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Jolla: Ex-Nokia Employees Launch Smartphone (MeeGo Resurrected)

mrspoonsi writes "A team of ex-Nokia employees has released the first handset running on a new smartphone platform. The Jolla phone — pronounced Yol-la — is powered by open-source operating system Sailfish, but can run most apps designed for Google's Android platform. The platform — originally called MeeGo — was developed by Nokia, but dumped in 2011 in favour of the company adopting the Windows Phone system. Nokia released just one handset running the software, the N9-00. Antti Saarnio, chairman and co-founder of Jolla, told the BBC in May that MeeGo — now called Sailfish — had not been given enough chance to succeed."

141 comments

  1. doop by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Duper

    1. Re:doop by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 3, Funny

      THE STORY SHALL BE REPOSTED UNTIL THE CRYING CEASES.

      Think of it as less of a dupe and more of a commandment to buy one.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
  2. Come on eds... by wbr1 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    --
    Silence is a state of mime.
    1. Re:Come on eds... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You do realize that they are not doing this on accident don't you? Why create new content when you can just recycle the old?

    2. Re:Come on eds... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      useful. http://www.dentalausruestung.de/

    3. Re:Come on eds... by chromas · · Score: 1

      Tumbldot?

  3. Good job editors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You posted this story yesterday.

    1. Re:Good job editors by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      You posted this story yesterday.

      Except yesterday here is today in Australia and Japan.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Good job editors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who cares? It's still 2 stories posted over a day apart.

    3. Re:Good job editors by phluid61 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Actually, yesterday here in Australia is today in backwards regions like the USA.

    4. Re:Good job editors by AlphaWolf_HK · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sorry I just don't trust a continent where the toilets flow backwards.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_vs._Australia#Reaction_in_Australia

      --
      Careful with names containing L slashdot.org/~AiphaWolf_HK slashdot.org/~AlphaWoif_HK slashdot.org/~AiphaWoif_HK
    5. Re:Good job editors by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I too am wondering what's different b/w this story, and the one posted yesterday

  4. Jesus... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Christ on a cross - the dupe was only posted yesterday!

    Does the title of 'editor' even actually mean anything anymore on this site?

    1. Re:Jesus... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Does the title of 'editor' even actually mean anything anymore on this site?

      Did it ever?

    2. Re:Jesus... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      To be fair, yesterday was Thanksgiving holiday in the US, so the editors might not have been paying full attention to the site.

    3. Re:Jesus... by RaceProUK · · Score: 2

      To be fair, yesterday existed, so the editors might not have been paying full attention to the site.

      FTFY

      --
      No colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun
  5. Super duper! by smittyoneeach · · Score: 1

    Dupe comments on a dupe post. Dupe-a-licious!

    --
    Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
    1. Re:Super duper! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My dupe comment on a dupe about dupe comments. Dupleberry!

    2. Re:Super duper! by Hognoxious · · Score: 0

      Yo dawg, I herd u like dupes...

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:Super duper! by marcello_dl · · Score: 0

      Jo dawg, I herd you liked dupes.

      --
      ---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
    4. Re:Super duper! by webmistressrachel · · Score: 1

      This exact comment has already been posted elsewhere. Try to be more original!

      --
      This tagline was transcoded to result in at least one smirk. If you experience failure to smirk, please consult your Gen
  6. Super duper! by phluid61 · · Score: 1

    Dupe comments on a dupe post. Dupe-a-licious!

    --
    This exact comment has already been posted. Try to be more original...

  7. Only a content provider can launch a platform by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The days when a pure tech company could sustainably start anything at this level are long gone. Best of luck!

    1. Re:Only a content provider can launch a platform by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      it runs Android apps

    2. Re:Only a content provider can launch a platform by x(findme)x · · Score: 1

      That is nice. Lets hope it takes over and we get more choice 13|OAA84Z0X5CSWAWIV8W3Y069S8IQCA4869TMOPL4XQ8EA87H[C1WK4QNY2[XV[ZIP9[X

  8. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by gl4ss · · Score: 0

    sure you did.

    just install the fucking filebrowser.

    --
    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  9. Rhythm Software File Manager with SMB support by tepples · · Score: 3, Informative

    And if you need it spelled out to you: Install Rhythm Software File Manager. It can not only browse files stored on your tablet but also copy whole folders on and off a Windows or Samba share.

    1. Re:Rhythm Software File Manager with SMB support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      Ok, so i loaded up some audiobooks...the mp3 skips when the screen rotates! my god damn fucking iphone can play an mp3 and rotate the screen without fucking up! Linux people have been using hacked together trash for so long they don't even know what well designed technology looks like any more. So sad.

    2. Re:Rhythm Software File Manager with SMB support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it can copy whole folders? SIGN ME UP!

      Talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations.

    3. Re:Rhythm Software File Manager with SMB support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually "Linux" works much better than Android. Android truly is shit.

