Jolla announces Sailfish OS 1.0, says Android love-fest soon to come Just a few months after the launch of its first handsets, Finnish smartphone startup Jolla has announced that Sailfish OS, the Linux-derived operating system that powers its devices, has reached version 1.0. What's more, the company says that Android users will soon be able to try out Sailfish OS on a wide range of devices. …
I wouldn't worry about the lack of RF testing. Do you really think that the various variants of authorities are that much different from one country to the next? Do you really think the EU uses totally different tests than say the FCC or a Canadian equivalent? The governments just use it as a money generator and nothing more.
No 3G support for North America. While they have stated that LTE is supported on 6 continents, that might be true but not with your current carrier.
if you want Sailfish OS, wait for it to be available on android handsets and do that. Then you can get 3G and LTE support with your current carrier.
There is a better chance of the N9 rather than the N8. Jolla has stated that they cannot support Nokia handsets. So there must be some agreement with Nokia in that regards. Jolla was using N9's and N950's when they were developing Sailfish OS and apparently were getting new N9's from Nokia. So for some reason Nokia doesn't want them being used for Sailfish OS by the consumer. Jolla has said the community will need to provide the port for the N9 and that they will do what they can. If the N9 won't get an official release, the N8 is pretty much out the window.
The biggest issue with the N8, 256MB of RAM. The N9 has 1GB.
If Jolla is clever, it ensures Sailfish is designed properly for security and protection of end user data (by, for instance, introducing a granular access control that is even tighter than iOS allows) and then gets a full security review done by a couple of well known independents.
What the world really needs is something that resembles Android, but undoes some of the design decisions that seem to be designed to support surreptitious data gathering. If it can do this, I can see it go places, like Angela Merckels handbag :)
Actually, we can. What's being stated is that the base Android OS is too lax on security (owing to a model intended to coax developers, not to woo users). The hope is that Sailfish will be built with user-selectable security being baked right into the kernel where it can't be removed. Thus, when a Sailfish app asks for something, it can be controlled by the user to a meticulous degree. For example, instead of being forced to say "yes, you have network access" or "no" in broad, you can perhaps be able to have it prompt you, either the first time or (and here's where it can top iOS) EVERY time or in specific timed intervals. With this level of control and a "deny-by-default" attitude, it would be very tough for anything underhanded (like perhaps Google Play Services) to slip in under the radar.
you can perhaps be able to have it prompt you, either the first time or (and here's where it can top iOS) EVERY time or in specific timed intervals
Chris, no, don't. I'm having enough of this prompting garbage on iOS where EVERY BLOODY TIME I get prompted that switching on WiFi would be so much better than saving my battery and not supporting positional accuracy for whichever 3rd party that is not close enough to government to simply demand cell triangulation - an extra trick they use is swapping "OK" and "Settings" around so you always have to look before you can stop it. And don't get me started on the mail app where every single mailbox will tell me it cannot talk to the server, despite that the OS itself knows full well that cell data is off or airplane mode is enabled. It's only funny the first time.
No, iOS has one good thing, and that is continuous control over what rights an app has post installation. If I want the Google maps to have access to my location I can give it that right for the duration of when I really need it for myself, and disable it otherwise. Ditto for contacts, mike etc etc. Sailfish would do well with implementing this as a good starting point (possibly with a "pretend" layer in between where apps that want it all before installation get fed bogus data to allow installation regardless of access limits), and then maybe augmenting it with a timed option.
I like your idea insofar that it limits access, but in my experience, repeat prompting only irritates, and leads to it being switched off.
As for underhanded, check out the Skype settings. All of a sudden, a switch has appeared that "allows Microsoft the use of your profile data for marketing" - naturally, that's enabled by default..
Chris, no, don't. I'm having enough of this prompting garbage on iOS where EVERY BLOODY TIME I get prompted that switching on WiFi would be so much better than saving my battery and not supporting positional accuracy for whichever 3rd party that is not close enough to government to simply demand cell triangulation - an extra trick they use is swapping "OK" and "Settings" around so you always have to look before you can stop it. And don't get me started on the mail app where every single mailbox will tell me it cannot talk to the server, despite that the OS itself knows full well that cell data is off or airplane mode is enabled. It's only funny the first time.
You may not, but someone sufficiently paranoid might like it. The point I want to make is that the ultimate decision should fall to the user, not the coder, not the phone maker. If the user wants to be prompted every 5 minutes, it's his/her call. The OS should allow, encourage, even REQUIRE the user make these calls about their apps.
Well, it would be pretty safe to say the S4 series, the Nexus 5, and the Z series, respectively, for starters. How far back each goes, no one knows, but as those represent the top of the line (or close to it) currently in circulation, those are probably the safest bets.
They can hook up with the Android modders to help with that. It didn't take long for the S4 to have a significant modding community, if XDA is any indication. They've already delved deep into custom installs and getting around various protection systems including KNOX. I've been tracking it since I'm not too fond of TouchWiz (memory hog) and have been using AOSP-based ROMs for a leaner, meaner phone.
They might be better to target phones that are 1 to 2 years out of date with their own OS already. Plenty of fairly decent phones (like my wifes Moto Atrix) got stuck on 2.3, my htc's stuck on 4.0. I'd sooner root for Sailfish than for Cryogen for some reason. Maybe the Scandinavian connection?
Ok the os at its core is a good idea, but much of the interface for me doesn't feel intuitive and feels more like they tried to re-design the wheel for the sake of redesign rather than bringing something that was an improvement to the table over established ways of doing things.
Personally if i wanted a linux os on my phone i would pick Ubuntu phone instead...
If it's anything like meego on the n9 the UI is actually really intuitive after a couple of hours. After a day or two you'll be wondering why your friend's phone doesn't close the app when you swipe down from the top, or go to the switch app screen when you swipe from the right. I know I have this problem any time I pick up my girlfriend's or mum's phone. It's a shame Jolla can't get a Swype keyboard by the sounds of it though, because Swype on the n9 is really good, and I would miss it moving to Jolla.
One problem I see with 'The Other Half' is you can't have it all. There are already a slide-out keyboard, thermal imager and e-ink being made, as well as extra battery / solar chargers.
But you can only stick one back at a time, and I don't see people taking a collection of halves with them...
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