Nokia Kataya prototype with unknown OS selling on eBay

Stipe | 29/06/2019 | Nokia, Phones | 2 Comments

Someone is selling a Nokia prototype on eBay. That in itself isn’t anything new considering how much different prototype devices from Nokia we saw appearing online, but the phone in question is special because it runs on an unknown operating system.

The box has “Kataya” written on the front, which is probably the name of the device. Kataya, as far as I can find online, is a village development committee in Nepal, probably not the inspiration for the name of the device. I also found that the device already appeared on talk.meamo.org forum a year ago. The box also has “Built on Krakatau” written on, while both Kataya and Krakatau are also printed on the back of the device, together with “Designed in Oulu” – a Finnish town where today Nokia has a factory of the future.

Krakatau is the name of a group of volcanic islands located in Indonesia, with the most famous association being the eruption of Anak Krakatau in 1930. The seller describes the phone the following way:

Extremely rare device, Nokia Kataya Prototype, running an UNKNOWN OS.

On startup , a Nokia Logo + “Tampere Powered” is Displayed.

TYPE : RM-842

Proto Build B1.2

Proto box includes a nfc tag, to activate voice interaction. Also, on the box , is written “Built on Krakatau”.

Very interesting device, OS isn’t similiar to any Nokia ever made. new icon styles, animations, etc.

I connected it to wi-fi , browser shows as a Safari 4 WebKit.

Looking at photos that show the UI, the design reminds me of the time period around the first or second iPhone, so 2007-2009. No specs of the device are mentioned, but the device uses USB drivers of the N900, but the icons don’t really look like something from the Meamo family of UIs.