    4. Re:Rhythm Software File Manager with SMB support by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ha ha, indeed! I remember it being completely normal and expected to be able to work with local files, network files, tapes, cdrom, etc.. on Windows 3.10 and DOS, like, 20 years ago?

      I mean, really.. Are we re-inventing the dumb terminal here?

    5. Re:Rhythm Software File Manager with SMB support by MrNemesis · · Score: 2

      I mean, really.. Are we re-inventing the dumb terminal here?

      Yes. It's much easier to secure revenue when you've got a guaranteed monthly income from people whose data you're holding hosta... I mean, from people whose data you're protecting. I mean, it takes money to look after this stuff, and you wouldn't want anything to happen to it would you?

      Witness the extremely aggressive push to even remove things like (micro)SD slots from mobile phones and tablets under the guise that it's a "design compromise", despite the fact they're miniscule. Surprisingly enough, the people who make android and iOS and windows and what have you and provision the "cloud" (aka Someone Elses Computer) behind them think it would be a really good idea for you to use their cloud.

      I bought one of the original Nexus 7's and was shocked by how utterly unusable it was as a "computer to do things". Even finding applications that aren't in the google store is tricky.

      --
      Moderation Total: -1 Troll, +3 Goat
    6. Re:Rhythm Software File Manager with SMB support by foobar+bazbot · · Score: 1

      1) install zshaolin
      2) there is no step 2
      3) enjoy your UNIX-like OS

      yes, you can now scp -r whole folders across the network; what's more, you can do it using the same commands you would on a desktop machine. (Yeah, there's also rsync and sftp, among other options.)

      I'm not saying buying a device with a gimped OS, just so you can install utilities to turn it back into a real computer, is necessarily a smart move, but if you've got an Android device for whatever reason, there are options there.

      In fact I'm only aware of zshaolin's existence because I got an Asus tf700* with the idea to dual-boot a mainstream Linux distro (probably Arch) with e17, then ditch Android completely once that was working well; I got stalled for a while due to lack of a dual-boot compatible kernel for Android 4.2, and even though that's done now, I've not made time to get back to it, in large part because zshaolin makes it 90% less chafing.

      *Of course the reason I bought an Android tablet in the first place is because there are no netbooks with high-end ARM processors on the market, except those called "tablets with detachable keyboards" and shipped with either WinRT or Android. But as much trouble as I've had with it, I find myself wishing I'd gone with a recent Atom machine and just dealt with the battery life penalty. With any luck, my next laptop will be an EOMA-68 rig.

  10. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you believe all that you really should actually read the stuff Snowden releassed. The NSA is all over Apple like a rash. With google they at least had to hack into the data centers by re-routing their traffic when it goes between googles data centers. Microsoft on the other hand actually goes through all your stuff , even stuff you have never sent to them and then hands it all over lock stock and barrel to the NSA with an automatic program.
    Android , Jolla, Sailfish etc are the future, Apple is the past. get used to it.

  11. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dude, please, Apple didn't even submit to Prism until after Steve Jobs died. Meanwhile, Google and Microsoft are like "oh yes, anything for you big government!" from day one. Google was so desperate to monetize their lame ass search business they figured selling our shit to the government was as good a way as any to make some cash. Apple sells hardware, not personal information.

  12. Duplicator by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Super Duplicator has just released another dupe named Dupefish: Eds felt the first story had not been given enough of a chance to succeed and duped another one on everyone.

  13. Super duper! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dupe comments on a dupe post. Dupe-a-licious!

  14. *sigh* by CreamyG31337 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Actually, as an experienced MeeGo developer, this just makes me sad because they won't sell one to North Americans. Nokia did this to us with the N9 too, but at least they sent me a developer device. These guys still haven't released the official GSM/LTE frequencies it supports for some stupid reason, so I don't even know if I should bother trying to import one.

    1. Re:*sigh* by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 1

      That is mindblowingly sad. :( I wanted one, too!

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    2. Re:*sigh* by kthreadd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Jolla is a very small company and doesn't have the resources to ship to the entire world from day one. I'm sure they will ship to North American customers as soon as they can.

    3. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Look, stop whining and use a reshipping service. I did that to get a Lytro to Europe. There were absolutely zero issues sending it to Indiana instead ;)
      If you want your device, there are ways to get it.

    4. Re:*sigh* by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      That still doesn't explain why the information on frequency support on the shipping model is hard to come by. One presumes that they settled that quite some time ago...

    5. Re:*sigh* by GNious · · Score: 4, Interesting

      From Jolla's website:

      GSM/3G/4G LTE* (Works on 6 continents).

      Which doesn't answer your question, but should mean that it works unless you're living in Antarctica :)

      GSM Arena says:

      2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
      3G Network HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
      4G Network LTE

      yeah, probably not trustworthy, but one would hope they have a (semi-)official source for it.

      Disclaimer: Mine is in the mail... :)

    6. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jolla is a very small company and doesn't have the resources to ship to the entire world from day one. I'm sure they will ship to North American customers as soon as they can.

      And just to whet your appetite, the 'resurrected' MeeGo OS will have a zombie theme.

