Jolla's Sailfish OS smartphone in India soon as Snapdeal exclusive

Earlier this week we saw reports about Mozilla’s plans to launch  Firefox OS smartphones in the Indian market later this month, and Finnish company Jolla plans to launch its Sailfish OS device here within a month. The company sent out a tweet from its official account confirming India launch and has also mentioned an exclusively tie-up with Snapdeal.

The link takes you to their website which is quite explicit about the India launch plans too. It says that Jolla will soon be available in India and users can key in their email address and the company will keep them notified about the launch. Kunal Bahl, Co-founder & CEO, Snapdeal said about the exclusive partnership: “The market in India offers few choices in terms of mobile operating systems. Jolla with its innovative Sailfish OS introduces an entirely new user experience to consumers. Jolla offers a unique smartphone experience."

Jolla device runs on Sailfish OS that is based on Meego. Former Nokia employees created Jolla after that struggling cellphone maker abandoned the in-house operating system in favour of Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

The Sailfish UI’s big focus is on multi-tasking without jumping in and out of apps. As is becoming the norm nowadays, there is also a big emphasis on gestures for navigation and selection of content. However, unlike, the hordes of budget phone makers entering the Indian market, Jolla device could come with a slightly higher price tag. The Jolla handset is already available  in Europe for $546 (approximately Rs 32,900). As expected,  it is a move towards company’s plans to expand to other regions like Russia and Asia.

Here’s what the Jolla phone is all about:

Sami Pienimäki, co-founder and CMO of Jolla said: “Since late 2011 when we established the company Jolla, we have received a tremendous amount of interest from India to enter this great market. In particular we have found it very encouraging how much there is interest and trust for mobile heritage coming from Finland, and what kind of development opportunities there are to start to develop e.g. local applications for India."

“We are super excited to be partnering with the market leader Snapdeal, who has extensive reach in the booming online commerce market of India. Through this position, we are confident to reach those interested in a true alternative to the mainstream players.”

One of the stand-out features of the Jolla phone is the so-called The Other Half, which is essentially a backplate that adds unique themes and features to the Sailfish UI. Change the back panel and some elements of the UI also change. Jolla has released a software SDK for The Other Half component, which can be used to bake in other software features per panel.