Nokia clarifies: N900 can be customized

Nokia said that it will provide carrier customization for its Linux-based smartphone, the N900, noting that reports to the contrary were inaccurate. Two days ago a Reuters report, quoting a Nokia executive, suggested that the handset maker would not alter the phone's Maemo software to suit the needs of operators.

In a post today on the company's Nokia Connections blog, Nokia said that "a few people are getting ahead of themselves" in terms of drawing conclusions about the company's plans for the N900. "While we have not announced immediate plans to offer an operator variant for the N900, there are many customization points for operators on the N900," the company said. "It would be absolutely incorrect to assume that we will not offer operators the ability to tailor future Maemo devices to suit their needs."

Nokia said its goal with Maemo is to focus on the consumer experience by integrating applications, and working with developers, publishers and operators.

Thus, Nokia's post appears to be a repudiation of comments by a Nokia executive to Reuters.

"Very clearly Apple, Android ... are a whole lot less about providing customization to the operators and a whole lot more about providing a really cool, compelling value proposition to the end-consumer," said David Rivas, Nokia's vice president for devices R&D, according to a Reuters report from Sept. 9. "We have an opportunity, that we are going to take advantage of, with Maemo platform to play the game a little bit more along those lines than with Symbian lines."

For more:
- see this Nokia Connections blog post

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