Jolla Mobile announces a Meego based phone; supports Android based apps

| Updated: Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 14:01 [IST]

Finnish start up by Nokia's former MeeGo strike-force Jolla Mobile has recently revealed that they are coming up with a new MeeGo based phone. The device which is expected to be released by end of this year featuring a 3.5 inch screen and will have support for Android apps. The claims were made by Jolla CEO Jussi Hurmola in an interview with Finnish language website 3T, reported in English by Arctic Startup.

For those who are not aware, MeeGo is a Linux based operating system which was first seen with Nokia’s N9 launched last year. Further development of the operating system ceased as Nokia shifted its concentration on its Windows phones line up.

Jolla Mobile is currently based in Helsinki and has around 50 employees to power its operations. Jolla Mobile CEO, Jussi Hormola was quoted saying “The Meego based phone will run HTML5 apps, QT apps along with Android apps”.

Specifically, the company will be letting Jolla handsets run Android apps through ACL technology, which will enable them to run software built outside MeeGo’s traditional bounds — potentially bringing in apps from Android and Qt as well as those built in HTML5.

Additionally, the Jolla phone will likely sport a touch screen in excess of 3.5 inches, based on Hurmola's complaint that the 3.5-inch screen "feels small."

Jolla Mobile seems to take interest in catering the needs of a consumer section interested in comparatively larger screen size. Current versions of iPhone also feature 3.5 inches screen. At the same time, the reclaimed mobile company hitched its first sales deal in July reportedly promising devices on the shelves of Chinese retail chain D.Phone's 2,000 stores.

Employees at Jolla Mobile are working hard to get their new product as soon as possible into the market. Jolla claims that the platform has a lot of enhanced capabilities and executes multitasking more efficiently to its competitors.

The user interface is also sophisticated and modern compared to that of Android and iPhone. The device is currently being built by sub-contractors. Jolla Mobile has hired designers to assist them in the process. It is yet to be seen how the new phone from the start up firm competes with the likes of Nokia Lumia, iPhone and latest Android based Galaxy series phones.