Finnish smartphone startups Jolla revealed that its pre-order campaign received orders from 136 countries, as the company prepares to begin shipping them by the end of this year, in line with its initial expectations. In addition, due to the positive response from consumers and industry partners alike, Jolla also confirmed that the company will begin a second batch of production for its Jolla Phone after its initial batch was fully booked in the pre-order campaign which ended in mid-July.
However, the company has refused to reveal the total amount of pre-orders it received, which would have given a better indication of the worldwide interest in Jolla and its Sailfish mobile platform. When pressed on the matter, a Jolla rep revealed on Twitter that the main reason for the non-disclosure is due to “customer confidentiality”, as the pre-order numbers also included orders from industry partners as well as network operators such as DNA from Finland and D.Phone in China. It certainly sounds like a weak excuse, which was perhaps why a company spokesperson revealed to TechCrunch that a typical production batch consists of 50,000 units.
If true, that would be an encouraging number for a startup. The start of a second production batch also indicates that the company is ready to offer a “second chance” with a second pre-order campaign later this year. The press release also coincided with the appearance of a slightly redesigned Jolla smartphone (seen above), with the most obvious change being the location of the rear camera.
More information about the Jolla phone can be read here.
(Source: Jolla)