    7. Re:*sigh* by geert · · Score: 1

      From Jolla's website:

      GSM/3G/4G LTE* (Works on 6 continents).

      Which doesn't answer your question, but should mean that it works unless you're living in Antarctica :)

      In my old school days, America was one continent, so 6 includes Antarctica ;-)

    8. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In my older school days there was only 1 continent.

      But seriously, what retarded school teaches to count North and South America as 1 continent and giving a total of 6 continents. If S&N A. are 1 continent then Asia&Europe are also 1 giving a total of 5.

    9. Re:*sigh* by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      Jolla is a very small company and doesn't have the resources to ship to the entire world from day one. I'm sure they will ship to North American customers as soon as they can.

      Actually, even when a big fat company like Samsung launches a product, many times it is initially available only in Korea for some while.

    10. Re:*sigh* by John.Banister · · Score: 1

      Is this a "permission from the FCC" thing? I got on Jolla's mailing list, tried to purchase when they said that the were taking orders, found out I couldn't, and then later gave money to the Neo N900 guys, because even though they seem to be very small and in early stages of development, they're willing to do business with me.

    11. Re:*sigh* by fatphil · · Score: 1

      Eurasia, America, Africa, Oceania, Antarctica, ... what's missing?

      --
      Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
    12. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It depends on if you look before or after they built the Panama canal. Before one continent, after there was two.

    13. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Russia

    14. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That would be when all locks are open, which me thinks is never gonna happen.

    15. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      By that logic Africa would have been a part of Eurasia before the Suez canal.

    16. Re:*sigh* by Buchenskjoll · · Score: 1

      Jolla means dingy, so SHIPping to North America might take some time. All bad puns are intentional.

      --
      -- Make America hate again!
    17. Re:*sigh* by phrostie · · Score: 1

      I wish these had been out when i got my G4.

      maybe by the time i get my next phone they will be here.

    18. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i love my N9, thank you;-) Is this really true? I mean surely the chips support it, and it is software programable?

    19. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's only a continent in the Langley Sheeple Inflammation Department. In other places, Russians are Europeans. All the non-Europeans don't really matter in the Russian nation.

    20. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would be for a very short while after all the locks are opened, as the highest parts of the canal will quickly drain dry, and the continents will be connected again!

    21. Re:*sigh* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eurasia, America, Africa, Oceania, Antarctica, ... what's missing?

      Atlantis?

    22. Re:*sigh* by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Arctic

    23. Re:*sigh* by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

      That means it should work well as a 3G (HSDPA/HSPA+) phone on the AT&T network but only partly on T-Mobile. T-Mobile still uses their 1700MHz frequencies for HSPA+ in some markets, though it is in the process of transferring HSPA+ to 1900MHz and reusing the 1700MHz spectrum for LTE.

      LTE probably won't work with any US carrier. LTE compatibility is more complex than HSPA compatibility; at the current state of the art, separate LTE phone versions are necessary for the US and Europe.

      Whether that is sufficient US compatibility to justify importing one is up to the buyer.

  15. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by Stormwatch · · Score: 2

    Yeah, the lack of a microSD slot is a deal killer, but it's your fault for buying a tablet without checking the specs.

  16. Old Android vs. new Android by tepples · · Score: 1

    Which version of Android are you using? Android 2 had plenty of inefficiencies, many of which were fixed by 4.1. A lot of people who develop apps for personal or low-volume use aren't willing to pay an estimated $1,050 extra (one Mac mini to replace an existing other-than-Mac computer plus four years of a developer license) just to fix an occasional MP3 skip. If it still happens in recent Android, I could try to replicate it in Amazon MP3 or Google Play Music.

    1. Re:Old Android vs. new Android by jones_supa · · Score: 1

      But it would also be silly to upgrade from Android 2 to Android 4.1 just to fix an occasional MP3 skip -- which probably can be avoided in Android 2 too if the app is coded properly.

  17. Android runs Android apps too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Rather than modifying the Maemo/Moblin/Meego/Mer/Sailfish monster to run Android apps, why not modify Android to run you HTML5/QML/??? apps. For the near future, hw vendor support is Android HAL. Why not use that...?

    From Sailfish Wikipedia, it looks like they may be using some of the android HAL:
    "Jolla declared Sailfish OS compatible with Android phone and tablets hardware, using existing Android device drivers."

    But What is Sailfish then? Similar to Boot2Qt? Or still a continuation of the Meego playground.

    1. Re:Android runs Android apps too... by kthreadd · · Score: 2

      Sailfish is more like a traditional GNU/Linux distribution. The Android compatibility is a useful feature, but the idea is not that most apps should need it. It's very much a continuation of Meego.

    2. Re:Android runs Android apps too... by gl4ss · · Score: 2

      more like mer + meego, kinda.

      and well if they did that then it would just be a bunch of android apps now wouldn't it? and yes they're using android HAL since it simplifies buying the parts/pre manufactured phones a lot..

      if they just did a devkit for android they wouldn't be a phone design company though would they?

