back to article Ex-Nokians fish MeeGo out of bin, launch Sailfish OS

A new phone OS based on the work Nokia abandoned on its Linux-based mobile OS has been unveiled in Helsinki. Jolla is a start-up run by former Nokia staffers devised to build on the old MeeGo project, which is now called Mer. The Sailfish OS is Mer with proprietary elements: a new user interface. Jolla has an agreement with …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Just like Windows Phone"

    It looks like a mashup of Android and Zune-era Metro. The Android logo seems to hint at Android app compatibility... this could be interesting.

    Anyone know when they're going to release a preview for the Pi? That would be much more interesting IMHO...

    1. dogged

      Re: "Just like Windows Phone"

      Partial Android compatibility, apparently, but they still recommend a recompile.

    2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: "Just like Windows Phone"

      It can't be - an army of 1000s of MSFT programmers have spent 3years and billions of $$$ producing the innovative user interface that is metro.

      How can a small group of unemployed Nokians have produced anything so similar so quickly and easily?

      1. Bad Beaver
        Linux

        It is called devotion

        I think it also helped that the small group of unemployed Nokians is made up from people who developed the N9. So it is not like they are starting from scratch. And less restrictions. And less politics. And less people to coordinate. Less is more, I guess.

    3. Mark Wylie

      Re: "Just like Windows Phone"

      Alien Dalvik, android app compatability with meego.

      I was sooo looking forward to what became the n950. My perfect form factor, with an open source, lightweight Linux OS, stripped of all the Googley advertracking.

  2. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

    Cell phone bars

    I thought the number of bars a cell phone displays was one more than on the nearest competitor's phone in the hope that it will influence a purchase decision. People claiming to know what they are talking about have posted some alternative theories:

    http://ask.metafilter.com/60227/What-do-cell-phone-reception-bars-mean?

    As far as I can make out, the bars could show useful information while a call is in progress, but unless their meaning gets standardised, don't bet on it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Cell phone bars

      The new Nokia map app will help with finding bars..

  3. Robert E A Harvey

    great - but...

    ...What am I going to run it on?

  4. jonathan keith
    Paris Hilton

    Lovely

    Can't find the answer to this - does anyone know if it's going to work on a Nokia N900?

    1. Luke McCarthy

      Re: Lovely

      They were demoing on an N950, so probably. They're releasing an SDK which will enable you to build it for any device, in theory anyway.

  5. mamsey

    Android?

    So why the little android 50s into the video?

    1. Zola

      Re: Android?

      Myriad Alien Dalvik confirmed as the source of Android compatibility in Jolla Sailfish OS.

  6. JDX Gold badge

    Hmm, my Windows phone showed me the battery and signal indicators when I just checked.

  7. Dazzz
    Thumb Up

    I'll be keeping an eye on it, hope they get some decent hardware to run it on.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Looks like BB 10

    I imagine RIM is patenting stuff in the US before they leak it to developers, so perhaps there's going to be another patent suit or two here.

    BB OS 10 UI has a feature by which you slide things up or to one side to reveal system things underneath. Perhaps anyone copying them should cite the Crazy Horse as prior art.

    1. Bad Beaver

      Re: Looks like BB 10

      RIM actually ripped-off the Swipe UI from the Nokia N9.

      http://swipe.nokia.com/design/

      1. Rattus Rattus

        Don't tell me...

        ...they swiped it?

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Main screen reminds me of blackberrys new OS.

    Another project that is a waste of time. If Nokia couldn't get it off the ground in their pomp what chance have these lot got?!

    1. Bad Beaver

      It actually reminds you

      of this

      http://swipe.nokia.com/design/

  10. Irongut

    Lawsuits ahoy!

    Looks very like WinPho, some of the icons look like Android and it's got rounded corners everywhere! So I hope they expect to be sued by Apple, Microsoft and Google, probably in that order.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Lawsuits ahoy!

      What, in China? Yarr, not likely me hearties.

