If you have not heard of Jolla by now, first thing you need to know is that it’s pronounced „Yolla”. What is it? It’s a phone. A special one. It’s the child of an independent Finnish smartphone developing company, Jolla Ltd., which consists of none other than the directors and core professionals that used to work on the Nokia N9.
The phone has been available for pre-order since the end of May (the period has ended), and is expected to be shipped some time before the end of this year. So far, reviews have focused more on the Sailfish OS on which Jolla operates, while feelings about the handset range from love to hate. The marketing concept of Jolla is quite a romantic one, if you will, as the company promotes their design under the description „the other half”. Creative-wise, the main idea is indeed innovative. The device is made out of two parts that can be attached, for a new experience every time, depending on what color you choose the back piece to be. Every color display (corresponding to the same color back part) can be personalized to fit your needs and also allows for different functions.
The phone works on gesture based Sailfish OS, with the „classic” middle button missing. „The other half” is a colorful plastic piece that attaches itself to the main body which holds an ample 4.5″ Estrade display and a 8MP AF camera. Also, the phone has dual-core processor, microSD expansion holding 16GB and unlike… ahem… other phones, the battery is user-replaceable. Another interesting feature is that the OS is compatible with Android™ apps, which is great, but we’re eager to see how smooth they’ll run on Jolla.
All in all, the concept is definitely unique, with lots of features awaited following the shipping period and, respectively, users’ feedback. The company’s co-founder and software head Marc Dillon assures us that how the phone will evolve is only a matter of imagination.
