Nokia N9 to run Android apps with Alien Dalvik emulator for MeeGo

While many have considered the fate of the MeeGo-based Nokia N9 sealed even before it hits the shelves later this year, others are optimistically assessing the potential of the platform and its ecosystem.

In the meanwhile, another titbit of information has appeared that might just change the equation quite a bit – a high-performance Android emulator known as Alien Dalvik will be developed for MeeGo sometime later this year. This will enable Nokia N9 and other MeeGo mobile users to run non-ported, unmodified Android applications.

All Android app developers will have to do is to repack the .apk installer. Made by Myriad, the Alien Dalvik emulator is different from other such software in that it is designed to take full advantage of the hardware, and therefore performance is not expected to be an issue. Any further, more complex features can be integrated using the Android SDK that Myriad provides.

The standard Android hardware keys - options, home, search, and back – will be emulated as touch buttons in the interface. A spokesperson for Myriad said that the experience of running Android apps on a MeeGo device is “seamless,” and should run as well as the native software.

In the meanwhile, Nokia has announce a developer handset for MeeGo – the Nokia N950, which sports a hardware QWERTY keypad, and much the same specs as the N9, except for the use of a TFT screen instead of an AMOLED display. In essence, this makes two MeeGo phones, though for right now, Nokia hasn’t provided a release date for the developer device.