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Mainstream Nokia Maemo mooted as 2010 iPhone competitor

A mass-market, Linux-based Maemo smartphone could emerge from the Nokia stable during the second half of next year, representing yet another viable competitor to the Apple iPhone.

UBS analyst Maynard Um says the upcoming smartphone would target the iPhone more directly than the premium N900, Nokia's first Maemo 5-based phone, which is due for release next month.

In a research note, Um states: "Nokia cited that it expects to have a mass-market iPhone competitor in [the second half of 2010] based on Maemo, which we believe is a recognition that the ability to rely solely on the more standardised Symbian to compete is limited."

Representatives for Nokia have brushed off the latter suggestion, however, telling FierceWireless: "We are absolutely committed to Symbian as our smartphone platform."

Nokia – the world's largest seller of mobile handsets – recently revealed that its share of the global smartphone market dropped to 35 per cent in the third quarter of this year, down from 41 per cent between April and June.

The N900, its first Linux-based smartphone, was originally due for release this month, but the launch has been delayed while the firm gathers feedback from Maemo developers.