Jolla SailFish OS Comes Out of Beta; Aims For Android Phones

    Today, Jolla announced that they are pushing for the global launch with Sailfish OS 1.0. This means that the beta is over and that the company is getting ready for scale, which is welcome since we have not heard much of an update since the phone was launched with DNA earlier this year.

    Perhaps the most exciting part of the news is that Sailfish will also be available for devices that are currently running Android. This comes in two shapes, a Sailfish Launcher application and also a full OS port.

    Since Sailfish is open source, the community has already ported Sailfish OS into several devices including major versions of popular Samsung Galaxy, Google Nexus, and Sony Xperia. They are also working on Xiaomi, a popular Chinese smartphone manufacturer.

    As Antti Saarnio, the Chariman of the Board of Jolla commented in the press release: “We see this as a huge volume opportunity for Sailfish OS as there are close to a billion Android users globally. Many of them are looking for new user experiences to freshen up their existing devices. Last year in China alone, about 100 million devices were re-flashed after the purchase with a new operating system.” The launcher on the other hand will try to simulate the Sailfish OS and will be available for download from Android Markets and Jolla.

    The company is going to launch the launcher first, and allow users to get the full Sailfish OS in the first half of 2014. When it comes to the Sailfish 1.0 release, it is set to go live during the beginning of March, which will mark the commercial launch date for Sailfish OS.

    Marc Dillon, the COO of Jolla commented “We believe that Jolla now offers a truly viable option for all smartphone users. Naturally we are not stopping here, as we continue to provide monthly software updates to Jolla devices and Sailfish OS.”

    In addition to the software update, the company also announced new markets for expansion. At the moment you can buy the phone in European Union, Switzerland and Norway, through their online store. Additionally it is available from the Finnish Mobile Phone operator – DNA. They now want to expand to all common retail channels and have set their sights on Russia, India and Hong Kong. As we have written earlier, China was always the key market for Jolla and the one that they have put the most effort into, so perhaps it will be then that we can see some real growth from Jolla.