14 DAY TRIAL // One of the means to make smartphones more personal is to install a third-party launcher on them, and one such solution will arrive on Android devices soon, from the Finnish startup Jolla.
For those out of the loop, we should note that the company launched last year a new mobile operating system, called Sailfish OS, along with a smartphone that runs under it, the Jolla Phone.
The platform is based on Nokia’s MeeGo and is capable of providing users with a brand-new experience on their handsets, one that is mainly based on gestures.
So as to ensure that more people out there can make an idea of what the platform will have to offer to them, the company has decided to launch the Sailfish OS Launcher on Android under the name of Jolla Launcher, and it says it will make it available starting this week.
Unfortunately, the launcher will be available only in an Alpha version for the time being, and only for a series of devices running under Android 4.3 or up, including Nexus 4 and Nexus 5.
Sony’s Xperia Z handset is also compatible with it, as can be seen in the video embedded below, courtesy of Jolla Users. The app is clearly in its early stages of development, which means that users will encounter various bugs when running it.
As mentioned above, it is mainly gesture-based, allowing users to switch from an app to the home screen with only a swipe from the left, for example.
Moreover, the launcher replaces the Menu Key with a pull-down menu and also brings along vertically scrollable lock screen, home screen, and app drawer.
As mentioned above, the Jolla Launcher was designed to provide owners of Android devices with the possibility to try out the Sailfish OS experience in a risk-free manner. The app will work on top of the Android operating system as an effortless gesture-based swipe user interface.
At the moment, Jolla is looking for Alpha testers for the Launcher, and those interested in the matter can join the program until June 27, a recent post on The Jolla Blog reads.
For that, they will need to email [email protected] from their Google accounts, and to include their name and the device model they own. Next, Jolla will send them a Google Play link to the launcher, along with installation instructions.
Those who will join the testing program are encouraged to provide feedback on the bugs they discover in the app, so that these could be fixed as fast as possible.
