Nokia hands MeeGo patents to make Jolla possible
updated 08:28 am EDT, Tue July 10, 2012
Nokia backs new MeeGo startup Jolla, hands over patents
Jolla, the newly-founded Finnish startup aiming to resuscitate Nokia's abandoned MeeGo mobile OS, has received a helping hand from Nokia, reports ItViiko. The code underpinning MeeGo, like Android, is Linux-based and open source and came into existence when Nokia and Intel formed an alliance to merge Nokia's Maemo OS with Intel's Moblin OS. This still left a number of OS patents in Nokia's hands, which it has graciously handed over to Jolla to help the company get off the ground.
Jolla is in fact more indebted to Nokia than it might at first seem. The new company was made possible by Nokia's Bridge Project, which was set up to help excess employees find employment after they were let go as part of Nokia's restructuring efforts. The handing over of the relevant patents is icing on the cake, for what must be said, is a fine example of a company acting with a social conscience despite struggling with its own woes.
Jolla Founder Jussi Hurmola told ItViiko that "I would like to thank Nokia." He also added that his startup has a "good and open relationship" with Nokia. The MeeGo OS made one appearance for Nokia on the N9 before Nokia decided to bet the house on Microsoft's Windows Phone OS, ditching both the more up to date MeeGo and the rapidly aging Symbian OS.
Hurmola said that his team has picked up some "very strong signals coming from the market" about what consumers are looking for in their smartphones and is contemplating a "serious break" with what people are currently familiar with in the smartphone segment. Although not offering a definitive statement on when the first MeeGo-based Jolla handset will make it to market, Hurmola intimated that a late 2012 offering could be possible. [via Slashgear]
