Finland: Jolla smartphone with Sailfish OS launched by Ex-Nokia engineers. Compatible with Android apps.

Finland: Jolla smartphone with Sailfish OS launched by Ex-Nokia engineers. Compatible with Android apps.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

The Jolla handset's Sailfish platform has been developed from the MeeGo operating software, Nokia's last open-source platform which it abandoned in 2011 when it switched over to using Microsoft Corp.'s Windows system.

The Jolla spports a 4.5-inch display, eight megapixel camera,  supports fast 4G Internet connections and includes the well-received Nokia's HERE mapping services that cover more than 190 countries.

But, unlike Nokia's phones, Jolla is also compatible with more than 85,000 apps provided by Google Inc.'s Android

Marc Dillon, head of Jolla software and one of four founders of the company in 2011, spent 11 years working for Nokia after moving from the United States. He says Jolla's open operating system gives it an edge over rivals.

"We are providing a world-class choice ... that is an alternative for consumers (and) that can be very agile and powerful," Dillon said in an interview in a Helsinki office block previously occupied by Nokia employees before it laid off thousands. "For our operating system business we have a huge opportunity because there is currently one choice really available to every global mobile manufacturer and that's Android."

In a consumer test, the Jolla, which has a price tag of 399 euros ($540), didn't seem to have much to make it stand out among other smartphones. Its camera is standard; it uses a MicroSD card; has 16GB of memory storage, with a talk time and battery time of some 9-10 hours. But it has nice touches, including multiple swipe features and a useful user-replaceable battery, unlike many other models.

Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics near London says the Jolla is not "an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy killer" although it but could find a niche in the relentless smartphone race.

"At some point people will start looking for an alternative to Android and Apple so there might be an opportunity in this very cyclical market for Jolla to grab market share," Mawston said. "But I think it will be two or three versions down the line before we really know whether Jolla or Sailfish is worthy of challenging Apple or Android or Microsoft."

Finnish telecoms company DNA, which started selling the Jolla handset on Wednesday evening as hundreds lined up outside the Jolla-DNA marquee in the city center, said it had "thousands of preorders" in 136 countries, led by Finland, Germany and Britain.

The company Jolla, which now has more than 100 employees in Finland and Hong Kong, has found backers among Finnish and foreign investors, including Hong-Kong based China Fortune Holdings Ltd., but Dillon declined to give more information.

AP

HP announced new Mobile Global Business Unit (MGBU) to focus in consumer tablets. Will GRAM with webOS and Enyo be its software supplier.?

WorldWide Tech & Science .Francisco De Jesùs.

HP announced a new Mobile Global Business Unit to focus in consumer tablets. Will HP`s GRAM with webOS and Enyo be its software supplier.?

According to The Verge  and the leaked internal memo below HP has created a brand new Mobility Global Business Unit in order to focus on consumer tablets and will expand to additional segments and categories

 With this move, we are building on our commitment to re-invest in mobility via dedicated leadership, focused research and development, amazing new products and a growing suite of applications and services, says Todd Bradley Executive Vice President of HP’s Printing and Personal Systems organization,

If HP is now re-investing in mobility for making amazing new products I don`t discard the idea this new  MGBU will take HP`s GRAM  ( webOS and Enyo ) new software business unit as its supplier for those upcoming new hardwares.

Alberto Torres

To lead the Mobility GBU, HP  have recruited a proven executive from the mobile-device industry. Alberto Torres, who most recently oversaw the MeeGo products and platform at Nokia as Executive Vice President, will join HP as Senior Vice President of Mobility, reporting to Todd Bradley..

Todd Bradley HP internal memo:

 Todd Bradley

As the world's largest PC and printing business, we make it matter for hundreds of millions of people each and every day. Today we are taking an important step to serve even more customers in new and exciting ways.

I am pleased to announce that we are creating a team dedicated to delivering the best mobility solutions in the industry. With this move, we are building on our commitment to re-invest in mobility via dedicated leadership, focused research and development, amazing new products and a growing suite of applications and services.

Our new Mobility Global Business Unit initially will focus on consumer tablets and will expand to additional segments and categories where we believe we can offer differentiated value to our customers. Our existing notebook teams, including our soon-to-be launched commercial tablet, will remain within the PC GBU under James Mouton at this time.

To lead the Mobility GBU, I am thrilled to announce that we have recruited a proven executive from the mobile-device industry. Alberto Torres, who most recently oversaw the MeeGo products and platform at Nokia as Executive Vice President, will join HP as Senior Vice President of Mobility, reporting to me.

