems.  This coupled with Intel AppUp Developer Program and Intel ApUp Center provides an avenue for developers to differentiate and monetize their investments.  MeeGo is supported on both Intel® Atom^TM and ARM architectures.  However, MeeGo running on high-performance devices such as Intel Atom Processor based hardware, will deliver a visually richer, immersive media, internet and communications  experience.

Response to the MeeGo effort in the marketplace is strong. By the end of 2010 many OSVs including Novell, Linpus, Red Flag, Vietsoft, CS2C, TurboLinux, Pixart, Mandriva, Metasys, and DeviceVM announced MeeGo-based operating systems. In addition, WeTab and IndiMixx have  deployed  tablets based on MeeGo. Orange and Telecom Italia announced plans to deliver connected services on MeeGo based platforms. Spain’s Telefonica will use MeeGo to deliver products across 25 countries where it operates, reaching around 265 million customers. 

MeeGo Architecture and capabilities

 MeeGo is architected such that it has a single code base called MeeGo Core across multiple device segments. For each device segment such as Tablet, a reference distribution includes the MeeGo Core, Tablet User Experience and HW adaptation layer such as drivers.

Key features of MeeGo Core[i]

·        Software development Kit (SDK) which makes application developer easier. SDK has tools for native application as well as runtime or web application development based on QT, QT Mobility and Web Runtime. It also includes device specific emulators and support for developing on Windows and Mac OS X. The Gcc tool chain includes optimizations for Intel Atom Processor.

·        MeeGo Core Framework provides a set of APIs to utilize the rich platform capabilities such as

o   User Interface (UI) framework that expose capable of 2D, 3D, animation and visually rich graphics

o   Enhanced Multimedia support for 3GPP streaming, HTTP progressive download, DLNA enabling devices to have multimedia streaming across devices and servers

o   Multi-touch, gestures and gyroscopic sensor support for touch UI, gaming and other immersive applications

o   Communication framework with latest networking and telephony standards for voice and data connectivity via oFono and ConnMan

o   Connectivity support for WiFi direct, tethering through BT and USB, PPP over 3G

o   Social network framework

o   Enhanced security framework based on SMACK (Simplified Mandatory Access Control Kernel), Encryption for cryptography, signing and ID of software components and more.

o   Device and data management with backup and restore mechanism

For more specific information on features, go to http://bugs.meego.com and search for “MeeGo Features” and “ACCEPTED”

MeeGo Working Model

MeeGo provides a framework of open source technologies. At periodic given snapshots in time, MeeGo build and integration team will release a community distribution of MeeGo for Tablets that is validated on reference hardware. Since this is a “project” and not a “product”, the support comes from the MeeGo.com mailing lists and community forums. Commercially licensed and supported MeeGo products come from Operating System Vendors such as Windriver Systems, Linpus, SplashTop and Novell. The commercial products integrate 3^rd party code and licenses and, provide a customized build for the OEMs.

Conclusion

For application, content and service developers, MeeGo provides an unparalleled opportunity to maximize their investments. MeeGo platform provides rich capabilities for the next generation of smart devices exposed to a single set of APIs and SDK. MeeGo software platform is based on open standards allowing scalability across device segments, architectures and marketplaces. For OS and Device Vendors, MeeGo’s unique next generation Tablet user experience offers customization opportunities to create market specific differentiated products and services.