Intel gives up on MeeGo, Samsung not buying webOS

MeeGo and webOS are for the chop. Intel is giving MeeGo the heave-ho, and now Samsung has poured water on rumours it'll be buying HP's moribund webOS operating system. Seems neither can get any love.

A report today claims Intel plans to "temporarily discontinue development" of the MeeGo OS it launched in conjunction with Nokia last February, preferring instead to focus on hardware. Any mobile products the company works on will use the Android or Windows Phone operating systems.

And why's this? Apparently manufacturers aren't keen on making hardware for MeeGo. Nokia is also putting all its energies into its tie-in with Microsoft to produce Windows Phone handsets.

These are unconfirmed rumours, with Intel publicly saying it doesn't comment on industry speculation, but we can't say we'd be surprised. Anyone who sat through the confusing announcement at Mobile World Conference last year would tell you it didn't seem too well thought out.

Meanwhile, Samsung's chief executive officer Choi Gee Sung kicked the still twitching corpse of HP's webOS by stating it would "never" try to buy the operating system. Speaking at IFA, he said, "It's not right that acquiring an operating system is becoming a fashion." He also reiterated how hard the company is working on its own OS, Bada.

webOS was developed by Palm and debuted in 2009. When HP bought Palm, it kept the operating system on its Pre mobile phones and TouchPad tablet, until both were axed. Not even a late surge of interest brought about by a drastic price drop could save them.

So, good riddance, or a tragic day for tech? Write your eulogies in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.