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    3. Re:Android runs Android apps too... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indeed ! Why safe battery runtime by using native* code, if we can use the battery-draining P.O.S.** language called JavaScript ?

      * not necessarily C or C++. There are also Ada, Pascal, Sappeur, Fortran around.

      ** A language which does not support the notion of a well-defined struct is a pice of shit.

  18. what's the use of posting if you can't type? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    badBIOS, Facts, speculations, and misunderstandings

            First there was Stuxnet, then there was FLAME, the latest weapons grade malware is badBIOS accidentially discovered by Dragos Ruiu 3 years ago. More on the discovery in section 2

            http://learning.criticalwatch.com/badbios/
    ##

    remotely monitoring and altering brain waves

    "Chilled monkey brains!" - IJ+ToD

            http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=16&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=3,951,134&OS=3,951,134&RS=3,951,134

            United States Patent 3,951,134

            Abstract

            Apparatus for and method of sensing brain waves at a position remote from a subject whereby electromagnetic signals of different frequencies are simultaneously transmitted to the brain of the subject in which the signals interfere with one another to yield a waveform which is modulated by the subject's brain waves. The interference waveform which is representative of the brain wave activity is re-transmitted by the brain to a receiver where it is demodulated and amplified. The demodulated waveform is then displayed for visual viewing and routed to a computer for further processing and analysis. The demodulated waveform also can be used to produce a compensating signal which is transmitted back to the brain to effect a desired change in electrical activity therein.

  19. Is this one bugged by the NSA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If it's a Finnish company not owned by Microsoft or any other company in cahoots with the NSA, this could be the only smartphone worth buying anymore.

    1. Re:Is this one bugged by the NSA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Check out OpenMoko osmoComBB and the like. I always wondered why Stallman is kind of mum regarding smart phones and crypto.

    2. Re:Is this one bugged by the NSA? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      he doesn't have a phone...

      (and I don't think you can have patent unencumbered 3g stack? so all 3g stacks are shit on the fsf level)

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    3. Re:Is this one bugged by the NSA? by JollyMathur · · Score: 1

      If it's a Finnish company not owned by Microsoft or any other company in cahoots with the NSA, this could be the only smartphone worth buying anymore.

      Yes i agree with you . But i have read somewhere on net that there is some problem in Sailfish OS specially in sending SMS may be i am not sure but i hope that the developers have rectified this error.

  20. CAN i SQUEEZE it into my RECTUM? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nt

  21. Pro by MrEricSir · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Antti Saarnio, chairman and co-founder of Jolla, told the BBC in May that MeeGo -- now called Sailfish -- had not been given enough chance to succeed."

    Antti's brother, Prro Saarnio, disagreed.

    --
    There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
    1. Re:Pro by twosat · · Score: 1

      That's the first comment on Slashdot that I laughed at until I cried!

    2. Re:Pro by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      "Antti Saarnio, chairman and co-founder of Jolla, told the BBC in May that MeeGo -- now called Sailfish -- had not been given enough chance to succeed."

      Antti's brother, Prro Saarnio, disagreed.

      Antti's father Konttra made racist remarks concerning formerly 100% Finnish Nokia and its new ties to American decadent degenerate Microsoft.

  22. Inquiring Minds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hurry up, samzenpus! I'm on the edge of my seat waiting to see what story gets repeated next!

  23. Don't waste your time with them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ..the Android attack minion/trolls I mean.

    Android is not truly open, and even if it was, it's far too late to the games to be as viable a mobile OS as iOS or Metro.
    It's backdoored Google/NSA poop. And one thing you really wanna have in a mobile OS is a hybrid kernel (both micro and macro kernel features - multitasking, multitasking, multitasking) That's the name of the game, especially in today's ADHD world. Android doesn't have it. iOS and Metro do, as well as OSX, and Windows 7+ of course. GNU Hurd has it but it's still not production quality.

  24. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'd agree that Sailfish is a nice change, but Android is not the answer. Also, a recent study showed that 3rd. party vendors - Samsung, LG, hTC etc. especially LG and Samsung, don't understand Android so that even more security bugs get put into it than were already there with Stock. Android stock is ok, maybe, but none of them are in a position to throw stones, especially Android. BTW, Sony have the best record with not introducing additional bugs into Android. If you want security, at least use a Nexus or a Sony. Otherwise, I'd stick with iOS - also iOS (like Windows and Metro) has a hybrid kernel, unlike Android or Linux.

  25. N900, not N9-00 by short · · Score: 1

    TFA has it wrong. N9-00 was never released, N900 was. I have/use N900.

    1. Re:N900, not N9-00 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      TFA has it wrong. N9-00 was never released, N900 was. I have/use N900.

      n900 was Maemo 5 (aka Fremantle). n9 was Meego/Maemo hybrid. has rights to be called Meego but didn't meet spec 100 percent. for example it uses debs rather than rpms. it was not officially launched in a lot of western countries due to desire to target windows phone.

      meego is not now called sailfish as article implies. most meego development is now done in the mer fork. jolla contributes here, and then adds custom ui.

