Jolla Sailfish OS: Android dependence for apps could make it a secondary choice at best, for now

Jolla launched its Sailfish OS-powered device in an exclusive tie-up with Snapdeal with a Rs 16,499 price tag. It’s interesting times in India, where new handset makers are exploring and monetising on the budget and mid-range segments. There’s the two-year old Xiaomi that’s raised the bar when it comes to pricing well-specced smartphones, Firefox OS-based phones that cater to the entry-level segment and Android One that is set to take the budget market by storm with affordable stock-Android devices, trying to mirror Motorola’s success. Jolla is the latest entrant to set foot in the country, which targets the mid-range smartphone segment. This makes sense as it won’t have to scrimp on quality to maintain a lower price point. The hardware is almost identical to any other Android smartphone selling at a similar cost. But when there’s no dearth of efficient, mid-range Android smartphones in India, does this Sailfish OS-based phone hold any chance of gaining a strong foothold in the market? At the sub-20,000 price range, Jolla’s audience is most likely to be more seasoned rather than a first-time smartphone user. Does the Jolla phone have enough to pull customers away from the OSes they might be accustomed to? It’s a tough call, but Jolla’s Sailfish OS smartphone does not intend to take users away from Android - at least not immediately. Instead, it’s designed to run alongside the platform while being independent and adaptive. The Sailfish OS integrates the Alien Dalvik layer, which allows it to run Android as well as Ubuntu apps. The interface itself takes cues from Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone OSes, which should make it familiar to most smartphone users. Like Android, it’s customisable in a lot of ways including a NFC-powered removable back that also changes the phone’s theme and colour tones. There are also no pre-loaded apps and you can decide which apps you want. Also, the fact that it’s an open source operating system, gives it plenty of flexibility in terms of how handset makers use it on their devices. Sailfish OS will make way for side-loading capability meaning the OS can run as a secondary OS on Android devices. This feature is not available yet, though the CEO has expressed keenness in making this possible soon. In fact, the Jolla launcher for Android is already in beta testing. At MWC, Jolla showcased some Android Phones running Sailfish OS like the Nexus 4, TCL, Samsung Galaxy S3 which garnered plenty of appreciation. Like Blackberry 10, it uses a unified messaging interface, which combines messages sent through your carrier and from other messaging apps into one place. It also uses a gesture-based interface seen in BB OS 10. And like Windows Phone, the homescreen includes live tiles that help you multitask. [caption id=“attachment_235631” align=“aligncenter” width=“640” class=" “]  Gestures in the Sailfish OS[/caption] Will consumers accept this new smartphone OS openly? The answer to that largely depends the availability of apps. Smartphones are all about apps and Sailfish OS relies heavily on Android for apps at the moment. While there’s nothing wrong in that, Jolla will have to make sure the process of searching and installing apps is as easy as it is on Android. While Jolla co-founder Marc Dillon has been encouraging developers to  develop apps specifically for Sailfish OS, it’s going to take it a lot of time to get where Android and iOS app stores are at the moment. It’s taken both OSes years to attain the sheer number and quality of apps that they have today. Windows Phone is an example, which is playing catch-up with Android and iOS since 2010. Also, smartphones with sideloaded OSes have failed to do well in the past. Jolla’s success also depends on how manufacturers (including Jolla) execute key functions in Sailfish OS devices. While Blackberry Z10 came with lots of promise, common but important functions such as the navigation, camera functions and customisations were not very polished. If Sailfish manages to nail these key areas, there’s a good chance for it becoming a viable alternative, though its dependence on Android for apps means it will have to accept a secondary status to stay relevant to consumers.