Maemo, the Linux-based software platform which runs on Nokia's touchscreen-based internet tablets, has had its latest version unveiled under the brand "Maemo 5", which introduces built-in compatibility with mobile phone networks including HSPA (i.e. HSDPA and HSUPA). There's apparently no telephone voice support (yet), though there is VOIP, and it should be interesting to see how upcoming Maemo 5 devices compare to the upcoming S60 touchscreen devices. Will they be totally different products aimed at totally different markets, or will there be potentially damaging overlap? If there is significant overlap, will Nokia really want to keep two parallel product lines going?

Mobile data support combined with a lack of voice support may actually produce a very interesting situation: Nokia's tablets come with the official Skype client built in, and this is arguably a cheaper and more flexible substitute for network-based voice services. If you pay Skype extra you can get a normal phone number and the ability to receive normal phone calls too, and because this works wherever you sign in with your Skype username, you could turn any Skype-compatible device anywhere in the world into your phone, and move between them as you wish. It would provide a way of detaching phone accounts from hardware even more effectively than SIM cards, which is possibly Nokia's ultimate aim with the tablet range.