Jolla wants to sell your phone Sailfish OS
Jolla announced today that they'll be selling Sailfish OS to select smartphone users starting this year. The first device they've chosen to work with is quite likely the least popular top-name brand headliner smartphone of the year, the Sony Xperia X. To attain the new operating system, users need only to pay around 50-Euro – roughly $60 USD.
Users will pay a fee to get their own Sailfish OS, at which point they'll be delivered the Official Sailfish OS image file to flash to their device. Their device will require some work to unlock and/or fully prepare to be flashed, which not every user in the world will be prepared for. In other words – this software isn't for just anyone.
Users will need to know how to flash software to their device – they'll also need to be able to do at least a little bit of troubleshooting should anything go wrong. If and when they've installed the newest Jolla OS, they'll have a number of benefits they may or may not have had before – like Android app support.
• Predictive text input,
• MS exchange support
• Software updates for at least one year, after which a continuation program will follow
• Clear instructions and support for downloads, installation & use
• Jolla Customer Care service for one year
This software will be ready to roll starting today, and the user will want to have purchased a non-carrier-locked Sony Xperia X before software purchase.
Note that this is not the only device that can run Sailfish OS. There's a watch, there's a smartphone, and Sailfish works on desktop computers, too. Different forms of each piece of software are required, obviously – but they're all working right this minute.
Have a peek at the timeline below for more information about Jolla as well as Sailfish OS. While selling an operating system for smartphones already out on the market isn't something we've seen a company succeed at before, the folks at Jolla might well be able to make it happen. All they need to do is find a more widely available smartphone to do it on.
Or you could just download the Jolla launcher. If you like Angry Birds, you're in luck. This is the most live in-effect launcher launched for free by Jolla, whether we want to believe it or not.