At the end of November, Jolla’s first smartphone went on sale to a select few customers at an event in Finland, after which the phone began to ship to those who had pre-ordered the device during the summer. Information on how the phone could be ordered was found in an FAQ, where it was also mentioned that once the pre-orders had been filled, the Jolla phone would be sold to more people through Jolla’s online store.
The good news is that time has come, but the bad news is the store is only open to those in Europe, Switzerland, and Norway. Announced through a press release earlier today, Jolla says it has a batch of phones ready for general sale, and that deliveries will happen two to four weeks after an order is placed. It also confirmed all European pre-orders will be filled before Christmas.
If you’re in a position to pick up Jolla’s debut device, then you’ll have to part with 400 euros to secure one, which converts over to around $550. This is the same price offered to those who pre-ordered the phone. So what will you get for that money? Well, Jolla’s phone isn’t a tech powerhouse, as it has a 4.5-inch, 960 x 540 pixel screen, a dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel camera. No, the reason you’ll want one is for the new, gesture-intensive Sailfish operating system, and the potential for innovation seen in its Other Half.
The Other Half is the name given to the Jolla phone’s rear panel, which isn’t just another removable panel, but a smart cover which connects to the phone itself. At the moment, they’re offered in different colors – which change the on screen colors to match when fitted to the phone – but in the future, anything from big, secondary flash units to QWERTY keyboards are possible.
No matter whether you’re able to buy the phone or not, the fact that Jolla, a company almost unheard of this time last year, has its own smartphone running a brand new operating system on sale already is extremely impressive. We’re looking forward to seeing what the next year brings for Jolla, Sailfish and the Other Half. You can visit Jolla’s new online store here.
