Forget iOS 7 - if you're looking for a truly new mobile operating experience, you should be turning your attention to Sailfish OS, the mobile OS born from the ashes of Nokia's abandoned MeeGo project. The open-source Linux-based software, available for all would-be developers to tinker with, was passed up by initial developers Nokia after they sealed their Windows Phone deal with Microsoft. But it has now (in its Sailfish form) found its way into its very first handset, the Jolla smartphone. And, unlike other would-be pretenders to the Android and iOS throne, Sailfish has an app-based trump card in that it should be compatible with all existing Android apps.
Sailfish may live or die based on the reception it receives on the first smartphone it arrives on, so what's the Jolla smartphone hardware that it will make its debut on like? By the numbers, it doesn't sound half-bad, in a mid-range sort of way.
Measuring 4.5-inches with a display running at a near-Retina sharpness of 960x540, it'll be powered by a dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.4GHz, backed by 1GB of RAM.
An 8MP camera sits on the rear propped up by auto-focus features and an LED flash, with a 2MP video calling unit up front. Storage size listed is 16GB, which can be expanded by microSD cards. A two-tone black and aqua-blue chassis looks to feature, though there's been no word on other shades being available yet, nor the thickness of the handset.
Not a startling spec-sheet then, but that should be more than enough to see the low-power OS run smoothly we'd say. Again, due out before the end of 2013, it's being priced at €400 (£337).
Would you give this new kid on the smartphone-OS block a spin? Let us know in the comments below.
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