Jolla launched its Sailfish SDK at MWC 2013 and we got the chance to chat with CEO Marc Dillon about the company’s history and find out how things have been coming along with Sailfish OS since our hands-on late last year. We also discussed the time frame for Jolla handsets (still on track for H2 2013) and what the Sailfish SDK brings to the table for developers today. You’ll find a full transcript of the interview along with our video after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Jolla’s Meego-based Sailfish operating system for mobile devices has just received a rather extensive video demonstration, where more attention is paid to its features. This operating system is still a work in progress, where it was first shown off on Nokia N950 developer smartphone, which is the logical choice considering how most of the folks behind the Sailfish project used to be Nokia employees. Intuitive hand gestures are the order of the day for this operating system, and the implementation of it allows you to make one handed use, never mind of the device’s screen size.
I am quite sure when it comes to phablet sizes, one might run into issues with Sailfish, but other than that, anything less than 5.5” should work just fine. It does seem as though the Sailfish operating system is a snap to customize, ranging from the shortcuts on the lockscreen, to the ambiance concept, et al. This is one mobile operating system that does true multitasking, and minimized apps appear as cards on the homescreen (sounds familiar like webOS, no?). The Sailfish OS will be finalized sometime in the first quarter of next year. Image courtesy of Engadget.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: US ITC Judge Recommends Import And Sales Ban Of Samsung Products, Signal Strength Of The Nokia Wireless Charging Pad Put To The Test,
We recently had the chance to spend time with David Greaves and Vesa-Matti Hartikainen of Jolla and take Sailfish OS for a spin. As you might recall, this open source mobile OS builds upon Mer (a fork of MeeGo that includes Qt) and uses the Nemo framework with a custom UI. Like any decent Linux-based OS, it supports both ARM and x86 devices. The company is also behind the Sailfish SDK which is in the process of being finalized but is still open to developer feedback (the source code is available). After seeing Jolla’s various demo videos and noting some UI similarities with MeeGo (swipes) and, strangely, with BB10 (peek gestures), we were eager to experience Sailfish OS for ourselves.
If you’re wondering why the mobile OS is usually shown running on Nokia’s N950 developer handset, that’s because Jolla employs many ex-MeeGo engineers, so the OMAP-based phone was a natural fit. We were first given a walkthrough of Sailfish OS, then allowed to play with it. Many apps are still being worked on and some are still off-limits (we got in trouble for launching the camera), but what we saw was pretty solid. Take a look at the gallery below, then hit the break for our hands-on video and first impressions.
Gallery: Hands-on with Jolla’s Sailfish OS
Continue reading Hands-on with Jolla’s Sailfish OS (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Nokia
Nokia N9 champions may be looking hopefully at Sailfish to revive their beloved MeeGo, but Jolla has reigned in those expectations by saying it won’t be officially supporting the device. Although the company won’t be responsible for updates or providing technical help, it claims there’s nothing but a voided warranty stopping the community from porting Sailfish to the abandoned handset. So, N9 owners, it’s up to you — if you want the MeeGo-based OS on your phone, you’ll need to do a bit of work for it.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Nokia
Source: Jolla (Twitter)
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
You know what they say – a picture speaks a thousand words, and here we are with the Sailfish mobile operating system from Jolla as promised. Jolla claims that the user interface of Sailfish will concentrate on two key focus areas – speed and multitasking, at the same time reducing the amount of time your finger spends dancing all over the touchscreen display of your mobile device.
The new experience is said to begin right from the homescreen itself (if not there, then where, one might wonder?), and users were seen to be able to control music playback or end a call via a simple “pulley” menu system. This is made possible without having to open the respective apps, now how about that? Jolla, the startup that hails from Finland just like Nokia, has also touted that “many” Android apps will play nice with Sailfish smartphones without the need for any modification, although a simple port is always the best way to go around things. What kind of chance do you think that Sailfish will have in the mobile device space?
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Jolla to release custom Sailfish MeeGo version with hardware next month, Jolla concept device whets your appetite,
As promised, Jolla has shown off its newly launched Sailfish OS today, and said that UI will be all about speed and multitasking, while also cutting down on the finger dancing required to use it. The experience will start from the homescreen, where users will be able to control music playback or end a call using a “pulley” menu system without needing to open the respective apps. The Finnish startup also said that “many” Android apps would run on Sailfish handsets without modification, though a simple port would be required for best operation. Jolla foresees the software running not only smartphones from hardware players like new partner ST-Ericsson, but also tablets, smart TVs and in-car systems, for instance. To see it for yourself, check out the official video after the break.
