Jolla's Sailfish OS phone heads to India
The handset maker strikes a deal to sell its Sailfish OS smartphone on Snapdeal.com, India's largest online marketplace.
Jolla, the Finnish handset maker that runs it smartphone on the open-source Sailfish operating system, is heading to India, the company confirmed on Friday.
Jolla signed an agreement with Snapdeal.com, India's largest e-marketplace, to sell its smartphone, also called Jolla, exclusively on the online service. Though details on availability and pricing were slim, Jolla said the device will be available within a month. In Europe, the phone retails for €399 ($540, £331).
The key difference between the Jolla phone and most other smartphones is its operating system: Sailfish OS. Sailfish is an offshoot of the MeeGo software that used to be found on old Nokia phones and acts as an open-source alternative to Google's Android mobile operating system. The platform does work with existing Android smartphones and tablets, and Jolla claims it's a more secure OS for those seeking privacy.
Jolla has modified Sailfish to make it as gesture-sensitive as possible. There are no navigation buttons on the Jolla phone, so taps, swipes, and various other gestures on the touchscreen are used to navigate the phone.
Jolla was founded in 2011 and launched Sailfish OS to customers in Finland in November. The company now offers its devices across Europe and soon, India.