Jolla Founds Alliance Based On MeeGo Distribution "Sailfish"

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Jolla Founds Alliance Based On MeeGo Distribution "Sailfish"

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday October 3, 2012 @03:53AM from the ex-nokia-people-hate-america dept.

jones_supa writes "The Finnish smartphone startup Jolla has revealed the next chapter in their roadmap. The company announced that it is setting up an alliance to license a MeeGo-based OS called Sailfish to other OEMs. The operations, backed by 200M€, will begin at spring 2013. CEO Jussi Hurmola believes that the next big revolution in smartphones will happen in China, and the OS will provide an alternative independent smartphone ecosystem there. Jolla strives for more openness than OHA, by letting the partners design their services directly without needing green light from the alliance. Sailfish is headquartered in Hong Kong and R&D centers will be established in other parts of mainland China, possibly Shanghai and Peking."

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Come on release the phone already by anared · 2012-10-03 04:01 · Score: 3, Interesting

Waiting anxiously for the phone, release it already, dammit. Only interesting thing in the smartphone market right now, excellent OS and framework developed by giants, now adopted by a small and enthusiastic company with a lot of knowledge straight from the top. This could really be the beginning of something big.
like it ... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-03 04:02 · Score: 0

I really like that they are continuing in a "cute" way.
Given the fact that the blow to nokia was directed at the qt toolkit i wish them all the luck they can get.
Also i would really like to see a phone os which is more like a desktop linux as this would give more incentive for good gfx drivers.
1. Re:like it ... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-03 04:22 · Score: 0
  
  Also i would really like to see a phone os which is more like a desktop linux as this would give more incentive for good gfx drivers.
  Why? These phones will just come with the same binary blobs as all the other mobile OSes. It'll have zero effect on getting good gfx drivers for desktop Linux.
2. Re:like it ... by rtfa-troll · 2012-10-03 07:55 · Score: 1
  
  Why? These phones will just come with the same binary blobs as all the other mobile OSes. It'll have zero effect on getting good gfx drivers for desktop Linux.
  It's probably true that Jolla will compromise and do exactly what you say in order to deliver the very best phones with the newest hardware. However, there seem to be some in the Mer community who are very determined to get open devices. They even seem to be succeeding. Since the Android community is also realising that binary blobs are a nightmare there is getting to be real commercial and cost pressure to get rid of binary blobs.
  This is not going to eliminate binary blobs but it's going to mean that people who produce them are going to be gradually forced out of major markets.
  
  --
  =~ s,(.*),<sarcasm>$1</sarcasm>,g if any_point_you_wish();
So it's Chinese by Hentes · 2012-10-03 04:05 · Score: 1

In what way is this company Finnish?
1. Re:So it's Chinese by mrksprvn · 2012-10-03 04:07 · Score: 1
  
  The people are mostly ex-Nokians from Finland. They're just shooting for the Chinese market.
2. Re:So it's Chinese by dubbreak · 2012-10-03 04:19 · Score: 1
  
  And China is definitely the place to be with their expanding middle class and enormous population. Whether the "openness" makes it any more relevant than the current offerings.. I don't know. If they can make themselves relevant and price the phones right then they'll sell a lot of phones.
  
  Previous company I worked at targeted China as a new market. Slow moving to build relationships (which I personally think makes more sense in business) but quite a market to be in especially if you are selling to a government agency. There is lots of money to be had in China if you know where to look and how to work there.
  
  --
  "If you are going through hell, keep going." - Winston Churchill
3. Re:So it's Chinese by CreamyG31337 · 2012-10-03 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  all their employees are from finland according to linkedin
  http://www.linkedin.com/search/fpsearch?companyId=2649185&sortCriteria=R&keepFacets=&facet_CC=2649185
4. Re:So it's Chinese by CreamyG31337 · 2012-10-03 05:14 · Score: 1
  
  China is just for R HQ is in finland
  https://twitter.com/JollaMobile/status/253408126420779008
The only chance they have... by Casandro · 2012-10-03 04:22 · Score: 2

is to target the "I want something Debian-like" customers, and brand it as a tool. Different tools have different uses. Instead of trying to turn MeeGo into a screwdriver (i.e. something Android/iOS/WP/Blackberry like) they should focus on its strengths and market it accordingly.
No, if you are an Android/iOS/WP/Blackberry-fan, Meego is probably not what you want. Unless of course they try to change Meego into yet another clone of that concept, then you will probably still not like it because there aren't enough apps, plus they will alienate their actual market.
Again, their actual market doesn't want apps, they want a distributions. They want to be able to have access to Debian Packages, not fart apps.
1. Re:The only chance they have... by JoeMerchant · 2012-10-03 04:27 · Score: 1
  
  Looking at the distro, there are plenty of fart packages in there.
2. Re:The only chance they have... by Microlith · 2012-10-03 04:37 · Score: 1
  
  is to target the "I want something Debian-like" customers, and brand it as a tool.
  Wht is that? Is there no value in a platform that is developed wholly in the open?
  
