Jolla Opens Pre-Orders For Award-Winning Jolla Tablet

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Jolla, a mobile device company based in Helsinki, Finland, has announced that pre-orders are now open in limited quantities for the highly anticipated Jolla Tablet running Jolla's operating system, Sailfish 2.0, and powered by an Intel Baytrail processor.

Back in November we covered the early stages of Jolla's Indiegogo campaign. At the time, the company had just launched the campaign, but it took mere hours to fulfill its needed goal of $380,000. By December 9, when the window to back Jolla had closed, the company had gone on to secure over $2.5 million to complete the project. Backers were told the shipments of the tablets should be expected in November 2015.

The Jolla tablet features a 7.85-inch display, with a 2048 x 1536 resolution and pixel density of 330 ppi. The processing power is provided by a 1.8 GHz quad-core Intel Baytrail processor, and it comes paired with 2 GB of memory. The Jolla Tablet comes equipped with two cameras, one front facing 2MP camera, and a rear facing 5MP camera.

Communication is handled by an 802.11a/b/g/n dual-band Wi-Fi controller, Bluetooth 4.0 and GPS. The device also features an accelerometer, light sensor, gyroscope and a compass.

One of Jolla's differentiating factors is that it runs on its own independent operating system. The company calls its OS "Sailfish 2.0" and bills it as a highly secure platform with no backdoors, and lacking the ability for third parties to monitor your activity. The company values privacy, and it made that one of the tablet's selling points.

Sailfish 2.0 is an independent platform, but it has the ability to run Android apps nonetheless. The company's smartphone shares a similar function. In addition to running Android apps, Jolla Tablet has the ability to multitask. The company said it can display all running applications on one screen, making it easier to see what apps are active, and facilitating switches between applications. Sailfish 2.0 features a gesture-based control system, that the company said makes navigating the OS effortless and fast.

In March, Jolla attended Mobile World Congress 2015 in Barcelona, where it showcased a prototype Jolla Tablet running a build of Sailfish 2.0 to conference attendees. Jolla said it has received many inquiries about where to purchase the tablet since showcasing it. Today it is finally able to offer an answer to that question.

Jolla has announced that a limited number of Jolla Tablets are available for pre-order today, and that the devices are expected to ship as early as October, which is a month before backers were originally expecting their tablets. It seems the extra capital was a blessing for Jolla, as its Indiegogo backers can expect shipments to start in the coming weeks for their own devices.

Two versions of Jolla Tablet are available to order on Jolla's webstore: a 32 GB version, and a 64 GB version. Jolla said prices will vary by country, but only provided European pricing of 267€ (VAT 24% incl.) and 299€ (VAT 24% incl.) respectively.

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Kevin Carbotte

 Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years. 

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • nevilence
    I am very curious about how this operating system would feel and run. It would be great to play with something else other than apple or google. Not so much the security side of it, just the different os
    Reply
  • Quixit
    "Sailfish 2.0 is an independent platform, but it has the ability to run Android apps nonetheless"

    So it's an unpopular OS that needs to run an entire compatibility layer just to run another OS's programs. Why would I want this?
    Reply
  • turkey3_scratch
    16495360 said:
    "Sailfish 2.0 is an independent platform, but it has the ability to run Android apps nonetheless"

    So it's an unpopular OS that needs to run an entire compatibility layer just to run another OS's programs. Why would I want this?

    I think it's only a good idea for it to run Android apps. A new operating system and tablet developed on a $2.5 million budget is going to have difficulty getting a lot of companies to make any apps for their product. It does have its own apps that run on its own platform, but it has the option to run Android apps, too. A $2.5 million budget is quite difficult actually to get started, considering a worker's pay would be $40,000 a year.
    Reply
  • zanny
    Why would I want this?

    It isn't using an app compatibility layer, it uses Android's guts so it runs Dalvik. It just also has its own Qt based UI.

