Nokia today said it expects to launch the first high-end devices based on its new MeeGo operating system around year-end and ruled out any plans to support the rival Android platform. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, new mobile solutions chief Anssi Vanjoki said MeeGo will be the base for a wide array of new computer-like devices (eg tablets) as the market for handheld gadgets diversifies. MeeGo will support a rich environment for application development and strong support for functions such as GPS and Bluetooth, Mr Vanjoki added. Meanwhile, he confirmed that Nokia doesn’t plan to launch any phones based on the increasingly popular Android platform because it can create more value by building its own hardware and software.

Last week Nokia confirmed it is to ditch Symbian software for its future high-end smartphones, turning instead to the Linux-based MeeGo platform formed from its joint venture with Intel. The Finnish company’s next smartphone, the N8, will be the last N-series phone running Symbian software. The N8 will be launched in the third quarter and will run the upgraded Symbian 3 platform. Nokia will continue to use Symbian for its vast portfolio of cheaper smartphones. Announced at the GSMA Mobile World Congress earlier this year, MeeGo combines Intel’s Moblin and Nokia’s Maemo open source projects into one Linux-based software platform hosted by the Linux Foundation. The project has already received backing from France Telecom’s Orange and Telefonica, as well as numerous OEMs and application developers. The platform is the latest open-source mobile operating system to take on Google’s Android, which is also Linux-based. In related news, Nokia and Intel have released an early version of the Linux-based MeeGo mobile OS to developers, in preparation of the launch of a retail-ready version in October. The joint MeeGo Project has made programming APIs, parts of the handset reference UI and the MeeGo Core OS available, and has stuck by Linux tradition by also releasing the source code. According to MeeGo Project, the release also marks the completion of the combination of Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin OSes.  Screenshots (pictured) and video of MeeGo have appeared on the MeeGo website.