  Different tools have different uses. Instead of trying to turn MeeGo into a screwdriver (i.e. something Android/iOS/WP/Blackberry like) they should focus on its strengths and market it accordingly.
  Maintaining a narrow focus like the N900 did won't get them anywhere. What they can do is not deliberately interfere when people decide to do unusual things with their devices.
  
  No, if you are an Android/iOS/WP/Blackberry-fan, Meego is probably not what you want.
  How so? How can it not supercede those?
  
  Unless of course they try to change Meego into yet another clone of that concept, then you will probably still not like it because there aren't enough apps, plus they will alienate their actual market.
  So not only have you already predicted doom, but doom because they haven't already delivered a huge app market (how could they, stupid Catch-22) and you somehow know exactly what they think their market is.
  
  Again, their actual market doesn't want apps, they want a distributions.
  That's what you want. No reason they can't target a more mainstream market and let us load all the random RPMs we want.
Release something already by KiloByte · 2012-10-03 04:23 · Score: 4, Interesting

Folks at Jolla, please stop the talk about "revealing a next chapter", and release something already. N900 still keeps beating anything Android-based when it comes to the input dev (after some tweaking), but the CPU and memory pressure is crippling.
There are three unmatched advantages: keyboard, stylus and hackability. The keyboard is obvious: an on-screen keyboard might be good enough for typing a SMS or labelling a contact, but not much more -- while N900's keyboard, after beating some sanity into the layout (PgUp, Esc, most symbols...) beats most small laptops. Stylus is something that sits in its holder 95% of the time while you use fingers or a fingernail, but once you wish to point accurately, doing that with a finger is simply impossible. And when it comes to software: in one corner, we have a full-blown UNIX system, while in the other a platform with a cut-down browser and fart apps, that might at most serve to ssh somewhere. Newsflash: in places where you can count on good networking, you already have a desktop computer. I can sit and develop on N900 without any extra machines.
If I can have a micro-laptop, why would I want a dumb phone?
Thus, Jolla guys: pretty please with a cherry on top, bring something up.

--
The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
1. Re:Release something already by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-03 04:46 · Score: 1
  
  And pretty please base it on debian again. In fact just reverse all the decisions made by what ever foundation was in charge when they went against the community view at each step away from the device we already voted for with our money on their road to cancellation.
  How can it be that an active community with the solutions to the problems, a willingness to implement them for free and the money available to buy the product at the end gets screwed by successive 'foundations'.
2. Re:Release something already by Microlith · 2012-10-03 04:46 · Score: 1
  
  Hopefully they're smarter than Nokia and Microsoft, and won't announce something three months or more before it is available. When the N900 came out, I had to wait until December to get mine due to a mix of Nokia incompetence (billing system fail) and a premature announcement.
  Also, to survive they need to target a wide audience, not just people who think the N900 is the be-all and end-all of mobile devices. There's no reason they can't do that AND give us what we want at the same time. Survival is paramount, however. Without that they can't deliver anything at all.
3. Re:Release something already by Microlith · 2012-10-03 04:57 · Score: 1
  
  And pretty please base it on debian again
  Pretty much not going to happen. Mer is its own thing now that just happens to use RPM for packaging.
  If you want to get involved, feel free to grab Mer and start poking around. No large corporate foundation to get in your way.
4. Re:Release something already by KiloByte · 2012-10-03 05:33 · Score: 1
  
  It's not hard to fix that. It's non-free parts that can be problematic, everything else takes a small edit here and there and a rebuild. There's no dearth of skilled packagers around.
  
  --
  The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
5. Re:Release something already by Microlith · 2012-10-03 07:00 · Score: 1
  
  Packager bikeshedding is probably the dumbest thing I ever saw in the development of MeeGo. It's RPM, you'd have to present one hell of a case to trigger a migration back to DEB. Until then, package deltas, kickstarts, and zypper will be leveraged to their fullest.
6. Re:Release something already by OmniChamp · 2012-10-03 07:19 · Score: 1
  
  Having owned two N900s until both died, I agree with you on the most part. After I switched over to a SG3, I would say the newest version of Android is pretty solid. Now granted it is still not a dev machine, but the browser is bang on now, even as it has a desktop view mode. The accuracy of the capacitive screen is still lacking but tolerable.
  
