MeeGo is effectively dead, just a day or so after the Nokia N9 handset - the only real device of note to pack the OS - went live (not in the UK though). It has been replaced by an OS called Tizen, a Linux statement has confirmed.

"Today we are welcoming a new project hosted at The Linux Foundation," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the company.

"Tizen is a Linux-based, open source platform designed to address the future of HTML5-based applications across a variety of device types. We think the project has a lot of potential, both for its technology and the major players it has involved in it.

Zemlin admitted that MeeGo would "remain a project at The Linux Foundation" but stated that "industry leaders [are] lining up behind Tizen".

Those industry leaders include Samsung and Intel. Intel teamed up with Nokia for MeeGo, remember, but the Finnish company now has more Microsoft flavoured aims for its devices' OS.

A spokesman for Samsung told Reuters: "We've been a core Linux partner... and this is in line with our strategy of supporting many platforms."

Many platforms indeed. Sammy is not only a key player in the Android and Windows Phone 7 markets, it also has its own Bada platform too, which is reportedly doing pretty well.

So the question is, why does it need another avenue?

The first release of Tizen and its SDK is expected to land in the first quarter of 2012.

Update: Intel has stated that the first Tizen device will be out in early-mid 2012.