Nokia N-series phones to have Linux OS

Nokia Oyj will use Linux MeeGo software in its N-series lineup, hoping the new platform will give it a better chance to battle against rivals such as Apple Inc and Google Inc.

The N-series has been Nokia's crown jewel for years and it dominated the smartphone market before Apple's iPhone was introduced in 2007.

Nokia's next flagship smartphone, the N8, will be the last N-series phone running Symbian software. Symbian remains the market leader for smartphones, but has lost market share in recent years with the rise of the iPhone.

Linux is the most popular type of open-source computer operating system available to the public. Its direct rival on PCs is Microsoft, which charges for its Windows software and opposes freely sharing its code.

Apple iPhone 4

Apple  iPhone, the technology giant set a new benchmark in the hard-fought and fast-growing smartphone  market.
 

The iPhone 4 makes possible video calls, can handle multiple tasks simultaneously and has longer battery life than previous versions -- adding specifications that some rivals already have to its iconic design appeal.

It sold a record 600,000 in pre-orders in a single day last week, and BGC analyst Colin Gillis expects Apple to set a record for being the first company to sell a million smartphones in a single day.

Apple's latest salvo in the battle for the smartphone market, which IT research firm Gartner expects to grow 46 percent this year over last year's 172 million units, comes as rivals based on Google's Android software gather steam.