MeeGo start-up chief backs platform to challenge Android and iOS dominance

Tweaked MeeGo interface ripe for stagnating market, according to Jussi Hurmola in an exclusive interview with V3

Android and Apple's battle for smartphone supremacy has left the market stagnant and ripe for the MeeGo platform to succeed, according Jolla Mobile's chief executive Jussi Hurmola.

Newly formed Jolla announced its intentions to use MeeGo for its smartphones on Monday, via its LinkedIn page, making it the first ever company to have a specific MeeGo focus.

MeeGo was originally a collaborative project between Nokia and Intel but Nokia ditched the platform in favour of Microsoft's Windows Phone system in 2011.

However, during an exclusive interview with V3 on Tuesday, Hurmola claimed that the smartphone market is still young and open to change.

"I'm not worried that Android and iOS are leading, go back six years and things were very different," said Hurmola. "The speed of change in the market is rapid - there was a time when Symbian was the market leader - we're about leading the change."

The Jolla chief went on to reveal that the company had considered using Android on its devices during their early planning stages but decided against it.

"We were also looking at using Android early on, but soon realised that with Android you can only copy what's already been done," said Hurmola.

While remaining cagey on the devices exact details, Hurmola did reveal to V3 that the future MeeGo smartphones will feature a newly created user interface that he claims is different to anything currently on market.

"All respect to Android and iOS who have been here for a while, but we think we can do something different," Hurmola told V3.

"I can't tell you anything about the phones past that they will have a new user interface. They'll launch later this year with a new UI, offering a fresh user experience."

MeeGo start-up chief backs platform to challenge Android and iOS dominance

Tweaked MeeGo interface ripe for stagnating market, according to Jussi Hurmola in an exclusive interview with V3

The Jolla chief declined to comment further on the details of the UI, but did highlight developers as a key market the company wished to target.

"[The developer] community is very important for us. MeeGo is very popular among hobbyists and hardcore developers, we want to keep this going," said Hurmola.

The Linux-based operating system is used on numerous netbooks and in-car systems, but so far has only been used on one smartphone, the Nokia N9.

Despite not being widely used, Hurmola claims that the OS has several unique selling points including improved mobile security features and "better multi-tasking than anything else out there".

It was rumoured that Nokia had "gifted" a number of Meego patents to Jolla to help it, though Hurmola quashed this rumour stating that it has received no such gift and was able to use the OS as it is open source.

Hurmola's comments follow on from scepticism within the smartphone community regarding Jolla's chances of making an impact in the already competitive market.

"I don't hold out a great deal of hope for them. They're mainly programmers talking about making handsets," Ovum analyst Nick Dillon told V3 on Monday.

"There's no appetite for more operating systems at the moment, the market's already well serviced. They can come along with some nice software, but these days it's hard to get a foothold in the market."

Nokia itself is currently struggling to make an impact in the smartphone market with its Lumia range of Windows Phone powered devices, with its share pricing hitting its lowest level since 1996.