meego
Tabco is not just another tablet?
Thanks to the power of viral videos, a buzz has surrounded Tabco, which some are speculating to be a PR stunt by Nokia, while others are thinking perhaps it could be a whole new company altogether. They seem to be making digs at other tablets and brands, i.e. iPad, Motorola Xoom, Microsoft laptops, ASUS’s Padfone, etc. It even poked fun of the fiasco with Gizmodo and the iPhone 4 at the bar.
Their Twitter account – WeAreTabCo – also sounds similar to the WeAreMeeGo account which has recently been deactivated. Could this be a Nokia MeeGo tablet that we might be seeing? The Nokia N9 was supposed to be the first and last MeeGo device from Nokia, unless they weren’t being totally honest about that.
Taken from their website, their FAQ seems to point that they will be releasing their product during a month that is really warm, which we’re guessing is some time in the summer. It also mentions that it will not be like other tablets, so since we have iOS tablets, Android tablets, webOS tablets, Blackberry tablets, what else is left? I guess we will have to wait and see. If they were attempting viral marketing, we think whoever is behind it is succeeding.
The Nokia N9 was released before the Lumia line of smartphones and it was the first and the last that we have seen so far running MeeGo Linux OS. But according to a report by MeeGo Experts, you don’t have to stick to it anymore because they have spotted a way to dual-boot MeeGo and Android Ice Cream Sandwich on the device.
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If you have been eagerly eyeing Nokia’s first and last MeeGo handset, the Nokia N9, the good news is that if you’re living in Europe, the handsets have reportedly started shipping out to stores. Available in black, cyan and magenta, the Nokia N9 is expected to retail for EUR 480 and EUR 560 for the 16GB and 64GB respectively. For those living in the US, it is unlikely that you will see it officially available from the stores, but if you so desired, you could probably manage to get one imported.
Fans of MeeGo are probably disappointed that Nokia has decided to drop the platform in favor of Windows Phone 7. Their last chance at seeing MeeGo on a Nokia device was on the Nokia N9, and while iOS and Android are currently dominating the smartphone platform market, it looks like the MeeGo-based Nokia handset is doing surprisingly well for itself.
According to reports, the Nokia N9 has been doing very well in its homeland of Finland. It started with an impressive number of pre-orders for the handset, and now it appears that the 64GB model has already been sold out. Given how the 16GB model will already set you back $660, it’s rather impressive to see how the 64GB has sold out so quick.
Nokia is said to have produced 100,000 units of the Nokia N9, so perhaps the limited edition lure was what made the product sell like hot cakes, an effect similar to the HP TouchPad when it was announced that it would sell for $99 (base model) after HP said they would be discontinuing webOS.