This is NOT true.
Maemo’s GUI can be customized.

Nokia denies any intent of locking the customization capabilities of the Maemo software. In fact, the Maemo operating system welcomes the idea of harnessing the power and the uniqueness of the N900 to satisfy the appetite of the consumers, application makers and communication carriers.

What will be the advantage for the mobile carriers? For one, they can modify the look and feel of the graphical user interface according to their color scheme and put their patented logos, icons and familiar markings. They can even install proprietary software that enables their customers to download ringtones, wallpapers, mms picture messages and the like. The possibilities are endless.

This news gives a sigh of relief to those who have been praying that the Maemo platform will not be as limited or locked as the iPhone operating system.

However, more questions pop-up.

Will this open platform also open a door for malicious use? Can Maemo be opening its doors to scoundrels who will take advantage of the Maemo’s architecture for cruel purposes?

How will this affect the end consumer? Perhaps it will not be much unless the customers complain of their carrier’s version of the N900 user interface. However, this still remains to be seen since the phone is practically a mystery to most of the world. And will the customers of these mobile carriers accept or complain about their custom-made interfaces or will they prefer the original Nokkia N900 look-and-feel?

The answer to these questions will emerge soon. And you will be able to read them all here at the Nokia N900 blog.

Video highlights include web browsing, gestures, dashboard widgets and multiple screens.

If you want to know more about the software, read our article entitled “What is Mamo?“

Enjoy the Maemo video below.

Based on the Debian operating system, the Maemo 5 (also known as Fremantle) is a linux software platform developed for smartphones and internet tablets developed by Nokia. This open-source code software derives its graphical user interface (GUI), frameworks and libraries from the GNOME project.

The Maemo’s interface can be manipulated in different ways. You can use the directional pad of the phone or, for the reason why it was invented, use touch interface. The Maemo 5 can also recognize handwriting and other gestures. This is the next step in touch-interface tablet technology.

Maemo 5 gives the user four (4) desktops similar to the Spaces feature on the Apple Mac OS X. These desktops can be customized with different backgrounds, shortcuts and widgets. Widgets are little applications running on the desktop. Basic widgets include a clock, calendar, news and notes. You may add or subtract any widget on your desktop. By swiping the screen, you can move from one desktop to another.

A breakthrough in Nokia web technology is the inclusion of a Mozilla (Firefox) based MicroB web-browser that comes with Adobe Flash and can display websites in a 800 x 480 display resolution. Compared to previous version of the built-in Nokia web browser, this is a breath of fresh air.

The following formats are supported by the Maemo 5 software:

• Video: MPEG-1, MPEG-4 ASP (H.263), RealVideo, AVI, 3GP
• Audio/playlists: MP3, RealAudio, MPEG-4, AAC, WAV, AMP, MP2, AMR, AWB, M4A, WMA. OGG/Vorbis (requires addon package), M3U, PLS
• Image/Animation: JPEG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PNG, SVG Tiny, ICO
• Text/layout: text files, PDF, HTML.

Your Nokia N900 will include this very powerful Operating System, which is said to be open and available for people to use and create new applications. If it does perform the way it is written, then Apple does have good competition in the lucrative mobile phone market.

For more information about Maemo, visit their official website at http://maemo.org/