14 DAY TRIAL // Today, Finnish startup Jolla announced the availability of its Sailfish OS-based phone in more countries around the world, as the device went available through its online store for customers in Europe, starting with Switzerland and Norway.
The company has a new batch of Jolla smartphones up for grabs, claiming that those who order it now will receive their units in two to four weeks.
The handset features a price tag of €399 ($546), contract-free, with VAT included, and runs under a beta version of the Sailfish OS.
The company appears very happy with sales of the device so far, especially since it has had it available for pre-order twice and sold out all units both times.
“Sales of Jolla smartphones are off to a great start and it is time to move on to the next phase by offering a new batch of Jolla smartphones to new customers across Europe,” says Tomi Pienimäki, CEO of Jolla.
Jolla has also confirmed that users who pre-ordered the handset before its official release will be receiving their units before Christmas. Newly placed orders will start shipping only in early January 2014.
“After solving some technical logistics issues all the shipments to pre-order customers in the EU will be shipped by Christmas. We want to thank all of our valued customers for their great support and patience to make this happen,” Pienimäki also said.
In addition to announcing the expanded availability of the smartphone, Jolla unveiled plans to allow users to get involved in the development process.
Thus, the company has launched a new portal at together.jolla.com, so that customers could discuss and vote features that should be added to the company’s platform. There, they can also report issues and submit ideas.
“We launched Jolla with Sailfish OS Beta to put the product in the hands of real customers as soon as possible. We have received a lot of valuable feedback, for example, regarding power management and most wanted features, and we are reacting quickly,” Pienimäki also said.
“We have already released two updates for the OS and are expecting to rapidly improve the capabilities with frequent over the air updates.”
Those who would like to purchase the Jolla phone should head over to shop.jolla.com for that. Additional details on the smartphone and the mobile operating system are available there as well.