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Jolla Spins Off Hardware Business
New submitter John.Banister writes: Jolla, founded by former Nokia employees to continue where Nokia left off developing Linux based mobile devices, has spun off its hardware division with the intent to focus more strongly on its Sailfish Operating System.
In its press release, the company assured backers of its crowdfunding campaign that it's still committed to delivering a tablet once hardware supply issues are resolved (PDF).
I've been saving up to buy the successor to the N900. I've even gone to the point of buying a "throwaway" phone in anticipation of my current phone eventually dying so I have a backup. There's no way I'm going to put myself at the mercy of Google, Microsoft, or Apple.
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Just impose the majority choice, drop all the others.
This is much more efficient, after all, no?
Why use Facebook anyway? The only social networking that matters is MySpace. These guys are 10 years late.
As a former N900 (which ran Maemo, which became Meego and would later be known as Sailfish) user, I really would hope it takes off. The multitasking (even in Maemo, I should assume it is better in later incarnations) is still miles better than what Android offers. Having said that, I admit being somewhat "tied" to the Android ecosystem as it is, so good Android emulation would be a requirement (and I have no idea how well Sailfish does this as of now).
...this wouldn't be a problem. However, they insist on avoiding the US with an irrational passion.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
The only linux based mobile platform that matters is android. These guys are 10 years late.
I guess their name is their destiny... the fish has already sailed.
You're trolling right? Even if you're not you're pushing ignorance. Jolla has a bunch of interesting features that actually work.
I hope the Jolla project succeeds financially - it may break a lot of walled gardens.
Android emulation would be suicide and here is why....OS/2.
IBM sold OS/2 as "A better Windows than Windows" and what happened? Devs said "Why develop programs for OS/2 when I can just write a Windows program and it'll run on both?" and what IBM ended up with is a limited subset of Windows programs able to run and ZERO support from developers for their OS. So to the consumer you had Windows...or a bad Windows ersatz that could run SOME but not all so why take the chance the program you want may or may not run well when you could just get the real thing?
I've said it before and I'll say it again, if the ONLY thing you have to offer is some nebulous idea of "freedom" based on whatever criteria YOU decide is important? You are gonna fucking lose, just look at how flatline Linux is on the desktop. You HAVE to have exclusives, things that the users can ONLY get from you that the user can actually see and measure, be it a ton of exclusive software like Windows on the desktop, a walled ecosystem that makes everything 1 button simple like OSX/iOS, or units at every price point under the sun like Google. If all you have to sell is "it has a form of freedom...oh yeah and can run SOME Google apps" then why would I as the consumer take your product when I can get the Google units for cheaper AND have 100% playstore compatibility?
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
In principle, I agree with you. In practice, hell no. Sure, it'd be nice to have native apps. On the other hand, we're talking about a platform whose penetration is probably measured in fractions of a percentage. If app developers neglect even WP, which has a market share measured in some percentages, why would they develop native apps for Sailfish? Hint: they won't. Thus, the only viable "enter strategy" is to have an emulation layer for a relatively popular platform. Android is the obvious choice, but it could be as well (barring technical limitations) iOS or WP. Or they could go Blackberry - scratch that, they emulate Android already.
If you want Android OS then go for it. I stay with the Linux OS where I have been learning all its library base for 20 years and I have a lot of my own codebase I do not plan to waster time porting to Android OS (if it is possible at all). So I use N900 with Maemo - that is Linux _OS_ and I will use Jolla after I get TOHKBD this month as it is also Linux _OS_. Nobody cares about what is / is not using Linux kernel, how do you find out what kernel is that device running on? And why do you care? Android is Android, that it runs on Linux kernel is irrelevant. Even in the OS you use kernel syscalls always via libc interface.
As a long time Android user who has just recently moved to jolla, I suggest giving it a go. I've only been on it a few weeks and already I can't imagine myself going back to Android as my primary device. Use what works for you. I'm really enjoying my Jolla.
On a similar note, how much market share do they need to be successful? What is success?
Funnyhacks - Wierd, unusual, and fun hacks
Blackphone's PrivatOS runs lots of Android programs, but I don't think it loses its niche market because it also provides a level of security that Android phones don't. Sailfish could similarly maintain a niche group of users by providing them more direct control over the hardware than they can get from Android phones. Considering the size of the global population, the number of people who care can be a tiny percentage, but still be large enough to keep Jolla in business.
OS2 could also run DOS programs.
It's true, as a OS2 user back in the day, i only used it as a multitasking DOS.
Why, because the few programs available for OS2 were hard to come by and costed way to much for a young geek like me.
On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
You are ignoring a factor: UI. Jolla has a very characteristic UI look and design, based on swipes and gestures more than on button, and quite different from the one of Android. Jolla users look for native apps when they are available and they don't suck, so developers have an incentive in writing them.
And, also, people don't choose a Jolla phone for the apps. It's *mostly* the freedom. So your argument "oh, yes, and there's the freedom too" does not apply.
My first program:
Hell Segmentation fault