    2. Re:N900, not N9-00 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And I have and use N9, which is more specifically N9-00.

    3. Re:N900, not N9-00 by short · · Score: 1

      That is N9-01. Wikipedia

    4. Re:N900, not N9-00 by fatphil · · Score: 4, Informative

      I was internal to the project. I can assure you that comment on wikipedia is bollocks.

      We used the hardware numbers (RX- or RM- something), and the code names (Rover, Lankku, ...), we never used the intended/expected public code numbers, as they could change at any time. I have seen an n950 with "n9" stamped on the case, for example.

      --
      Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
  26. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You need a google account, but you don't have to do anything with it. My gmail account is for one purpose only and the rest of the services are useless to me.

    You don't need to login to youtube to watch the videos. I don't have an account for youtube and i can watch videos fine. I don't get the favorite lists or that playback later feature, but that's fine.

  27. Re:*Most* Android apps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative

    It's not a nokia. What kind of apps do you do, if you can't read that much? I think you shouldn't test them, just say "won't work with Jolla" and i'm good, since i don't think i'd like your apps anyway.

  28. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by gigaherz · · Score: 1

    "Oh my god I bought a bicycle and now I realize I am supposed to work the pedals myself! It sucks! Where is my engine?!"

    So you bought a product without first checking its specifications, and then it turns out it doesn't fit your needs? Your own fault.

  29. Jolla runs Sailfish? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How many cores does it have? I can haz rapid alignment-free quantification of isoform abundance in my pocket? http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~ckingsf/software/sailfish/

  30. Now give us a hardware keyboard... by master_p · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...and I am sold.

    I tried the iPhone. Didn't like it, too much of a walled garden.

    I tried Android. It's UI sucks. Huge incosistences all around.

    I will stick with my N900 until a Sailfish phone with a hardware keyboard arrives.

    1. Re:Now give us a hardware keyboard... by fatphil · · Score: 1

      The n900 (and n9) UI were hugely more inconsistent than the first Android (2.x family) device I used for a few weeks, although the subsequent Android (4.x family) device I used for a few months after that was not as consistent as the earlier one - apps had started to introduce their own "menu" buttons on screen in random places, and not have anything useful on the system "menu" button.

      Spiral zoom in browser - great! Spiral zoom in image gallery - no chance!
      Volume zoom in pdf viewer - passable. Volume zoom in txt viewer - no chance! In fact no ability to zoom the text at all without converting it to html.
      And which apps rotate to portrait mode, and why do those that don't not rotate?

      Disclaimer - I worked on the n900 and n9 (and the two devices between them, and the one after, ...), and I filed *hundreds* of breainead UI inconsistency bugs against both. Depressingly large proportions were simply closed WONTFIX with the sole justification "behaves as specified". It was proven that the management of the UI team were telling lies about the results of UI studies that had been commissioned, in order to justify their crazy decisions.

      --
      Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
    2. Re:Now give us a hardware keyboard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As I read your comment, I imagined Comic Book Guy... have you ever eaten a wheel-barrow full of tacos? I bet the answer is yes.

    3. Re:Now give us a hardware keyboard... by efscher · · Score: 1

      Neo900, perhaps? :)

    4. Re:Now give us a hardware keyboard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I dunno, maybe I don't get it, but is there really much of a market opportunity here? The market is crowded and even though it's indisputably huge, the lopsided market share and profitability of the market leaders makes a bleak landscape for a tiny player. One who, it must be said, does not seem to offer a killer differentiator. One that an important group of buyers will go out of their way to obtain.

      iPhone: Large market share and profitable
      Android: Large market share and modestly profitable
      WinPhone: Small market share, unclear profitability, few growth prospects
      BlackBerry: Small market share, unclear profitability, few growth prospects
      Dumbphones: Large market share (esp. in LDC's), profitable, growth prospects limited by smartphones
      FireFox Mobile: Barely a blip
      Google Phone: Barely a blip

      There's no lack of competitors, many got to market long before Jolla, and the market is being really cruel to small players, late entrants, and so forth. So what competitive advantage does Jolla have? Why should a customer buy one?

      I don't see it.

    5. Re:Now give us a hardware keyboard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Try searching for "other half".

    6. Re:Now give us a hardware keyboard... by master_p · · Score: 1

      I was never bothered by those inconsistencies in N900's UI.

      Athough they do exist, they are irrelevant for me, unlike the UI inconsistencies of Android 4's UI.

  31. Had a good run with Nokia by Tasha26 · · Score: 0

    I've been a loyal Nokia fan during their "it" days. Heck I still have my Nokia 5800XM with a 2.5G simcard in it! Bloody thing is locked to Orange. My first great disappointment was with the N810. Everything took ages to load even the GPS. Everything sort-of needed a user manual to operate and the battery life was horrendous. Nokia's lack of quickly getting onboard with touchscreen (on their normal phones) alienated me and in the end I went for an iPhone. Problem solved! There was no way I was going to buy one of their Windows Phone. Windows? Seriously!!!

