At the Maemo Summit last week in Amsterdam, Nokia unveiled its ambitious goals for the next version of its Linux-based mobile platform. Maemo 6, which is codenamed Harmattan, promises to bring a significant user interface overhaul and will offer a number of important new capabilities. Nokia has already started to release portions of the source code in an early developer preview of the Maemo 6 SDK.

Maemo 6 is the final part of Nokia's five-step roadmap for building a mainstream mobile Linux device. The goal, according to Nokia, is to "deliver an iconic user experience and integrated Internet services in an aesthetic package." This mantra was repeated several times during various technical presentations at the Maemo Summit.

Once the unequalled leader among mobile phone manufacturers, Nokia still returns impressive sales, but ceded its dominance of the smartphone market with the arrival of the iPhone. It's been playing catch-up ever since, sticking rigidly to a Symbian OS that only seemed to grow older looking with each new device.