Jolla unveils its first smartphone, “the other half” is Android-compatible

Jolla, a start-up founded by former staff from Nokia’s elite MeeGo N9 team, has unveiled its first smartphone, known simply as Jolla.

A key innovation hinted at in its “other half” marketing campaign is that the phone features replicable covers and automatically changes its wallpaper, colour scheme, playlist and other file settings based on which cover is on the phone at any given time.

The phone features a 4.5-inch display, a dual-core processor, 16 GB memory with microSD, a HD display and an outright price of €399 (around $524), making it significantly cheaper than either the Apple iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Other key features of the new smartphone are that it runs a version of Nokia’s MeeGo platform called Sailfish, with the device boasting full Android compatibility.

Co-founder Marc Dillon has posted a video encouraging grassroots community support for the new smartphone.

“To make this really great, we need your help. Show that there’s a market for Jolla by participating in our pre-order campaign,” Dillon says.

“Jolla is about participation and contribution. So if you’re a blogger, please write about us. If you’re an application developer, please create Sailfish applications. If you’re into design and fashion, start creating new styles for Jolla.”

The MeeGo platform was originally developed by Nokia as its next-generation smartphone platform in competition to Apple’s iPhone and Android, however, it was abandoned by its chief executive, Stephen Elop, in favour of Windows Phone.

In July last year, a group of former staff and executives announced they had launched a company called Jolla that would continue developing smartphones based on the platform. Soon after, the start-up revealed it had secured a contract with China’s largest phone retail chain.

The start-up expects the Jolla to begin shipping before the end of 2013, with the company now accepting pre-orders for the device. The company previously announced it would start by targeting European and Asian smartphone markets.