    Am sure this new model is an "Android Metoo" phone. Goodluck with that and goodbye.

    1. Re:Had a good run with Nokia by tiagosousa · · Score: 5, Informative

      Am sure this new model is an "Android Metoo" phone.

      Far fom it! Sailfish has a very distinct feel and it actually goes back a few years, being from the same lineage of Meego and Maemo before it. Check out the main interface features in this short video. And it's a proper GNU/Linux system (as opposed to Android/Linux), if you're into that sort of thing.

  32. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by Guy+Harris · · Score: 2

    Otherwise, I'd stick with iOS - also iOS (like Windows and Metro) has a hybrid kernel, unlike Android or Linux.

    ZOMG SOME RANDOM BITS OF DARWIN LIVE IN USERLAND AND GET MESSAGES FROM THE KERNEL THAT'S SO KOOL!!!!!!1111ONE!!!!!!!!!

    And, whilst NT has a bit more such stuff, neither of them are sufficiently different from an Old Fashioned Monolithic Kernel to be particularly interesting in that regard.

  33. "but can run most apps" by amn108 · · Score: 1

    As soon as I read the line "...but can run most apps..." a feeling crept in that they most probably doing something wrong or had to make some hard compromises - just replicate the damn Android API, piece by piece, it is open is it not? "Most" today is a recipe for disaster - nobody likes almost working things. Jolla - talk with Google, certify Jolla as Android API compatible to a degree it is possible to actually "certify" for that kind of thing, and don't make yourself smaller than need be by stating "can run most apps". As a startup, you only have one shot at it, before you are shot back at - don't mess things up with inferiority in critical areas. Today it is not about hardware, it is about software - Android and iOS rule, and "most apps" means that you will win over "few" customers. Mark my word - unless you fix Androd compatibility, forget about it (and we will forget about you in 1-2 years.)

    1. Re:"but can run most apps" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's never about software but licenses. There really is no point for Google to provide such licenseable certificate for Android-compatible systems nor enough money from Jolla to cover the expenses (that would be reasonable for Goolge to accept). It is also worth noting that all - and I mean all - native Android devices are only capable of running most (certainly not all) apps developed for Android.

    2. Re:"but can run most apps" by queazocotal · · Score: 2, Interesting

      'just replicate the damn Android API, piece by piece, it is open is it not? '
      The open parts of the API work.

      The problem is that increasing parts of the android API are closed, being implemented not by open source code, but by closed source binaries with licences that do not permit redistribution by other manufacturers.

      http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-10/21/googles-iron-grip-on-android

      'Play Services is a closed source app owned by Google and licensed as part of the Google Apps package. Any feature you see move from "normal" Android to Google Play Services is also moving from open source to closed source. This app pulls off the neat trick of not only enticing users with exclusive, closed source features, but locking in third-party developers with Google's proprietary APIs as well.'

      This is entirely by (googles) design, and for exactly this reason.
      To make it hard for third party vendors to release devices which run android apps because an increasing fraction of them won't work as time and increasing integration into Play Services happens.

      I have not investigated, but would suspect that the various APIs were designed around patents google owns or controls, in order to make implementing the backend supporting the API legally impossible in many countries.

    3. Re:"but can run most apps" by dbIII · · Score: 1

      Jolla's way around that is to licence a compatibility layer from some people that have been working on it, and with google, for several years. Thus there is a money trail from them to google and in return google allows their stuff to work on this phone. There's been articles about it even here but probably more than a year back - the N9 was supposed to use this thing but Nokia was gutted before the deal went through.

    4. Re:"but can run most apps" by queazocotal · · Score: 1

      I believe you're referring to hybris.

      This is unfortunately not relevant directly to the above.

      It does make running an OS on an android system without having to rewrite your own low-level hardware drivers easier, as you can use the existing closed-source ones.

      It does not implement the bits referred to above that are not part of the android platform as such - but are now 'Play Services'.
      These are not low-level hardware drivers, but middleware.

    5. Re:"but can run most apps" by dbIII · · Score: 1

      I suggest you read one of the earlier articles on the phone or a similar source instead of speculating aloud (or even taking my word for it).

    6. Re:"but can run most apps" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google has turned to the Dark Side anway. Read the remarks of Mr Schmidt and read how he is chummy with that NSC guy Cohen.

      The upside is that we can strip Android phones of all the proprietary, World Government Stuff and make it actually secure. Just ignore the crapola and go Open Source.

    7. Re:"but can run most apps" by knarf · · Score: 1

      Play services does not equate Android, nor does Android need it. My Android-based devices do fine without any Google apps. While I mostly push stuff to them through adb (the Android Debug Bridge) I also have FDroid (an alternative, all-free-software) repository installed 'just in case'. Everything works fine. I build the distribution myself - except for the rather large quantity of binary blobs needed by the hardware, alas - and install it myself, disabling stuff I don't want (ThrottleService in ServiceManager, FM radio transmission, etc).

