Now Nokia has unveiled a new “Internet Tablet” device, called the N800. It looks very impressive and what’s most interesting from a Web perspective is the development platform that Nokia is attempting to build around this, and similar, devices. Nokia has a website devoted to this effort, called Maemo. It’s described as follows:

“Maemo is an open source development platform to create applications for Nokia Internet Tablet products like Nokia N800 and Nokia 770. The platform gives developers a powerful Linux based development environment and optimized end-user interface for handhelds.”

Not only is Maemo an opportunity for developers to create apps for Nokia Internet Tablets, the platform is made from open source technologies and in particular Linux. PC World recently did a write-up on how players like Nokia and Motorola are “looking to open-source platforms as ways to bring down costs, add flexibility, and finally turn the phone from a voice-focused appliance into the “multimedia computer” Nokia executives keep insisting it is.”