MeeGo Tegra 2 Drivers Could End Android Monopoly On NVIDIA SoC

NVIDIA has potentially given MeeGo a shot in the arm, with the release of a set of drivers for the Tegra 2 that will allow ports of the OS to run just as Android already does. The new drivers, MeeGo Experts reports, should see Tegra 2 based tablets and phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the T-Mobile G2x able to run the open-source platform.

The Compulab Trim Slice ultra-compact PC – which uses a Tegra 2 chipset – is apparently to thank for the release of the new NVIDIA drivers. Developer vgrade worked with NVIDIA Compulab on a set of hardfp video drivers for MeeGo that allow for accelerated graphics with the SoC, and then released them via the official trimslice forum.

Although MeeGo's most prominent supporter, Nokia, has all but abandoned the platform in favor of Microsoft's Windows Phone, recent reports have suggested that the OS could well benefit from the increasingly litigious environment around Android. The growing number of patent infringement suits targeting Android OEMs has apparently left many wary of the Google-led platform, and considering rivals perceived as more stable, such as MeeGo.

A relative shortage of processors that supported the platform, however, had left MeeGo still somewhat in shadow, something these new drivers may well address. Acer has already committed to producing an at least limited range of hardware running the OS, including the Iconia M500 tablet, while ASUS has the Eee PC X501 netbook.