It’s easy to forget how far mobile operating systems have come. While today, Apple and Google are the main players (with the IOS and Android respectively), this was not always the case. Before they took over, Nokia had the lion’s share of the smartphone and tablet markets.
In September 2008, Nokia released a new Linux based O.S dubbed Maemo, which was improved with community effort. This led to the rise of online communities and forums where you’d find information about devices that ran on the Maemo O.S, such as the Nokia N900.
As one of those communities, My-maemo.com was the go-to information center for tablets and smartphones running on the Maemo O.S.
We realized the site was pulled down and is no longer updated, so we dug deep and found out why it no longer exists.
What is Maemo?
The Maemo OS was developed by a child community of Nokia called the Maemo Devices. Initially, it was meant for Nokia Internet Tablets but later evolved to become the core software for mobile devices as well.
The last Maemo iteration (Maemo 5) was featured on Nokia’s flagship device, the N900, which now had a telephony functionality.
Most of its GUI was borrowed from the GNOME project and unlike its predecessors, it featured a fully customizable home screen. You could add or remove widgets, move them around, change the background if you wanted to and also customize shortcuts to applications.
Its Mozilla based Micro-B web-browser had Adobe Flash support as well. With an 800 by 480 display resolution, you could easily view some websites without horizontal scrolling. It also supported Skype and other built-in applications such as Gizmo5, a VOIP based app that made it easier to make calls online.
Among other features, users could subscribe to software repositories and automatically receive updates. If you wanted to install third-party apps by writing commands, the Advanced Packaging Tool came in handy.
What was my-maemo.com?
If you owned a Nokia N900, my-maemo.com was a site where you’d find all the latest updates, reviews and frequently asked questions and tips from other users.
It was a community for people with devices running on the Maemo OS, with over 130,000 members and nearly 400,000 posts. The my-maemo.com community also developed software applications that were designed to run on the Maemo platform.
At its height, more than 1600 programs were indexed by the site across 33 categories. Its software catalogue contained various applications that you’d install, such as music players that allowed you to browse, search, play and download tracks from SoundCloud; the latest games, advanced calculators, apps to help tweak your U.I and much more.
You could browse apps by category, get to see their ratings and download them to your device. The ‘downloads’ section offered quick access to all applications in the Maemo Software Catalogue and stand-alone projects as well.
Programs with the best user rating were listed separately in the “top 20” category. To find a program or its developer you’d simply search for their name or the company name, using a form on the sidebar.
The site also listed technical specifications for other devices running on Maemo 5. You’d also find solutions to common software issues in the tips and tricks section. Users would post new queries or check for its solution in the list of frequently asked questions.
Lastly, there was a news archive section, where you’d find all the latest news regarding Nokia and other relevant players in the Maemo ecosystem.
Nokia’s Decline
You can’t talk about the fall of Nokia without talking about the iPhone, which had just launched in 2007. Apple had only 5.6% of the market but two-thirds of all the profits in it. Though still the largest device maker, Nokia was not making the most profit.
Nokia’s devices were made using the best materials and had the best cameras. However, the hardware superiority of Nokia’s sleek devices was kneecapped by its software. As Apple and Google thrived, Nokia continued performing dismally.
In 2011, Nokia lost a fifth of its market share. To curb this, it began the development of a new O.S, the Maemo 6, but this didn’t see the light of day. It was instead merged with Intel’s Moblin platform to form a new O.S called MeeGo.
MeeGo had a better handset User Experience and other features such as easy access to social networks and Google’s Chrome browser.
It was meant to give Nokia an edge in competing with Apple and Google in the high-end smartphone market. It was also meant to help Intel sell more chips than its rival, ARM.
However, it wasn’t developing as fast as Nokia wanted and had no existing app ecosystem. Nokia shelved it for Windows Mobile, with Microsoft’s support.
Below is the official design story of the Nokia N9, the only phone that ever ran on the MeeGo O.S. As you’ll see, it was way back in 2011 but it was designed to compete with the iPhone. It’s super AMOLED, edge to edge display was larger than the 3.5 inch iPhone 4s screen.
You also had maps of over ninety countries that you’d easily download for offline navigation. This was a huge advantage over the iPhone, which had to use mobile data.
Here’s a glimpse of what might have been had Nokia decided to stick with MeeGo.
The Nokia N9 had salient features such as the swipe gesture and the ability to switch between active processes from a dedicated screen. It also implemented Near Field Communication (NFC), with the ability to exchange contacts and pair with compatible speakers.
Other functions such as a preview of lock screen notifications were first implemented on the Nokia N9 which ran on MeeGo. The tap to wake function was also pioneered by Nokia engineers.
The Windows Phone didn’t take off due to competition from Google’s business model: Google only developed the software and let other entities like Samsung handle the hardware. The Windows Phone couldn’t catch up with Android and IOS, marking the end of Nokia’s dominance.
So, What Happened to My-Maemo.com?
After the merger with Intel, my-maemo’s community also switched to MeeGo. It had relatively better hardware and software interaction. It’s gesture-based GUI attracted more users by enabling them to easily switch from one dashboard to another.
However, my-maemo.com remained solely dedicated to the Maemo 5 (Nokia N900). If you were searching for information about MeeGo, you were redirected to My-Meego.com instead.
As Google and Apple gained dominance in the smartphone market, Nokia’s market share dwindled. In late 2012, Nokia transferred the ownership of the Maemo Community to the Hildon Foundation.
My-maemo.com lost its relevance when Nokia lost its market share in the mobile phone ecosystem.
From MeeGo to Sailfish
There’s a start-up called Jolla based in Finland, founded by former product engineers from Nokia. They were so intimate with the development of MeeGo, that they took it over after it was ditched for the Windows Phone.
Jolla built a new mobile ecosystem based on MeeGo, dubbed Sailfish. It was compatible with the Android ecosystem on both hardware and software level.
Sailfish OS has now grown into a versatile solution for different corporate and governmental agencies.
The Russian government selected Sailfish as the foundation for its own mobile platform, citing the need to be self-sufficient and independent from US technology. Huawei also considered using it as its Android alternative.
The end of My-Maemo.com
My-maemo.com’s last update was in October 2014. It was about a SATtracker for BlackBerry 10 that could track the International Space Station.
The number of devices running on Maemo 5 decreased. It eventually became a thing of the past after Nokia’s demise. This proves that online forums only last as long as the related technology is in use.
