Finnish company Jolla has started crowdsourcing its first tablet on Indiegogo and hit its 380K goal in just a couple of hours.
The Jolla Tablet is different from any slate currently on the market, and what makes it stand out is its operating system. More specifically, Jolla aims to take on Android and iOS with its own Sailfish OS, which is an open-source platform based on Linux.
The prospect of having a fresh take on a tablet is apparently very exciting, as the Jolla Tablet hit its goal to collect $380,000 on Indiegogo in just over two hours of starting its crowdsourcing campaign. At the time of writing, the Jolla Tablet has already raised $570,437 in funding, and it's just the beginning.
In terms of specifications, the Jolla Tablet can compete with high-end offerings from reputable companies, but at a fraction of the price. The slate comes with a 7.9-inch display with a resolution of 2,048 x 1,536 pixels, at a pixel density of 330 pixels per inch (ppi), matching the resolution of the recently-launched iPad Mini 3. Under the hood, the Jolla Tablet packs a 64-bit quad-core Intel processor clocked at 1.8GHz, paired with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage capacity. Other specs include microSD support for additional memory, a 5-megapixel rear camera, and a 2-megapixel front shooter.
As previously mentioned, the operating system is the highlight of the Jolla Tablet. Sailfish OS is an open-source OS based on Linux and developed by Jolla, aiming to offer a radically different experience compared to that of Android and iOS. Sailfish OS is different both visually and functionally, and multitasking plays a big role in the overall experience.
"Jolla Tablet's Sailfish operating system will be unlike anything you've tried before. Once you try it, you'll never want to go back. Independent and open source, change whatever you like, whenever you like," reads the project description on crowdfunding site Indiegogo.
"Multitasking on Sailfish OS shows all your running apps conveniently in one single view. At a glance, you'll see everything that's going on, as well as easily switch between apps. You can also control Sailfish OS apps directly from the multitasking view - for example, change your music or play and pause your video stream without opening the app in full."
When it comes to applications, Jolla Tablet users will be able to download apps via the Jolla Store, or get Android apps from third-party Android marketplaces. The Jolla Tablet may not be an Android device with access to Google Play, but it's still compatible with many Android apps.
The $189 and $199 tiers for the Jolla Tablet have already sold out, but interested backers can still pledge $204. The slate will ship to early backers in May next year, and the crowdsourcing campaign is currently available in the U.S., EU, Norway, Switzerland, India, China, Hong Kong, and Russia. For further information regarding availability, check out the FAQ at this link.