      While Android has its quirks it is still an open system. the Google apps are not open but they are not necessary either, alternatives for just about any service they provide abound. The source is there for you to peruse, modify, build and distribute. The binary blobs are annoying and often a source of bugs and battery drain and most likely full of holes which enable the TLA to listen in on anything you do so if you want to tackle a *real* problem go ahead.

      As to whether Google will start to use patents the way Apple and Microsoft do remains to be seen. Thus far they have not used them offensively unlike Microsoft and Apple (and many others). Microsoft and Apple abuse patents, Google thus fas has not done so. Yes, I intentionally write Microsoft and Apple in full rather than stating 'they' have abused patents because the fact is that Microsoft and Apple abuse patents while Google has not done this so far. They might start at any time but they have not thus far. The sheer amount of Google bashing going on on just about any venue in any language I read lately is flabbergasting, as to whether it is just performed by mindless trolls or by paid shills I don't know but they all have in common that they seem to ignore the real and present patent abuse by Microsoft and Apple while they try to portray anything done by Google in a bad light.

      Notice that I advocate to remove Google services from your Android device so it does not make sense to start claiming I'm just another 'F-android' or some similar straw man. I keep my friends close and my enemies closer.

      Liars - such as those who accuse others of misdeeds performed by the likes of Microsoft and Apple are neither friends nor enemies. They are just unwelcome.

      --
      --frank[at]unternet.org
    8. Re:"but can run most apps" by Rob+Y. · · Score: 1

      I thought moving stuff to Play services was to get around the OEM's refusal to update the OS. They couldn't get their latest OS versions out to the public, causing enought API fragmentation to make trouble for developers - and PR trouble with reviewers (if not customers). So they moved new functionality to a user-upgradeable module releasable via Play. If that module happens to be closed source - because it's part of Play itself, I don't think you can assume that the purpose was to take Android proprietary. I guess we'll see if they keep stuff bundled that way, but for now, I'd assume that this is a transition step to get functionality out to users and render the old 'fragmentation' argument moot.

      --
      Posted from my Android phone. Oh, I can change this? There, that's better...
    9. Re:"but can run most apps" by queazocotal · · Score: 1

      Whatever the 'goal' - it has that function.
      The new play services APIs are not in the open-source code.

      The only way as an OEM to get those APIs available, and to be able to run the increasing number of apps that require them is to either reimplement them - which may run into patent issues - or to comply with all of the google terms and conditions and get them to bless your device.
      Which means doing nothing that google does not like.

      This _INCREASES_ fragmentation that vendors that choose not to, or are not legally able to install play services face.

  34. pronounced Yol-la by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's pronounced "hoh-ya" as in La Jolla. Good luck getting anyone to say it differently.

  35. not bad by amonamaranth · · Score: 1

    they are doing way better than nokia.

  36. Look out Samsung! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There's only 500 of the things available at launch apparently, I should hope they sold them all already. Look out Samsung!

    1. Re:Look out Samsung! by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 1

      That... is bizarre. That's probably like a hundredth of the market demand, if not less.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
  37. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Wait, you needed a MicroSD slot and you bought a tablet without one? I see why you didn't log in.

    Also, you don't need to use a google account at all, unless you want to use google services.

    Nice-ish troll, though.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  38. Re:i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black friday by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Otherwise, I'd stick with iOS - also iOS (like Windows and Metro) has a hybrid kernel, unlike Android or Linux.

    OSX and Windows are both about equally microkernel operating systems, which is to say, they both have a HAL. That's about all OSX is using the underlying microkernel for. Just like Windows EXEs don't run against the HAL but against the kernel, OSX executables run against the kernel, not the microkernel, which is why it's not really a microkernel-based operating system. Meanwhile, Linux has been moving more and more functionality into userspace, which gives it some properties similar to a microkernel.

    Or IOW, you don't know what you're talking about.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  39. That's not quite how it went by dbIII · · Score: 1

    They licenced an android compatibility layer from people who have talked to google a lot over five years or so and who had decided to "replicate the damn Android API, piece by piece" quite some time back.

  40. Not just a dupe, but bullshit by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

    The platform â" originally called MeeGo â" was developed by Nokia

    Uh what? It's a merge of Moblin, from Intel, and Maemo from Nokia. And the nicest-looking interface is from Moblin. Nice Nokia fellation, though, submitter.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:Not just a dupe, but bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Submitter probably meant MeeGo Harmattan which ran on the N9. That UI wasn't from Moblin or Intel. MeeGo from Intel was a mostly Gtk+ (and Clutter) based UI. N9 a Qt based swipe UI.

  41. Microsoft owns FAT by tepples · · Score: 1

    Witness the extremely aggressive push to even remove things like (micro)SD slots from mobile phones and tablets under the guise that it's a "design compromise"

    I thought the point of removing support for microSD cards and USB flash drives was to avoid needing to pay royalties to Microsoft for use of its patented file systems VFAT (long file names in FAT16 and FAT32) and exFAT (default file system for microSDXC cards). But with Windows XP going away within the next half year, I guess phone makers could just use UDF instead.