    Its more of an alternate Android shell than anything else. If you like the idea of using swipe gestures to control the UI it should be appealing.
    Reply
  • alidan
    if only it had a penable display from the get go... that is an attractive price.
    still have my eyes on a samsung galaxy note, but 350$ refurbished is a lot to ask for.
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    Too little, too late. There are already plenty of very good tablets with full-fledged Windows 8.1 and Bay Trail priced at $300. Why would I want to buy one that runs Android, not even speaking of Sailfish?
    Reply
  • LostAlone
    16497544 said:
    Too little, too late. There are already plenty of very good tablets with full-fledged Windows 8.1 and Bay Trail priced at $300. Why would I want to buy one that runs Android, not even speaking of Sailfish?

    There's some amount of truth to this. It's definitely a crowded space. I guess we'll see with how this thing ships but if you can crack it open and get Windows into it and you might be on to a winner.
    Reply
  • ricegf
    @amk-aka-Phantom "Why would I want to buy one..."

    Oh, my. Where to begin.

    1. You aren't invested in the Windows mobile ecosystem, which is really quite small anyway.

    2. You're invested in the Android ecosystem, which is really quite massive, but don't love the Android, Fire, or CyanogenMod shells.

    3. You like a secure OS, which neither Windows nor Android can claim with a straight face.

    4. You've done the iPad, and are done with the iPad.

    5. You'd like to try something different from the Windows desktop monopoly and the Android / iOS mobile duopoly just for the sake of variety.

    6. You enjoyed Nokia's earlier computing products, and would like to use a quality product built by the same team.

    7. You work with Gnu-like shells on Linux / Unix on a daily basis, since they are so prevalent in cloud and big iron and embedded systems, and would like a tablet that can offer a complementary and supportive experience.

    9. You want true and elegant multitasking on a mobile product.

    9. You like to vote for quality competition with your dollars.

    10. You'd like to help launch and promote a serious mobile OS vendor that is NOT based in the USA.

    Pick any one or more, and you've got a good reason to buy a Jolla tablet. Geez, I've almost talked ME into buying one now! :-D
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    @ricegf I'll bite.

    1) I am talking full fledged Windows 8.1 for x86. Not the RT nonsense. The "ecosystem" is all the applications built for Windows, ever. For example, right now I'm playing Heroes of Might and Magic V on my Windows tablet and when I'm done, I'll be watching YouTube on a *normal* browser that has AdBlock and allows me to minimize it without pausing the video. Later yet, I'll launch a VM with Linux and get some work done there. "Quite small"... sure...

    2/4/5 - only if you are a user that wants the device for nothing but casual use (and agrees to put up with all the BS mobile OSs slap on you such as having to root them to block ads etc.)

    3/7 - an x86 tablet runs most popular Linux distros natively... they offer MUCH more "complementary and supportive experience" than a shell on Jolla, I am sure.

    6 - it won't be built by Nokia, there is no more Nokia... their facilities are sold off and even though the Jolla team might have some ex-Nokia members, the device is probably assembled in the same Chinese factories as everything else

    9#1 - For me, *true* and *elegant* multitasking would be Windows or a good desktop Linux distro. But that's a matter of preference of course...

    9#2 - Remains to be seen whether this is "quality". Maybe if this tablet allows to install a normal OS (should, since it's x86, but who knows - maybe locked bootloader or unsupported hardware)...

    10 - Everything tech-related ends up being in the USA anyhow. And let's face it, the mobile market is already dominated by Apple and Google in the same way as the desktop/laptop is dominated by Apple and Microsoft. Experience shows that underdogs just don't make it in the tech world when there are already two options to choose from - most users are incapable of choosing from more than that (trust me, I'm an engineer sysadmin... :D)

    I am not saying Jolla or this tablet are necessarily bad, but unless you have enough money to justify spending it just to "support" a company or to collect most likely dead-end products, I don't see a reason to buy this.
    Reply
  • eodeo
    It's sad to see how people value and yearn for privacy, while "democracies" continue to ignore and spy on us all.

    Not a single person voted for surveillance, let alone unwarranted mass surveillance, and those doing it are still in power. "Democracy".
    Reply