Jolla Comes Out Of Hiding: Launches Sailfish

    Jolla (Finally with a website) has been hiding from us since the get go. Now, they are out! We finally get to see the first glimpse of their brand new OS – Sailfish as they launch at Slush in Helsinki.

    The interesting part, of course, is the fact that they are supporting multiple chipset technologies. Basically trying to create “… the worlds first truly open ecosystem”. They are aiming to unite OEM, ODM, Manufacturers, chipset providers, operators, application developers and retails. In addition, they want to build products and a Sailfish powered device is expected next year.

    How is this going to happen? Open source, a lot of stubbornness and exceptional engineers. They are building on top of non-proprietary technologies. However how exactly that is going to be achieved is still unclear.

    The UI looked sleek and simple. The first feature we saw was “True Multitasking” which is kind-of like persisting widgets for all applications where you can for instance control your music playing and at the same time dial your best friend. You can see the demo video here.

    In their preparation to gain a share of the market that is dominated by two juggernauts, they decided to focus on China, the most dynamic mobile phone market place. They have already signed a deal with the largest mobile phone retailer in the country – D.Phone.

    Today they are launching the Sailfish OS, SDK and UI. You will be able to contribute to the OS at a later date here.

    Update: Here is a hands-on preview thanks to The Kick Network: