Jolla’s first tablet is set to hit the streets in a few months, and when it does it will run a new version of the company’s Linux-based Sailfish operating system.
Jolla is introducing Sailfish OS 2.0 at Mobile World Congress this week, as well as a new platform called Sailfish Secure which the company plans to license to hardware makers interested in offering secure, encrypted communications.
Sailfish OS 2.0
The next version of the Sailfish operating system will add support for Intel processors including Intel’s new Atom x3 low-power processors, offer better support for Android apps (while Sailfish is not based on Android, it does include the ability to run some apps developed for Google’s platform), and improved multitasking.
Other improvements include new privacy and personalization features and user interface tweaks.
Jolla was founded by former Nokia employees who left the company after Nokia stopped working on the Linux-based MeeGo operating system and started using Windows Phone on its handsets. Eventually Nokia was acquired by Microsoft.
Like MeeGo, Sailfish is based on Linux but it’s optimized for use on mobile devices with touchscreen displays. There’s an emphasis on touchscreen gestures and Sailfish phones and tablets have few buttons. Instead you can swipe from the edges to switch between apps, go to the home screen, or perform other gestures.
Right now there’s only one device that ships with Sailfish: a Jolla smartphone. That will change when the Jolla Tablet launches in the second quarter of 2015.
Jolla is also inviting other device makers to adopt its software for use on their own hardware.
Sailfish Secure
The company is also partnering with SSH Communications Security on a new mobile operating system called Sailfish Secure.
It’s based on Sailfish OS, but includes SSH’s technology for encrypted communications.
While Sailfish 2.0 should be available soon, TechCrunch reports Sailfish Secure probably won’t launch until 2016.
yeah, Jolla, Tizen, Ubuntu, its a great time for alternative os.
The phone is called the Jolla like the company itself. The Other Half is the name of the various alternative covers which can embed some additional hardware and the open specifications which they follow (covers with OLED/e-paper screens, wireless charging support, photovoltaic charging, … can be found online through various third parties).
Yeah, I always get thrown by the website not really having a link for the phone itself. I’ll add a link to the Jolla Store page for the phone instead.