Asus, one of the leading netbook manufacturers, held a press conference at Computex in Taiwan earlier today. In amongst announcements about tablets and an Eee Pad ASUS talked about the launch of its own app store based on Intel's AppUp technology. While it will be available first for the company's Windows products, the intention is for it to also be used on MeeGo products once they are available. This suggests Asus intends to launch or have MeeGo variants of its products available in the future.

Earlier this week an estimate, from Gartner, that less than 100,000 Nokia N900s have been shipped since the devices launch was widely reported. Anecdotal evidence, such as download numbers, Flickr activity and operator-led retail distribution in various countries would suggest this estimate is low. Nokia has not released any total sales numbers for the N900, but it did indicate that the 100,000 figure was reached 5 weeks after launch.

On Tuesday the project release of MeeGo 1.0 was announced. It provides developers with a stable core foundation for application development. In addition the releases includes the provision for a rich user experience (UI and applications) for netbooks and related devices. This means it is now possible for anyone to run MeeGo on many commercially available netbooks, complete with a usable UI and basic set of applications (like any other operating system). A user experience for touch based devices, such as handsets (e.g. N900), tablets and automotive systems will appear in the next release, which is due in October. Read on for further details.

The Nokia N900's second major software update, PR 1.2 (10.2010.19-1), will become available in the next 24 hours. The UK release should be available today, with the global release following tomorrow (26th May). The update brings support for event invites in email, Facebook chat, video calling, portrait browsing, an updated version of Ovi Maps, Qt 4.6 support, updated application menu UI, and much more.  

Downloads from Maemo 5 Extras have now passed the 10 million mark. Extras is the primary repository for Maemo applications. This represent a significant milestone for community-led software downloads. It should be noted that there are other sources for Maemo application (e.g. Ovi Store) so the total number of software downloads to N900s is significantly higher.

Rafe reports back from a 'conversational briefing' with Marko Ahtisaari (Head of Design at Nokia) at Nokia's London Design HQ. There's an explanation of Nokia's "smart push", of how Nokia's three tier device strategy fits together, of how Nokia's software and hardware design teams have been brought together to promote a holistic approach and accelerate the pace of innovation, and there are hints of future design directions for both Symbian and MeeGo devices and software.

Nokia has announced a company reorganisation, which it says will increase competitiveness and allow it to deliver innovative products to the market faster. Nokia is planning to introduce a simplified structure for its devices and services business; it will comprise three components: Mobile Solutions, Mobile Phones and Markets. The new structure applies from July 1st 2010. Nokia have also appointed a new CTO, Rich Green, previously at Sun, who has many years of Silicon Valley experience. Read on for further details.

At every turn in the mobile world, you see online services being launched, and applications that tie into existing services. Examine the top ten things that a typical iPhone or Android phone owner does and I'd bet that over half (if not 7 or 8) involved Internet access. The number's arguably lower in the Symbian world (more built-in/local functionality), but the trend is clear - software and service designers are assuming that mobile Internet access is a given. But what happens when the (signal) bars run out?

This week Nokia announced the launch and beta availability of the Nokia Qt SDK, a single 'easy-to-use' software development kit (SDK) for Symbian and MeeGo application development. The SDK is, effectively, an evolution of the Qt SDK, with specific focus on, and support for, Nokia's mobile devices. It provides a complete tool chain for creating, developing, testing, packaging and deploying Qt applications. The SDK is available for both Windows and Linux (Mac support is being investigated) and can be downloaded from the Forum Nokia website. Read on for more details.

The Bluetooth SIG has announced that the 'much anticipated' v4.0 update to the Bluetooth protocol (incorporating the Bluetooth low energy technology pioneered by Nokia in Wibree) will be finalized and sent to manufacturers by the end of June. Bluetooth 4.0 could theoretically be powered for years by a coin-celled battery, has faster transfer rates, and has an increased range that can extend up to 200 feet and beyond (at higher power, obviously). Bluetooth v4.0-enabled devices should come on sale around the end of 2010.