Think of it as itT v2.0. It’s an ad-free site that will report on everything Maemo. It is not officially part of maemo.org nor affiliated with Nokia, but the site aims to showcase what’s happening in maemo.org, as well as from other Maemo enthusiast sites.
It’s still work in progress. There are a few more things we are revealing soon so, keep an eye on the site. Also, we need volunteers to blog about Maemo and the Nokia N900.
Nokia has just announced the new Maemo 5 SDK. The 100% open source, pre-alpha release is currenlty aimed at platform developers allowing them to take a peek at the new Kernel as well as new components coming to Maemo for the first time, notably OMAP3 support, cellular data connectivity, high-definition camera support, and harware-based graphic accelleration.
A new revamped UI and a new media application framework is expected to be released soon, taking advatage of the new OMAP3 architecture, as well as the built-in graphics acceleration. Because of this, support for OMAP2 devices (Nokia N800, N810) will not be officially provided. An invitation is extended to developers however, to build variants of Maemo 5 that would work with older devices.
A complete list of the contents of the Maemo 5 SDK after the jump.
Let me first preface this announcement by first thanking everyone who has been supporting Internet Tablet Talk (itT) and making it the best resource for discussing the Nokia Internet Tablet and anything Maemo related.
Since the Maemo Summit, I have been discussing with Quim Gil and Jussi Makinen of Nokia as well as some of the council members on ways that itT could work more closely with maemo.org. The idea of bringing itT under the maemo.org umbrella came up, and I think it’s a good one. I’ve agreed with the council and the folks from Nokia to move itT to talk.maemo.org, and Nokia has agreed to become the primary sponsor of the site.
So, what does this mean? Well basically, the itT forums will become talk.maemo.org by early next year. The discussions will be carried over, the forum features will be retained, the forum look will change, moderators and admins will be added, the ads will be removed, and will still run on the same fast server you have all been enjoying for several years now. We will lose some parts of itT however like the news, wiki, and software sections in favor of maemo.org’s actual News, Wiki and Download sections. Roger and I however, will still be blogging/posting news from a new blog feature of the forums that is hoped to be added.
With the integration in place, I am hoping to join the maemo.org team to basically manage the forums. I would still like to take on the task however, of somehow linking the maemo.org Download section with the forums as I have originally planned in itT. Hopefully, such integration, and other future end-user interaction can make use of the new talk.maemo.org section.
I am excited to see this happen. I do think this is a huge step forward for the Maemo community. As usual, we would like to hear constructive feedback. How do you all think we can improve things in the forum. What do you want added, and what do you want changed. Chime in.
Today, we are pleased to announce availability of the new ACCESS GVM Beta 3 for Nokia Nseries. This new version includes several bug fixes in Garnet VM core components as well as in Garnet PIM applications. The Beta 3 also grows the already big list of compatible applications with two new supported games. Enjoy!
I’m sure a lot of you have been trying out the latest release of Fennec (Alpha 1) already on your Nokia Maemo devices. If you haven’t heard of Fennec, it’s the highly anticipated mobile browser from Mozilla, mobile version of Firefox as others would say, that is currently on alpha stage, and primarily being tested on the Maemo platform.
Madhava Enros, Fennec’s User Experience Lead gives us a quick walktrhough:
Fennec Alpha 1 will work on both Diablo and Chinook (install). If you don’t have a Maemo device, you can try Fennec on your desktop as well (Windows, Mac, Linux).
Internet Tablet Talk member mafranklin has reported that he has received his Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition, and has confirmed that it is connecting to XOHM WiMAX, which is surprisingly active already in Chicago. According to him:
The Nokia N810 WiMax did arrive today following shipment from Nokia yesterday. Once powered up it automatically detected the XOHM nextwork here in Chicago. My registration for XOHM services failed with my Chicago zip code so I registered with a friends zip code in Baltimore (went in later and changed my billing address), selected the device, service plan and connected to the XOHM network.
XOHM is currently offering their WiMAX On-the-Go plan for $30/month for six months(for limited time) and $45/month thereafter.
mafranklin ordered his Nokia N810 Internet Tablet WiMAX Edition directly from the Nokia USA Store for $443 after a $50 automatic promo discount. Buy.com also has the tablet for $404.99 but is currently out of stock.
A Seamless Software Upgrade (SSU) notification should prompt you of a v4.2008.36-5 firmware update once you go online with your Maemo 4.1 (Diablo) device. The update aims to improve email, web browsing, and connectivity.
Early reports from itT members are mixed. Some have updated with no problems and have reported faster browsing, while others are experiencing locks, boot menu problems, looping reboots, and package conflicts which seem to get fixed after a manual reflash.
If you have installed anything out of the ordinary, be sure to read through the comments before updating.
Good news to those in Baltimore — Sprint is finally launching XOHM WiMAX. With the Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition (WME) still marked as ‘coming soon,’ N810 WME users will be enable to enjoy unlimited downlink speeds of 2Mbps to 4 Mbps on a no commitment or contract plan of $30 a month for six months and $45/month thereafter.
WiMAX is expected to arrive at Chicago and Washington next and soon to Dallas, Fort Worth, Boston, Providence, and Philadelphia.
The OSiM Maemo Developer Session today has previewed interesting topics to be discussed in detail tomorrow at the Maemo Summit. Below are some updates and some of the new and updated technologies that we can expect in future Maemo devices:
Dr. Ari Jaaksi has just finished his keynote speech over at OSiM, revealing a lot of juicy stuff on the future of Maemo. Check out the the upcoming Maemo 5 (5th generation) highlights:
online anywhere with cellular connectivity over HSPA for broadband anywhere
powerful computing with TI OMAP3 processor - for better performance and better graphics performance
photo sharing with hi-def camera - imaging and photo-sharing
Nokia is now Gold Sponsor of Linux Foundation, has contributed code today for 3G/HSPA cellular (data) connectivity for OMAP3 to Linux kernel
no news yet on backward compatibility for older devices
Good news to those in Baltimore — Sprint is finally launching 
