Intel and Nokia's MeeGo Linux gets car boost

Nokia and Intel's MeeGo mobile Linux effort has been given a leg up in cars.

Car-industry alliance GENIVI has officially chosen MeeGo as the reference release for its In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) system.

MeeGo will provide the basis for the upcoming GENIVI Apollo release, it was announced Friday. There was not date for when Apollo would be delivered.

The idea is IVI will be used to build navigation, entertainment, and location-based services systems in cars and provide connections to devices, car and broadband networks.

Formed in March 2009, GENIVI describes its mission as driving adoption of an open-source IVI development platform. GENIVI members included BMW and Delphi GM as well as Intel and Nokia.

In a statement, MeeGo's project organizer the Linux Foundation said MeeGo would help speed development and cut the cost of IVI's development because it includes middleware and interface with applications.

It helps that Nokia and Intel are GENIVI members, so can facilitate technical advice and engineering refinements. Intel's been pushing IVI, based on its Atom processor, here.

The MeeGo pair are looking for real-world adoption of their Linux.

MeeGo was formed by merging Intel's earlier Moblin with Nokia's Maemo, with the goal of delivering a viable mobile Linux platform for systems such as those in cars in addition to handsets and tablets.

The project in May released MeeGo code for handsets. MeeGo 1.1, which will combine code for netbooks and touch-based devices, is scheduled for October. ®