Jolla has recently expanded its sales from Finland to all EU countries, plus Switzerland and Norway, allowing more users to buy the first Sailfish OS-powered smartphone. Available for 399 EUR, their phone is capable of running Android apps, though we would assume some of the things won’t work properly out of box. So should you buy one?
The answer to that question is not easy. Don’t get me wrong – I love what Jolla is doing, having managed to keep the MeeGo/Maemo OS alive and make it much better. These guys and gals didn’t just stand there looking how Nokia abandons its own platform and adopts Windows Phone, instead. They wanted to do something with it, so they left Nokia and founded a new company, one that wants to make a different kind of smartphone. So if you can afford a second phone – grab the Jolla now.
However, if you don’t have enough money and need just one device, we can’t really suggest getting the Jolla phone over some Android-based product or iPhone. Or perhaps some Windows Phone device. While Jolla folks are doing their best to make Sailfish a respectable contender in the market, they don’t have resources (read: money) to compete with the likes of Samsung, Google, Apple and Microsoft. We like supporting the underdog and that’s what Jolla is. On the other hand, we can’t tell you to buy their phone only to realize that you can’t run all of the apps in a way you wanted.
So you have to see for yourself whether Jolla “has what it takes” to take 400 Euros out of your pocket…