I am excited to have Alberto join us. During his seven years at Nokia, he held a variety of critical leadership positions, including two years on the company's Executive Board. In earlier roles at Nokia, Alberto ran the company's premium brand, its accessory and CDMA businesses and corporate strategy. Prior to Nokia, he was a partner at McKinsey and Company, where he worked with industry leaders in mobile devices, consumer technologies, software and Internet services. A Ph.D in computer science from Stanford University, Alberto currently holds vice chairman roles with the firms Bang & Olufsen and Opera Software.

Alberto's first order of business will be to accelerate our tablet strategy and begin to execute products against our consumer/SMB target. The exact structure of his team will follow that strategy.

Alberto's start date will be September 3. Please join me in welcoming Alberto to HP and in supporting him and his team in their important work.

Regards,

Todd

ex-Nokia employees are looking to build a smartphone based on Nokia’s former MeeGo operating system.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

ex-Nokia employees are looking to build a smartphone based on Nokia’s former MeeGo operating system.

A Finnish start-up founded by a team of ex-Nokia employees are looking to build a smartphone based on Nokia’s former MeeGo operating system.

Jolla Ltd says it is in talks with hardware manufacturers and chipset suppliers with a plan to launch a MeeGo phone within the next six months.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, CEO Jussi Hurmola said the start-up needed to raise about EUR10 million from private investors to develop the smartphone – and would need to sell 50,000 to 100,000 to break even.

"We are seriously making a smartphone here, but we definitely can't do it alone," said Hurmola, who worked on MeeGo during his 12 years at Nokia.

Nokia launched the open-source MeeGo OS in partnership with Intel in 2010, but it was largely abandoned last year when Nokia adopted Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform for its smartphones. MeeGo's assets were subsequently transferred to the Linux Foundation.

MeeGo was used in only one commercial Nokia smartphone, the N9, which was well-regarded but suffered from Nokia’s withdrawal of support for the platform.

"There seems to be a sizable number of MeeGo enthusiasts," said Hurmola. "With all the respect to [Apple's mobile operating system] and Android, I'm quite sure that the market is ready for something new. As I see it, there are user segments that have been left unserved."

Panasonic and Huawei handsets manufaturers to join MeeGo.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Two more Handset manufacturers are to join MeeGo working on the Handset form factor. Panasonic and Huawei are to be nominated to join the MeeGo Handset Working Group at a scheduled TSG (Technical Steering Group) Meeting.

They will join China Mobile, Intel, LGE, Nokia and ZTE ,who were announced last week.

Huawei may not have the largest brand recognition in North America but globally they are a major player and this might just be the boost MeeGo needs after loosing Nokia’s full support.

This news will be officially announced in a few weeks.

LG Electronics set to back MeeGo for handsets

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Reuters reports that LG Electronics has joined a working group intended to deliver a handset-oriented version of the MeeGo device platform, joining ZTE and China Mobile, potentially providing a new impetus for the platform following Nokia’s decision to adopt Windows Phone for its high-end smartphones.

According to Valtteri Halla, a member of the MeeGo technical steering group, the reduced commitment from Nokia is “opening opportunities for others to come in.” It was noted that the presence of the handset number one had “held back other phone makers from adopting the technology.”

According to website Digital Trends, LG has not committed to using MeeGo for handsets, although it is set to use the Linux-based OS for in-car “infotainment” systems. LG, like ZTE, is currently involved in the Android smartphone and tablet market, and was also a launch partner for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.

In recent weeks there have been question about the development of the Android ecosystem, against a backdrop of concern about how vendors can differentiate products using the OS. But Nokia’s decision to switch from supporting MeeGo to Windows Phone would indicate that this vendor does not currently believe that the OS is capable of powering high-specification, mass-market smartphones.

MWC 2011: Motorola XOOM, HP Touchpad, Blackberry Playbook, MeeGo OS. Video

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.


MWC 2011 :Motorola XOMM, HP Touchpad, Blackberry Playbook, MeeGo OS. BBC UK makes a short walk through to most prominent tablets PCs at Mobile Congress 2011 in Barcelona.


The Motorola XOOM looks a nice live widgets and a better Youtube experience. A device with no buttons around the frame.


You can see a very much improved tab to share feature on the HP TouchPad  when the Pre3 url site loaded very fast compared to before demos.


One thing I noticed on the BB Playbook is now the flip out card swipe. It looks very much almost a full replicate of HP webOS, The difference is the 3G connection between the BB Playbook and the BB Torch smartphone made  on the  email push, field always where BB is specialized.