Confirming an earlier tweet from last week, Jolla’s Sailfish operating system will be powered by Nokia’s HERE mapping and positioning technology. In addition, the company also announced that Jolla smartphone owners will be able to download Android apps from Yandex, an alternative Android store.
The integration of Nokia’s HERE technologies was one of the most anticipated features that was yet to be announced by Jolla, and further strengthens the company’s Nokia roots. Having a mapping solution with up-to-date map data and location information from over 190 countries in the world is a clear advantage for the fledgling platform. Earlier this week, it was also announced that another alternative mobile operating system, Tizen, would be integrating HERE’s technologies.
In addition, Jolla has also finally shared details on the company’s distribution of Android apps to its users. A Russian-based alternative Android app store, Yandex, which was selected after the company considered “a number” of alternative app stores. Yandex has over 85,000 Android apps in its store, with the most popular apps available such as Facebook, Twitter, Viber, WeChat, Skype, Foursquare, as well as Angry Birds. Yandex also supports in-app purchases and is available in 37 languages.
Finally, the Jolla website has also been updated to reveal more about its upcoming device, which is slated to be released by Christmas this year. Head on to jolla.com to find out more.