    1. Re:Microsoft owns FAT by MrNemesis · · Score: 1

      Well last I checked, android shipped with FAT support anyway but I'm not sure if the onus would be on Google or the OEM itself to pay the MS tax (although most of them do anyway so suspect it's billed against the people shipping the devices). Even then, I think the patents only covered storing both forms of the filename so IIRC if you store only the long form and don't bother creating an 8.3 filename then I don't think you're technically in violation. Need to check up on that one...

      exFAT I'm not very sure about since I inevitably end up formatting them FAT32 anyway, but yes, I long for the day when we can all just use UDF or somesuch on an SD card.

      However, I do still think that the removal of SD cards by most manufacturers is mostly a result of trying to push people to using remote storage for everything simply because there's so much money to be made out of it. But then I'm cynical :)

      --
      Moderation Total: -1 Troll, +3 Goat
  42. The inode is tied to the 8.3 by tepples · · Score: 1

    Even then, I think the patents only covered storing both forms of the filename so IIRC if you store only the long form and don't bother creating an 8.3 filename then I don't think you're technically in violation.

    One still has to create an 8.3 filename because the information that would be associated with an inode in *n?x file systems is associated with the directory entry containing the 8.3 filename in FAT.

    exFAT I'm not very sure about since I inevitably end up formatting them FAT32 anyway

    Having to reformat is inconvenient. First, the user would lose all data on the card, which is kind of hard if the user is sharing the card with a camera or something. Second, the formatting tool that ships with Windows caps FAT32 at 32 GB. ("It's called FAT32, isn't it?" I know that's not the real reason, but first tier tech support is almost as clueless about these things as the public.)

  43. Re: i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black frida by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One counterpoint that can be made is that Steve Jobs is dead.

  44. Re: i just bought a nexus 7 tablet for black frida by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    On my phone I use Firefox and never log onto Google services with it.

  45. Hands on by Mr_Silver · · Score: 1

    The Verge has posted a hands on with Jolla. It's not good news:

    Yes, it sounds very reminiscent of the Nokia N9, but in practice it's highly unintuitive and unwieldy to the point where the entire UI paradigm can be considered broken. Screen transitions and in-app animations go from left to right, inviting the user to swipe from right to left to go back, but thatâ(TM)s not how youâ(TM)re supposed to do it. A notification pops down from the top of the screen, but if you try to swipe down to view it, you're liable to unintentionally close your current app, or more annoyingly, lock the entire phone. Then there's the fact that a swipe from the middle of the screen produces a different result than a swipe from the edge. It all adds up to a frustrating learning experience. The user is forced to adapt around the operating system rather than the other way around.

    All the effort of adapting to Jolla might be worth it if the device offered some unique advantage over others on the smartphone market, but it doesn't. The only standout quality it has is the goodwill of old Nokia loyalists and those who like to support grassroots projects. Unfortunately, there just isn't a very good smartphone here, and that's what you need if you intend to compete with behemoths like Google, whose Nexus 5 is a startlingly good value at 70 euros less.

    http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/29/5156446/jolla-smartphone-hands-on-preview

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  46. Re:*sigh* Eastasia by mspohr · · Score: 2

    Eastasia
    "We have always been at war with Eastasia"

    --
    I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
  47. #continents by unixisc · · Score: 1

    But Panama Canal splits Panama - it's not the border of Panama & Colombia. In fact, a wee bit of Columbia is in the Central American strip. Just like the Sinai is a part of Egypt, yet is considered a part of Asia/Eurasia.

  48. #continents by unixisc · · Score: 1

    Doesn't matter. Everything east of the Urals is in Asia. At any rate, if Eurasia is being considered a single continent, Russia very much falls within it.

  49. Which CPU? by unixisc · · Score: 1

    If it is Meego, what is it based on? Atom (like Intel originally planned?) or ARM?

  50. Hands on with the Jolla - The Verge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/29/5156446/jolla-smartphone-hands-on-preview

  51. My hands-on experience by magi · · Score: 1

    I'm one of the guys who got the phone two days ago. You can read my quick review here.

    To summarize: the user interface based on swiping works quite nicely, even if a bit confusing at first, and the phone works OK as a minimalistic smartphone. On Day 1, there still are quite many bugs and usability issues that need to be worked out.

    Compared to Android or iOS, the visual simplicity of the user interface views is extreme, no buttons or decorations almost anywhere. When you open the phone app, you just see a very plain call log. In the email app, you just get a list of emails, and when you open an email, there's just a title followed by text. On the downside, views are often rather over-simplified, so that things are hidden too well, and workflows to get to what you want are often a bit complex and unintuitive. There's no status row that is always visible, system settings aren't accessible immediately everywhere, but you need to go to the start screen, etc.

    Some critical features such as WiFi access point missing (or I just haven't found it after poking around 2 days).

    Around 30 native apps; some Android apps work just fine, but many do not, and the selection is in practice very limited.