AfterDawn: Tech news

Jolla Sailfish OS exits beta, almost ready for installation on Android devices

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Feb 2014 11:04 User comments (3)

Jolla Sailfish OS exits beta, almost ready for installation on Android devices

Finnish smartphone startup Jolla has announced today that their Sailfish OS has exited beta and is almost ready for installation on Android devices, aimed at the market of fans who like to install custom ROMs on their smartphones and tablets.
The Jolla has been available in Europe for a couple of months, but there has been no carrier or OEM support except for small Finnish carrier DNA. Moving forward, Jolla says it is looking to extend online sales to Russia, India and Hong Kong while negotiating "new channels" in Europe.

Version 1.0 of the Sailfish OS will be available to install on Android devices starting on March 1st, and the company says active developers have already ported the beta to some Galaxy, Nexus and Xperia phones.



"Last year in China alone, about 100 million devices were re-flashed after the purchase with a new operating system. This approach allows Sailfish OS to scale into volume fast without limitations. This is a scaling opportunity in a similar way as we have seen in the mobile gaming industry recently," Antti Saarnio, chairman of Jolla's board noted, showing a clear strategy aimed at China.

Previous Next  

3 user comments

122.2.2014 04:08

I'm missing something here.

222.2.2014 09:56

I think what you are missing, Jemborg, is that Sailfish is Android-compatible, but has a significantly different GUI. The Wiki entry has a few rough English bits, but does imply that at least some, if not all Android apps will be natively compatible. The WIki states that MOST programs work fine, but a few that use non-Android standards do not, and also some programs will run faster if ported over. This also means that you can install Sailfish on any Android-based device, theoretically, at least, with little to no individual-device customization, from what I can gather (I could be wrong on the customization bit).

Another very significant difference from Android, is that Sailfish is NOT PRISM-accessible, both by design, and by the fact that that Jolla's servers are not in the US. The NSA currently has access to all Android and iOS metadata, and in some cases direct data.

Sailfish is also fully open-source, which avoids the increasing closed nature of the Google Apps system.

322.2.2014 11:02

Ah, that's better. :)








Count me in.



----------------------------------------------------------------

This message has been edited since its posting. Latest edit was made on 22 Feb 2014 @ 11:03

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
1 user comment
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive