For a while now, I've been screaming about how the smart phone world is about two brands: Apple and Android. That's it. no BlackBerry, no Nokia, and darn sure no Windows Phone 7. Well, one of the possible contenders that doesn't get mentioned so often is MeeGo, the joint Intel and Nokia venture aimed at creating a mobile Linux. The underlying idea was to get all of the Linux folks on board, including Ubuntu and the cool-kid crowd to loves the Nokia N900. Unfortunately, it sounds like the whole thing has gone off the rails already.

Now, it should be acknowledged that these predictions of MeeGo's death may be very premature. This all comes according to the blog of Robert Evans at TechEye.net, who just returned from the MeeGo conference in Ireland. But his account is scathing. It sounds like Nokia and Intel spent a metric ton of money on the event, with food, football games, booze, and multiple bands. Oh yeah, and they also gave the attendees free touch-screen Lenovo laptops. At least, the attendees that were lucky enough to get there first: there weren't enough laptops to go around, until the third day, when the final shipment arrived, complete with non-functional open source drivers.

Further evidence is given in Evans' account. It's worth reading if for no other reason than to see what Nokia and Intel are doing to promote the platform.