We’ve heard previously that Nokia has killed off the first smartphone to run the MeeGo operating system, the Nokia N9, as reported (here), and now it appears that the death of the Nokia N9 has been kind of confirmed.

According to an article over on Engadget by Thomas Ricker, Reuters is reporting that “two industry sources close to the company” have stated that Nokia has now ended development of the Nokia N9, although Nokia has declined to comment.

However, apparently there is a slim chance that although the Nokia N9 has now been consigned to the garbage can, Nokia may unveil another MeeGo smartphone at their investor’s event in London on Friday or possibly during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The big question here is why have Nokia killed off the Nokia N9 but still moving forward with MeeGo, and can MeeGo bring Nokia back as a substantial challenge to their rivals Apple and Android or should Nokia just opt to kill off MeeGo as well and switch to Android or Windows Phone 7.