Jolla Tablet
The Jolla Tablet will be the first tablet designed by Jolla Oy running the company's Linux Sailfish OS distribution. Announced on 19 November 2014, it is the first crowdsourced tablet developed.
Crowdsourced development
The Sailfish 2.0 is used with Jolla Tablet. It is to have 350 extra features, but not unveiled yet. From the technical data implies it is 64 bit. Crowdsourced Sailfish OS keep continuously evolving and Jolla take it further with users, who are to tell Jolla via together.jolla.com how they want their Jolla Tablet to be. Users can suggest new features and discuss IDeaS with the Jolla development team. The community votes at on whether they’d like proposed ideas to be developed further. Anything that has been voted on by the community is prioritised by the Jolla development team called Jolla Sailors. The community has been made a vital part of the process and plays a huge role in making the product. Jolla use experiences after implementing most voted features to their first product, the Jolla smartphone. With the Tablet, Jolla want to involve the community even earlier in the development to make the product users want.
Privacy
Jolla with announcing the tablet declared to respect users and privacy as fundamental policy. That’s why Sailfish OS is totally independent and has been built as open source together with the community. Jolla never sell or share any of users data with anyone. There are no back doors or anything third parties could use for monitoring Sailfish OS user's activity. Jolla underlined that together with the open source community permanently is continuing to strengthen privacy capabilities with every possible opportunity.
Project advantages
Project advantages are not in superior hardware parameters, in fact thanks to MER core software stack any hardware platform could be used. Project advantages implies from the Sailfish OS superior possibilities and crowdsoursed development of Jolla together with users. Two of most significant are following:
- Jolla Tablet's Sailfish OS can run its own native apps and Android apps, downloaded via the Jolla Store or any other Android app marketplaces. A widely understood Linux software can be used (in both console/terminal or graphic mode, either as compatible binaries or compiled with actual The Sailfish OS SDK), the OS use RPM Package Manager by default.
- Live Multitasking on Linux MeeGo Sailfish OS allows different apps to run simultaneously, parallelly in the same time, and independently. Among other advantages multitasking allows to switch between any running software (also Android to Sailfish and vice versa) in the fly. User can see all running apps in one single multitasking view, from which can directly control running and minimised apps like e.g.: to change music track or to play and pause video stream, without opening the app in full or to call/answer/take a picture without breaking, all of those mentioned above, players activities. This way of interaction is impossible with other mobile OSes which freeze apps temporally in a background without access, in contrary to true multitasking.
Specifications
Unveiled on 19 November 2014 technical data are following:
- CPU 64-bit 1.8 GHz Quad-Core/Intel
- Camera
- 5MP rear camera w/ 1080p@60fps video
- 2MP front camera
- Screen
- 7.85” IPS
- 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution
- 330 pixels-per-inch
- Capacitive 5 points multi-touch
- Size
- 203mm x 137mm x 8.3mm
- 384g
- Battery
- 3.8V/4450 mAh
- WiFi
- 802.11 a/b/g/n dual-band
- Bluetooth
- Class 4.0
- GPS
- Yes, support Glonass
- Memory
- 2GB DDR3L-RS RAM
- 32 or 64GB EMMC ROM
- Detection
- Accelerometer
- Light sensor
- Proximity sensor
- System I/O
- Micro-SD slot (up to 32GB)
- Micro-USB
- 3.5mm audio jack
It was mentioned that specification can be changed due to process of development.
Crowd funding campaign
On 19th of November 2014 Jolla started via indiegogo.com a crowd-sourcing campaign to fundrise 380,000 USD needed to release the device, with an offer to preorder devices at a discount if the goal was achieved. The first lot of 1000 tablets, at the price of 189 USD, sold out within three hours of the campaign's opening. Within less than 24 hours the campaign reached 249% of the goal, 1,089,378 USD from 6,848 users.
Stretch goals
A Stretch goal is an additional funding goal of the crowd funding campaign that will finance another specific feature, costs of development and upgreades, for the Jolla Tablet.
Goal #1: MicroSDHC support up to 128GB (accomplished)
Once $1,500,000 will be reached, every Jolla Tablet will be upgraded to support microSDHC cards up to 128GB. Basic specification at announcement supports cards up to 32GB, besides having 32 or 64GB internal storage. The goal has been confirmed accomplished on 2014-12-05 and specification adjusted accordingly.
Goal #2: Split Screen (accomplished)
Once $1,750,000 will be reached. Split screen allows to view and use two apps simultaneously, a further use of multitasking capabilities. Split screen is the most wanted software feature, by community at together.jolla.com. It is to be available update during Q3/2015. This crowdfunding goal was confirmed accomplished on 2014-12-09 and specification adjusted accordingly.
Goal #3: Cellular data, connectivity 3.5G (4G) (not reached)
If the campaign reached $2,500,000, it would have upgraded the WiFi only Jolla Tablet to 3.5G+WiFi. Unconfirmed hopes are about 4G. It would have been available update during Q3/2015 due to demanding certification and field testing requirements - related with different countries laws. The “Upgrade to 3.5G” Perk was only an additional $30, for those interested.
Microdistribution for brand ambassadors
With the campaign it has been given via indiegogo.com a possibility for enthusiasts to get small number of units with additional discount and micro-distribute them as ambassadors of the Jolla brand in USA, Canada, EU, Norway, Switzerland, India, China, Hong Kong, Russia.
Release
The Jolla Tablet will be released in regions: EU, Norway, Switzerland, USA, India, China, Hong Kong, Russia in May 2015, with a release in other countries to follow. On 3rd day of the campaign due to votes at together.jolla.com Australia and Canada were announced as countries that they’ll ship to. It is Jolla’s commitment to listening to its users and fulfilling their demands with crowd-sourced development.
See also
- Jolla - the manufacturer of Jolla tablet
- Sailfish OS - the operating system of Jolla Tablet
- Sailfish Alliance - the alliance of companies involved in Sailfish OS
- Mer core - the core stack of code by merproject.org, one of main parts of Sailfish OS, free open source software
- MeeGo - the predecessor of the Linux MeeGo Sailfish OS, developed by partnership of Nokia & Intel
- Open design
- Open-source hardware
- 3D printing