How
do we see Jolla depends on where we stand looking at it. In this
article you find points of view from Jolla's operator partner,
Sailfish app developers, Jolla's The Other Half hardware developers
and, most importantly, the potential customers. Each point of view
includes some pros and cons.
1st
point of view: App developers
Marketing
a modern phone via community, like Jolla has been doing so far, is very much app
dependent and the apps play a big role in the user experience. In
general, app developers are not too satisfied with Jolla's app policy
so far - Jolla offers their users a way to install Android Apps, both free
and paid, via their russian partner Yandex's app store which is
rumoured to be preinstalled to the phone (Yandex
press release 13.11.2013). Developers doesn't see much income for
themselves after this. The income for developers comes from two sources:
From users who pay for their apps, and from advertisement included into their
apps. After what's heard so far, there could be a lack for both income channels. However, Jolla is working on this via their harbour, as can be read from here (Jolla press release 13.11.2013)
Pros
and Cons
2nd
point of view: Hardware developers
Jolla
has split their phone in two, offering ”The Jolla Half” with the
4.5" touch screen, Sailfish operating system and common connectivity ports extended
with two nice ports capable to handle new harware. The Other Half can
be connected to the phone via these ports, and the phone's
functionality can be changed totally via different halfs. In general,
hardware developers are very interested about this kind of consept.
Manufacturing functional Other Halfs has a potential market for both
new and existing Jolla's customers, but first, of cource,
the manufacturers need to see some customers.
Pros
and Cons
3rd
point of view: Customers
In
general, customers are excited for a new company entering a big
market. Most of them are looking forward to see and feel the phone in
their own hands before decision to buy it or not. Some Linux lovers
or finnish fans (Jolla is a company in Finland, and the original
Linux was also built by a finn). Jolla's open
source policy plays a role having these fans on their side, and the
fans are hoping that Jolla's policy won't change in this matter.
Pros
and Cons
- Jolla,
as a finnish company, is lucky (or wise) introducing a new phone to
the market when previous finnish giant Nokia sold it's mobile phone
business to Microsoft.
- The
idea of a functional other half is bringing something new – maybe
not when the phone is introduced, but surely later, when enough
phones are sold.
- The
Other Half can potentially keep the phone up to date longer than
what we are used to seen in mobile market. Customers doesn't need to
change their whole phone – just a half might be enough.
- The
first customers are not totally satisfied with the informing policy
of Jolla. A lot of questions about what they are about to get are
still in the air, and Jolla is asking their first customers to pay
the full price before answering all these questions
- No
Other Halfs yet – a lot of phone's to be sold before first Other
Halfs are available
- Jolla
is a new, small company. Some customers wonder how will it unlike
in the market ruled by pretty big shoes (Apple, Samsung, Google and
future newcomers like Opera, Mozilla). Jolla will
need some finnish strenght of will here
4th
point of view: Operators and other marketing partners
In
the day of introducing the phone Jolla has only one visible partnership in
operators field, finnish operator DNA. Jolla is looking forward for
partners in several countries, hoping them to market their new phone.
Operators are generally open for new models fitting their ideology
and brand. Most of them want to offer their customers a vary
of choises, and Jolla as a brand is seen as a welcome newcomer. Partenrships with other marketers are agreed worlwide, one of the biggest beeing chinese D.Phone (partner of China Mobile, China Telecom and ChinaUnicom).
Pros
and Cons
- New
phone might bring in new customers
- By
the experience from DNA, according to them, Jolla seem's like a nice
partner for an operator (DNA
press release 22.11.2013)
- Jolla
is equipped with LTE network (called also 4G in some countries), and
operators who have builded it up are willing to sell phones using
it. Among other LTE capable phones, Jolla's price tag seems
reasonable
- Partners not totally satisfied with Jolla's informing policy.
Until the day of introducing the phone (27.11.2013) Jolla has given
more speculation than absolute facts about what and when the shops
are about to sell
- No
Other Halfs yet – for an operator it would be nice to offer Jolla
phones to their customers with its full potential in use, but a lot
of phone's are to be sold before first Other Half's are available.
- Jolla
is a new, small company. Some operators want to see some more
development before they make decision about partnership
5th
point of view: My personal opinions
I
can see Jolla as a welcome new company with a lot of potential. The
market they are entering seems quite full and ruled at first glance,
but looking a bit furher we can see a huge and still growing market
with plenty of room, especially in big countries like India and
China.
To
enter this market it requires a phone with something new.
Unfortunately today, when the first phones are sold and the phone is
widely introduced to the world, Jolla's first phone has only a new,
gesture based operating system. Well, there is a big promise of
something new along – in a form they call ”The Other Half”. In
my opinion, they should have introduced a variety of different,
functional Other Halfs in this first day, as this day has an
essential value when hitting this big market.
Marketing
in general has been quiet, propably for financial reasons. It might
also be a chosen policy that all the marketing is left to Jolla's
partners – focusing Jolla's own resources and knowhow to develop a
phone as good as possible.
In
the end all this closes to simple questions:
Do I need a new
phone? Is it Jolla? For me: Propably yes (two times).
Another, new and unlike point of view from Jolla's CEO Pienimäki
Great news for Open Source fans: "According
to Pienimäki, Jolla is also planning to let individual users to
download Sailfish operating system into their Android-devices." (Read the whole interview from source Taloussanomat, a finnish business magazine. The interview was published 2013-11-27 at 18:30.
UPDATE 2013-11-27 18:30
- Jolla has just revealed a user guide for the phone.
