Nokia Cans Meltemi Feature Phone Platform – Report

Nokia has reportedly ended development of Meltemi, its Linux-based mobile software platform, according to Reuters.

Meltemi was intended as a replacement for Nokia’s aging Series 40, which is currently used in the majority of its feature phones.

However the struggling Finnish manufacturer has canned the project to save costs as part of an ongoing restructuring process.

Meltemi Melting Away

S40 is used in more than two billion phones, but it is unable to offer many of the smartphone features that users are now demanding. Nokia has struggled to make in impact in the smartphone market despite its switch to Windows Phone last year, but demand for its feature phones has remained strong.

Nokia unveiled three new additions to its Asha feature phone range last month and even acquired another feature phone operating system in its buyout of Norwegian developer Smarterphone earlier this year. The abandonment of Meltemi could put its stranglehold on the market at risk.

CEO Stephen Elop mentioned Meltemi in a leaked video last year and the first phones running this software were due to be released by now, but Nokia has never actually confirmed its existence.

“We do not comment on any rumours or speculation regarding the Meltemi development”, a Nokia spokesperson told TechWeekEurope.

Last week, Nokia released its second quarter results which showed that the company has sustained huge losses. Elop said that restructuring would continue during this “difficult period” and Nokia has already sold its luxury mobile phone subsidiary Vertu to a private equity firm as it looks to focus on its core business.

How much do you know about smartphones? Take our quiz