First Third Party Sailfish OS Smartphone Goes On Sale

The first third party smartphone running the Sailfish OS has gone on sale in India in a boost for the struggling mobile operating system.

Indian manufacturer Intex Technologies signed up as a partner back in July 2015 as developer Jolla sought to expand the ecosystem of the platform, which is based on the MeeGo OS abandoned by Nokia when it adopted Windows Phone in 2011.

The Intex Aqua Fish costs 5,499 Rupees and is available from local online retailers, including Amazon. For the money, buyers get a five inch display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage (which can be expanded by up to 32GB via an external MicroSD slot), 4G connectivitiy and 8 megapixel rear and 2 megapixel front facing cameras.

Intex Aqua Fish

The smartphone is powered by a quad core 1.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and runs version 2.0 of Sailfish, which supports Android applications and includes ‘partnerspace’ – a location within the software where local apps and services are heavily promoted.

This creates revenue-sharing opportunities for operators and manufacturers within the Sailfish ecosystem. The Intex Aqua Fish comes reloaded with Gaana Music, a local service owned by India’s Times Internet. Russia is also working on its own national operating system, based on Sailfish.

“We are very excited and proud to witness the launch of Aqua Fish, the first Sailfish OS powered smartphone licensed by a major device vendor,” said Sami Pienimäki. “With Intex Aqua Fish, smartphone lovers in India will get the possibility to experience a totally new, fast and smooth user experience, and run their favourite Android apps in a totally new environment.”

Jolla separated its operating system and device manufacturing units last year in a bid to ramp up its licensing arrangements, but the company has been struggling for cash. It has only launched one smartphone and one tablet since it was formed in 2011 and admitted in November it faced a fight for survival, with ‘temporary layoffs’ taking place.

However in December it said it had secured new investment that would safeguard its immediate future, although it planned to get by with half of its previous workforce.

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