Intel Sees Future For MeeGo System After Nokia's Microsoft Deal

Intel Corp. said the MeeGo mobile operating system developed with Nokia Oyj has a future even after the Finnish handset maker’s decision to use Microsoft Corp.’s software in some devices.

“I don’t see that Nokia changing its strategy changes the industry strategy,” Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini said in an interview on the sidelines of a conference in Barcelona today. “The operators still look for an open, operator-friendly operating system.”

Meego will be used in tablets this year, the CEO said. It will also be used in mobile phones and in embedded devices in the automotive industry, he said. Intel announced in February last year that it would work with Nokia on a joint platform.

Nokia, led by Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop, unveiled plans last week to make Microsoft’s Windows its primary software in the competition for smartphone customers. The company is competing against Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms.

Elop plans to ship one MeeGo product this year as “an opportunity to learn” before redeploying MeeGo team members and product elements to Windows Phone 7 and future platforms.

Otellini said today he “understood” why Nokia is pursuing a tie-up with Microsoft and said he would have made “the same or a similar call.”

Intel is seeking to recruit mobile-phone makers as customers for its scaled-down PC chips. Smartphones powered by its chips will be available this year, Otellini said at the conference.

Editors: Robert Valpuesta, Simon Thiel.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Browning in Barcelona at jbrowning9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Vidya Root at vroot@bloomberg.net

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Intel Corp. CEO Paul Otellini

Maurice Tsai/Bloomberg

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini.

Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini. Photographer: Maurice Tsai/Bloomberg