Nokia Remains Committed to Internet Tablets

One of the most recent news items of note to come out of Nokia was the discontinuing of the N810 WiMax Edition Internet Tablet. On one side, problems with network deployment in the U.S., technical hurdles worldwide, and the competition with LTE pretty much made the WiMax aspect a non-starter. But because the N810 WME was only on the market a short time, some have questioned whether Nokia is still committed to Maemo Linux and the Internet Tablet series.

An answer to this question provided by Nokia Vice-President Anssi Vanjoki (via an interview with Mobile Review):

If you look at the Internet tablet segment, it’s not dying at all, on the contrary -- it's our future. I remember saying at some launch even that it would take five generations of the Internet Tablet devices to really make them mass consumer products -- so far, we have launched only three generations and the fourth is in the making at this very moment, based on the Maemo software that is written for touch-based products, so it's a very important asset for us.

The Qtopia Connection

In 2008, Nokia acquired the development house TrollTech and with it the Qtopia framework. Qtopia is a framework that Nokia is using to design user interfaces which are able to be ported across several devices. Whether this is simply widgets, or even full device UIs, the addition of Qtopia into the Nokia development lifecycle gives some idea of Nokia's intentions.

Specifically related to Internet Tablets, the next generation of their operating system, called Maemo Linux, will support the ability for developers to utilize Qtopia and the Qt framework to create applications for the platform.

The cohesive UI framework will allow Internet Tablet devices to not just have an interface that is appropriate for such a class of device, but will also make it easier for Nokia and third-party developers to port applications to Maemo devices and take advantage of the different contextual situations this kind of device invites.

The Future of Internet Tablets

The easiest way to determine Nokia's commitment to Maemo and Internet Tablet devices is looking at the developer support. A new pre-alpha SDK (software developer kit) for Maemo 5 was just released to the Maemo developer community. Some of the features of this SDK include:

• Texas Instruments' OMAP3 processor support
• Cellular data connectivity (UMTS and HSDPA)
• High-definition camera support (including such features as high megapixels, auto-focus, and more)
• Support for hardware-based graphic acceleration

Some of these features mirror the specifications of smartphone and netbook devices. However, Nokia sees the context of use for Internet Tablets as different than those of netbooks. As Anssi Vanjoki said:

When it comes to what you call "netbooks" -- they are simply bad laptops, with reduced feature sets, and that’s a wrong concept, furthermore, they aren’t really context-aware mobile computers. So I’m not afraid of going into competition with such pared-down devices, at all. Also we have been investing into the Maemo platform for a while now, which is a genuine Internet-driven platform, so if anything, we’ll have something to fall back on. And again, these netbooks are handy for situations when you don’t have much space around, but that’s about it, and most people who bought them earlier this year are starting to get really disappointed.

For Nokia, Maemo and Internet Tablet devices represent a way to address the questions of how to communicate effectively and contextually in a more complete way.

Nokia has made it clear that Internet Tablets and Maemo are more than a research and development platform for its Symbian and web services (Ovi) initiatives. It represents a positioning of Nokia beyond smartphones, where connected tablets navigate, engage, and communicate in ways not yet done with mobile devices.