People in 118 countries have pre-ordered Jolla smartphone, says company

Jolla’s eponymous SailfishOS-running smartphone, which has been on pre-order from May 20 onwards, had a tough task of convincing potential buyers to go with the brand new OS and the unique phone. But it seems to have done a great job of it.

The company had initially stated that the phone would only retail in China and Finland, but CEO Tomi Pienimaki told ZDNet that people from 118 countries around the world have pre-ordered the device. However, since Pienimaki didn’t reveal the exact number of orders for the Jolla smartphone, it's not yet time to call the device a success.

The Jolla smartphone with its aquamarine Other Half

While we would advise not reading too much into the revelation, it does show the willingness of the consumer to shift away from mainstays such as Android and iOS devices. Jolla is currently closing out another round of funding and Pienimaki said that the company expects to start manufacturing of the smartphone this month and will fulfil their deliveries before the year end.

Interestingly, the buzz around the phone comes even despite the fact that not all specs of the phone are known. From the specs revealed by Jolla during the announcement, we know it has an unspecified dual-core processor and comes with 16GB of onboard storage and a microSD card slot. Jolla has a 4.5-inch Estrade display of unknown resolution. In addition, it will have an 8 megapixel camera and is 4G ready, depending on region and carrier support. The most interesting part about Jolla is the replaceable back cover, which the company calls ‘The Other Half’. Each Other Half back panel comes in a different shade and changes the UI’s theme according to its colour. The phone also comes with a user-replaceable battery.