  As much as I hate to say it, the N900 was an experiment. As a consumer product, it failed based on sales miserably. But it brought out interesting results. The die hard fans love it and STILL love it, if you see the supporting community at maemo.org. I would still be using it if the microusb port was still functional and a reflash didn't kill the emmc.
  
  Oh and as a tribute to the physical keyboard, you can see my franken-mod for the SG3.
Re:Slashdot users enjoy sucking nigger cocks by Type44Q · 2012-10-03 04:27 · Score: 1

There are more than a few hot blondes who enjoy sucking them, too. I suppose that means you don't care much for hot blondes... nope, didn't think so. ;)
How about this? by Keruo · 2012-10-03 05:04 · Score: 1
To create a working linux based handset you need steps:
1. 1. License E7 design from Nokia
2. 2. ???
3. 3. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
--
There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
1. Re:How about this? by Eunuchswear · 2012-10-03 21:15 · Score: 1
  To create a working linux based handset you need steps:
  1. License E7 design from Nokia
  2. ???
  3. SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!
  Yup, real smart idea. License a design with 256Mb of ram, a 680Mhz cpu and a 640 × 360 screen.
  Makes the N900 look overpowered.
  --
  Watch this Heartland Institute video
Supporting other devices? by gmuslera · 2012-10-03 05:22 · Score: 1

What about runnign it in N9 (as the current Nokia's Meego implementation does) or N900, or other devices (i.e. there was the rumor that Samsung would release a S III with Tizen). Don't follow HP example NOT supporting the Touchpad in the new open WebOS, unless the device just don't have the required horsepower or specific hardware.
1. Re:Supporting other devices? by Microlith · 2012-10-03 05:25 · Score: 1
  
  What about runnign it in N9 (as the current Nokia's Meego implementation does) or N900, or other devices (i.e. there was the rumor that Samsung would release a S III with Tizen).
  Mer, the core platform that Jolla is using, will run on the N9 and the N900. I have u-boot installed on my N900 with Nemo Mobile installed on a microSD card and can boot it trivially.
  
  Don't follow HP example NOT supporting the Touchpad in the new open WebOS, unless the device just don't have the required horsepower or specific hardware.
  Jolla won't support the N9 and N900 because those are Nokia products. Different company entirely.
2. Re:Supporting other devices? by ericloewe · 2012-10-03 06:24 · Score: 1
  
  If they sold me a copy of an OS that is like MeeGo but fixes some issues, adds some features and is supported, I'd buy it for 25 bucks. I'm sure plenty of N9 users feel the same.
3. Re:Supporting other devices? by gmuslera · 2012-10-03 06:51 · Score: 1
  
  Is not about supporting (ok, i was the one using that word above, HP said that it won't run, not that will be or not supported), is about leaving the door open. Is a way to increase their potential user base, and get some feedback (and apps buyers). Remember, Sailfish is an OS, don't need to be tied to a particular phone or company.
4. Re:Supporting other devices? by Microlith · 2012-10-03 07:02 · Score: 1
  
  Well then offer to contribute to Nemo Mobile.
5. Re:Supporting other devices? by Microlith · 2012-10-03 07:02 · Score: 1
  
  Remember, Sailfish is an OS, don't need to be tied to a particular phone or company.
  Then you'll have to figure out a way to create an independent group capable of putting Sailfish on those devices. As it stands you'll get Nemo Mobile. Jolla won't do it for the N9 and N900 because they aren't Jolla products.
no real website and no news on twitter by Anonymous Coward · 2012-10-03 06:35 · Score: 0

I wish they'd give atleast some details.
Nah, release when it's awesome by UpnAtom · 2012-10-03 10:47 · Score: 1

If it took them any less than 18 months to build a new physical phone & UI for both Western and Chinese markets, ecosystem and make Mer primetime, we know it would be ignored by the market. The finished item has to be more or less perfect to get the right noises made. It has to have a perfect HTML 5 browser, perfect Facebook integration, perfect email & messaging...
Not to mention getting enough startup money, getting solid patents, avoiding spurious Apple patents etc.
1. Re:Nah, release when it's awesome by quantumphaze · 2012-10-03 13:52 · Score: 1
  
  getting solid patents, avoiding spurious Apple patents etc.
  This is the reason why they are targeting China.
  
  --
  Unicode in Slashdot
Preview of UI in 7 weeks by UpnAtom · 2012-10-04 10:33 · Score: 1

http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/4/3453756/jolla-to-show-off-new-meego-based-os-in-finland-next-month