Mozilla have just released the beta 4 version of Fennec, better known as Firefox for Mobile for the upcoming Maemo platform. N900 being the sole device in this platform was the obvious choice for demo and guess what, Jay Sullivan, the VP of mobile browser division of Mozilla, himself has demoed the browser very much on a N900.

The latest mobile browser from Mozilla is one of the most revolutionary applications for mobile platforms. Being based on the latest Firefox engine (the same that powers the yet to be released Firefox 3.6), the mobile browser moves a step closer to the capabilities of desktop browsers. Infact the present version of the browser is the first mobile browser to incorporate support for plugins and add-ons.  Read the rest of this entry »

We know that you like to watch videos of the Nokia N900. Here’s another one from Nokia Conversations giving us a sneak peek of the Maemo 5 software that provides the pristine graphical user interface (GUI) of the N900. This wonderful piece of technology is based on the Debian operating system and is a linux software platform developed for smartphones and internet tablets developed by Nokia.

Video highlights include web browsing, gestures, dashboard widgets and multiple screens.

If you want to know more about the software, read our article entitled “What is Maemo?”

Enjoy the Maemo video below.

Nokia N900 desktop.

You might be curious about the operating system of the Nokia N900 phone. Look no further. We have the 411 on the Maemo.

Based on the Debian operating system, the Maemo 5 (also known as Fremantle) is a linux software platform developed for smartphones and internet tablets developed by Nokia. This open-source code software derives its graphical user interface (GUI), frameworks and libraries from the GNOME project.

The Maemo’s interface can be manipulated in different ways. You can use the directional pad of the phone or, for the reason why it was invented, use touch interface. The Maemo 5 can also recognize handwriting and other gestures. This is the next step in touch-interface tablet technology.

Maemo 5 gives the user four (4) desktops similar to the Spaces feature on the Apple Mac OS X. These desktops can be customized with different backgrounds, shortcuts and widgets. Widgets are little applications running on the desktop. Basic widgets include a clock, calendar, news and notes. You may add or subtract any widget on your desktop. By swiping the screen, you can move from one desktop to another.

A breakthrough in Nokia web technology is the inclusion of a Mozilla (Firefox) based MicroB web-browser that comes with Adobe Flash and can display websites in a 800 x 480 display resolution. Compared to previous version of the built-in Nokia web browser, this is a breath of fresh air.

The following formats are supported by the Maemo 5 software:

• Video: MPEG-1, MPEG-4 ASP (H.263), RealVideo, AVI, 3GP
• Audio/playlists: MP3, RealAudio, MPEG-4, AAC, WAV, AMP, MP2, AMR, AWB, M4A, WMA. OGG/Vorbis (requires addon package), M3U, PLS
• Image/Animation: JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PNG, SVG Tiny, ICO
• Text/layout: text files, PDF, HTML.

Your Nokia N900 will include this very powerful Operating System, which is said to be open and available for people to use and create new applications. If it does perform the way it is written, then Apple does have good competition in the lucrative mobile phone market.

For more information about Maemo, visit their official website at http://maemo.org/