Jolla jousting for crowd-funded tablet success

19 Nov 2014

The Jolla tablet

Ever crowd-funded a tablet before? Nah, neither have we, but mobile devices designer and developer Jolla is trying to do it all the same.

Aiming to create the world’s first “people powered tablet”, Finnish company Jolla was originally hoping to raise US$380,000 for the project. 

But in actuality its tablet, which will be running Sailfish OS 2.0, has far exceeded that figure, with more than US$500,000 raised already on Indiegogo.

Sailfish will have its own unique set of apps for customers, while it will also be capable of running Android apps, as well – so all you Facebook and WhatsApp fans can relax.

The world doesn’t need yet another smartphone, claims Jolla, “it needs a new way of thinking. That’s why Jolla was born.” The company wants to create an innovation platform for ideas, opportunities and openness, with open forums already doing the rounds.

Among all the descriptions of the company’s devices, terms such as ‘built for curiosity’ and ‘a cover with more’ drew our attention, but ‘Nordic logic’ is perhaps our favourite design title ever.

“At Jolla, we believe in your privacy and respecting our users,” says the company.

“That’s why Sailfish OS is totally independent and has been built the way it has. It’s our company policy that we’ll never sell or share your data with anyone. There are no back doors or anything third parties could use for monitoring your activity.”

Bring it on.

Gordon Hunt was a journalist with Silicon Republic

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