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MeeGo Startup Jolla Signs Phone Deal

chill writes "Mobile company Jolla, which is continuing development of Linux-based mobile OS Meego, signed its first sales deal today, with D.Phone, China's largest smartphone retail chain. Jolla has not released details about its first product, which is expected to be revealed later this year. The company has not yet received access to any Nokia patents."

4 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Re:It makes the same "no First World" mistake as N by the+plant+doctor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If you're a startup I don't see how it's a mistake. From TFA: "China was selected because it is the largest, most rapidly expanding smartphone market in the world, according to Jolla Chairman Antti Saarnio." This seems like a logical first step to me. Get established there first, then move on to more expensive markets once you are established.

  2. Re:Only for junk. by symbolset · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Man, you feel strongly about this issue. Jolla doesn't have to care. They will make phones appropriate for the markets they can get into the most easily, and make some starter money, and build their business from there. They don't have to conquer the world on the first day.

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  3. Re:It makes the same "no First World" mistake as N by sethstorm · · Score: 4, Informative

    Apparently you have forgotten about how the N900 and N9 have sold, where the latter outdid the whorephones combined. Salespeople were complaining that they couldn't move the Lumia devices while they could move plenty of N9's if they could stock them

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  4. Re:Except that it makes the phone *worse* that way by YoopDaDum · · Score: 4, Interesting

    China is a very big and diverse country, and going China doesn't necessarily mean going low cost nowadays. Costal China is first world (or close enough already, in any case not 3rd world by far), with a very high adoption rate for smartphones. And not crappy ones, also high end ones. Plus, Android is impaired in China by no official Google Play support if I understand correctly, and side channels are full of malware making Android reputation poor. The iPhone doesn't support TD-SCDMA so is not carried by the first operator, China Mobile. WP is mostly nowhere (as everywhere). There is a gap to fill there, and if you come with a new OS it may be easier to get a foothold in such a context than in Western countries with entrenched iPhone and Android, and only a few slahsdotters like me possibly interested in a Meego phone ;) Historically China Mobile was interested in Meego for this reason BTW. And Nokia was very popular there. So there could be a card to play for a well spec'd phone in China, seen as a successor to the old Nokia.