IT IS too easy to dismissed phone projects that are small (like OpenMoko or Ubuntu Edge) as non-starters; Phonebloks would know the feeling [1] and Mozilla once experienced it. Well, Mozilla now has some phones out there (running Linux) and so does Jolla [2], the company which came out of the ruins of Nokia (Microsoft destroyed Linux inside Nokia). The official launch was yesterday [3] and it seems relatively freedom-respecting, based on assessments around the Web (many people in Diaspora had legitimate doubts before this debut). Bloomberg, which put a lot of money behind Ubuntu Edge, says that Jolla is a "Challenge to Android" and we sure hope it can kick-start a freer Linux-oriented platform on which to work through tablets, smartphones, etc. Here in our household (Android- and GNU/Linux-dominated) we've looked at Sailfish OS and it surprised us for the better. ⬆
Phonebloks founder Dave Hakkens has batted away suggestions that his "modular smartphone" project won't see the light of day.
Jolla Oy, a Finnish smartphone maker founded by former Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) engineers, is stepping up its challenge to Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Google Inc. after the first batches of its handset were snapped up by consumers looking for change.