Jolla smartphones sell out

Finnish start up device maker Jolla Mobile, which unveiled its first device in May, said Wednesday that its first production batch of smartphones has sold out.

The firm uses software based on the Sailfish OS, a Linux mobile operating system derived from the abandoned MeeGo project. It said that all of the pre-orders were fulfilled by mid-July with demand from 136 countries.

A Jolla spokesperson said: “Our view on the size of the production batch for a mobile device vendor of this size is typically 50,000 units.”

The first batch were sold direct via pre-order, but in a show of support for domestic innovation, Finland’s third largest operator DNA said last year that it would distribute handsets using the OS upon its commercial launch.

“We are delighted to see this great worldwide interest towards our very first device. When you see someone wearing an ‘I am the First One’ T-shirt, you see a proud future owner of Jolla,” said Tomi Pienimäki, CEO of Jolla.

The firm added that those who missed the first opportunity can pre-order from a new batch of Jolla smartphones later in the autumn.  The first devices are due to begin shipping by the end of the year, starting in Europe.

The touch screen slab doesn’t appear to have a name but its creators make much of the smart cases, dubbed the Other Half, which will affect the phones UI when attached, presumably via NFC. The device has a 4.5-inch display, dual core and 4G connectivity capability, 16GB storage and microSD storage and an 8-megapixel camera.