[Image credit: MTV3 Finland]
Gallery: Jolla UI presentation
Continue reading Jolla shows off Sailfish mobile OS in official video, pushes speed, multitasking
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
Via: Taskumuro
Source: MTV3 Finland, Jolla (YouTube)
MeeGo refugee Jolla has demonstrated its new Sailfish OS today, as well as announcing a deal with ST-Ericsson to run the platform on its mobile chips, and a carrier deal with Finland’s DNA. Revealed back in October, Sailfish focuses on “effortless multitasking” with the ability to run multiple apps simultaneously and even interact with them directly from the homescreen view. It also attempts to cut down on the taps, swipes, and pulls involved in checking status updates and notifications, and promises easy compatibility with Android apps.
The homescreen-level interaction, Jolla suggests, means Sailfish will be the most streamlined and speedy OS for users to navigate through. For instance, they’ll be able to pause a song or end an ongoing call without having to open the respective apps themselves: you can swipe a finger across the music player app thumbnail to the left to pause playback, or to the right to skip to the next track.
Sailfish also has a so-called “Pulley Menu” for “fast and effortless interaction” and the open-source SDK is already being fleshed out. It consists of components including Qt, the Mer Core, and the Linux kernel, and can turn its hand to duties on smartphones, tablet, smart TVs, in-car systems, and other applications. Jolla will have a copy of the version shown off today “very soon.”
According to Jolla, many Android apps will run on Jolla devices with no modifications. However, there’ll need to be tweaks made if best use of Sailfish is desired “If you want to take advantage of all UI and other features of Sailfish OS and make yourapplications fast,” the Sailfish SDK wiki explains, ”you can port your applications to native QT/QML.” That’s the full version of Qt, too, along with HTML5, though there won’t be DRM support.
Jolla also has its first carrier onboard, with DNA set to get the first Sailfish-based devices and be part of what the company says will be “a network of partners” around the OS “during the coming year.”
Jolla isn’t content with just one chipset partner, however. “ST-Ericsson’s NovaThor platform combined with Sailfish OS will enable vendors to bring highly competitive mobile products to the market. We welcome other players in the mobile industry to join and contribute to this game changing movement” Jolla CEO Marc Dillon said today. “We also target to announce other chipset provider partnerships soon.”
Update: MTV3 has a hands-on video demo of Sailfish here. [Thanks Kote!]
Jolla’s Sailfish spills its MeeGo-reborn secrets: Carrier & chip deals inked is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The date we were promised an introduction to Sailfish is here, and it turns out Jolla’s not just targeting smartphones with its MeeGo-based OS, but tablets, smart TVs and other devices, too. Jolla has kept its OS under wraps until now, but it wants Sailfish to be an open-source affair which “will be built through community involvement and participation.” The SDK will be available soon, and we should get a look at the UI during a presentation occurring shortly. We’re assured superb multitasking capabilities, as well as deep personalization and “fast and effortless interaction.” Jolla has said Sailfish will be available for use with “multiple chipset technologies,” and is already supported on ST-Ericsson’s NovaThor platforms. It’s also reported that it’s partnering with Finnish carrier DNA to promote and sell Sailfish smartphones on home turf. The full reveal is coming shortly, so we’ll let you know more as soon as we do.
Update: The Jolla team took to the stage with touchscreen hardware in hand (we also spotted a Raspberry Pi), keen to express how they’ve been working all hours to boot Sailfish on anything they can find. The company called its creation the first truly “open ecosystem,” and said that development will be fully transparent from the outset. While there will be Jolla-branded phones launching, Sailfish is also being offered to handset manufacturers to use on their own hardware. The UI tour wasn’t as in depth as we’d have liked, but “true multitasking” was the main focus. Active programs can be pinned to the homescreen as tiles (in a layout that looks something like BlackBerry 10), which offer some control of the app without it hogging the screen. They also showed off a feature called “Ambiance,” which uses colors from a picture you select to tint the UI. We wish we had more info to share, but right now, we’re all just left wanting more.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile
Source: DNA
Following big news from Jolla almost two weeks ago, it’s reluctant to go quiet, instead taking to Twitter to announce that Jussi Hurmola is no longer its CEO. This isn’t a story of scandal or corporate dissent, but merely a restructuring to allow Hurmola to focus on Sailfish, the MeeGo-based OS currently in development. It’s no great surprise that Marc Dillon is stepping up to be the new big cheese — he’s another of the company’s founders and was acting COO prior to the shuffle. Sailfish is due to be demoed for the first time in a little over a month, where we imagine Hurmola will be eager to flaunt its progress now that he’s managed to palm off all that paperwork.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
Jolla’s Marc Dillon takes over as CEO, Jussi Hurmola to focus on Sailfish originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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