      Either way, looks a bit nicer than Belle and a lot more fluid. Something I've so far failed to understand is why everyone is rushing to put multi-user OSes on phones? (Well, Win 8 is multi-user in a loose sense.) Isn't that a bit of an overhead?

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Building Meego / Tizen

    Have you ever tried to use the pile which is supposed to build Meego / Tizen. It would be adoptable if it were not laying there like a dead fish. It uses the SUSE OBS pile which might be good for those who have mastered it, but as it is distributed it is very difficult to get up and running.

    And it is oriented to a "cloud" where the developer puts his source on a non-owned server. Yeah, right.

    If it were on a reasonable locally manageable system, even proprietary, it would be much easier to get into. I got hired by a friend to try to make sense of just the build system, and how to manage his changes with (pick one, git, svn, etc.). and have local control.

  12. Andus McCoatover
    Windows

    My Nokia N8 contract expires in a few weeks...

    Although I love the N8 (Belle is absolutely brilliant), Jolla is looking to be worth a serious shuftie.

    If they base it on an N9 - type phone...or even an N8-type hardware, I'll bite their arms off to get one!

    Flop's 'Burning Platform' memo must've caused a wry grin, amongs Finns not known for showing much emotion (except when they're 'tired and emotional' on a Friday night), as Jolla means Lifeboat.

    Let's see if it floats my boat...

    1. Bad Beaver
      Pint

      Re: My Nokia N8 contract expires in a few weeks...

      Now that's the spirit. I myself am not quite ready to shell out again since I am perfectly happy with m N9 at this point. There is not that much to improve upon. So other that pure technolust, there would be no reason to buy. Ah well, I guess I'll get one ffs.

  13. GT66

    That byline is totally worthless without an accompanying picture of George Costanza eating the eclair he pulled out of the trash.

  14. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Bad Beaver

      Check the video

      If I got this right those indicators are not visible in the start screen unless you drag it around a bit. Not exactly a dealbreaker in my book.

      Oh, btw, if you want your N9 to display more info on the standby screen… there's an app for that

      http://everythingn9.com/system-information-on-nokia-n9-standby-screen/

      1. ScissorHands
        Thumb Up

        Re: Check the video

        The demo phone can't show info on the standby screen because it's an N950. The N950 has an LCD and not an OLED like the N9. Also, +1 on "Billboard" app for the N9. I have added Name, Date, Battery, Connected data network, IM status, and next appointments to my standby screen.

  15. Hubert Thrunge Jr.
    Thumb Up

    Ahh yes.

    I've had my N9 for quite a while now, and compared to my wife's Galaxy SIII, I prefer the N9's UI.

    But that's because I'm used to it - just simply double tapping it to wake it up, and a swipe to do most things.

    Jolla is taking some of that a step further.

    The N9s multi-tasking is superb compared to most if not all phones on sale at the same time that it was released, and many released after it. It's a jewel in Nokias fallen crown, which has been replaced by monkey metal stars.

    I look forward to Jolla's first phone, or the first phone to run Sailfish should I say.

    As for the similarity to BB10, my opinion is that BB10 is similar to MeeGo/Mer/Nemo. And that looks good too. I hope it reverses their fortunes.

  16. Norman Hartnell

    N810

    It would be good to have a new OS on my Nokia N810 which is currently an expensive paperweight. Bet this won't run on it though, maybe it's time to get a Nexus 4...

    1. ScissorHands
      Boffin

      Re: N810

      You're flying high, there. They're demoing on an N950 an OS that is supposed to run on brand-new dual-core chips next year. Even porting back to an N900 wouldn't be easy.

      1. Norman Hartnell

        Re: N810

        That is as I feared. Oh well, gotta move with the times!

  17. Mahou Saru

    I would laugh so hard if it outsold WinPho8

    The probably start crying when MS try to nuke it from orbit using the current weapon of choice, pointless patents...

  18. Mahou Saru

    I would laugh so hard if it outsold WinPho8

    Then probably start crying when MS try to nuke it from orbit with the current weapon of choice, pointless patents...

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